Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko

Senior Partner & Co-founder

Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko is one of the leading transactional lawyers in the country. He has a unique ability to get things done and find solutions, no matter the issue. He brings to ALA his vast, rich, and dynamic experience over the last three decades working in Europe and Africa. A solicitor and barrister trained in UK and Ghana, Mr Otchere-Darko is also the former CEO of a UK-based consulting company, which specialized in facilitating business for companies and organizations with interest in Africa.

Mr Otchere-Darko is a respected lawyer and political risk analyst in Africa and has appeared on television and radio and written several articles in several reputable journals on investment, corporate governance, good governance, and economic development in Africa and related matters. ALA benefits from his wide network of contacts in Ghana, the West African region and beyond.

Nana Adjoa Hackman

Managing Partner & Co-founder

Nana Adjoa is a corporate legal practitioner specialising in corporate governance, banking and petroleum law. She has provided advice on corporate and legal issues to multinational companies and leading international businesses operating across Africa. She was called to the Ghana Bar in October 2003, when she began private legal practice at Kudjawu & Co, a leading law firm in Ghana. She was until August 2016 the Head of Legal Department and Company Secretary for United Bank for Africa (Ghana) Limited.

Between 2017 and 2020, she served as a member of the Board of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, where she chaired the Legal and Governance sub-committee of the Board. She currently holds directorship positions on a number of private sector boards. She is a member of the Ghana Bar Association, the Society for Petroleum Engineers and the Energy Institute, and has published articles on the petroleum industry.

Nana Adjoa has an MBA from the Imperial College Business School, where she studied on an “Inspiring Women – EMBA scholarship” awarded by Imperial College Business School in partnership with the 30% Club, a campaign that aims to secure gender balance in board rooms across the world. Nana Adjoa also has an LLM degree with distinction from the Centre for Energy Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP), University of Dundee, Scotland.

Nii Odotei

Partner, Energy & Finance

Originally trained as a Barrister in England & Wales, Nii Odotei has both English and Ghanaian qualifications. With thirteen and a half years spent in Fugar & Co. one of Ghana’s leading corporate law firms, and seven years as a Partner, Nii brings to ALA a practice embracing contentious and noncontentious work covering project finance, joint ventures, corporate acquisitions and buyouts, corporate finance and more recently power and upstream oil and gas work.

His firm grasp and understanding of English law concepts and international business and finance in common law jurisdictions has made him a favourite in advising both international law firms and foreign investors in Ghana.

Peers concede that he knows the local legislation inside out and clients describe him as an incredibly practical lawyer who gets transactions done diligently and efficiently.

He has advised on some flagship transactions and his desire to offer something extra to his clients has driven him to become an alumnus of the SEED entrepreneurship programme of the Stanford Business School and membership of the Institute of Directors (UK) and Institute of Directors (Southern Africa).

Ernest Kusi

Senior Associate

Ernest brings a rich legal practice background and a clear sense of direction and responsiveness to the needs of the firm’s clients. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Degree in Political Science with Philosophy from the University of Ghana, Legon and an MSc in International Relations from Royal Holloway, University of London. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of Ghana, Legon and was called to the Bar in 2012 on completion of the Professional Law Course at the Ghana School of Law in June 2012.

He subsequently studied for the Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree programme at the University of Oxford, where he focused on International Dispute Settlement, International Economic Law, Constitutional Theory and International Law and Armed Conflicts. His areas of interest in commercial practice include Commercial Litigation, Arbitration, Corporate Law, and Oil and Gas transactions. He previously practiced at Kulendi@Law, a leading commercial and litigation law firm based in Accra, Ghana as well as undertaking an internship at Kimathi & Partners between August 2010 and July 2011.

Ebow Brew-Hammond

Senior Associate

Ebow Brew-Hammond graduated from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) with an LLB degree. He has been in private legal practice since graduating from the Ghana Law School. With a wealth of experience in matters involving corporate immigration, and project finance in the areas of construction and energy, his area of interest and concentration, is that of commercial transactions.

Ebow has firm grounding in litigation as he has been entrusted with court briefs spanning issues of company law, land law, debt recovery, contract law, and criminal law amongst others. Having completed his bachelor’s degree in law, Ebow undertook a three-month internship in Shanghai, China, with Zhonglun W&D law firm and gained valuable experience familiarising himself with the Chinese business and legal environment.

Ebow is usually a crucial member of the teams he works with as his enthusiasm, attention to detail and positive disposition to hard work contributes exceptionally towards the teams’ achievement of its objectives.

Mansa Williams

Associate Lawyer

Mansa graduated from the University of Warwick with an LLB degree, with honours. She then undertook the Legal Practice Course at The College of Law in London (currently University of law) and graduated with a Post-graduate Diploma in Law. Mansa holds an LLM degree from the University College London, where she studied Banking and Insurance Law, World Trade and International Human Rights.

Mansa worked as a solicitor for six years in several practices in the United Kingdom, including family law, residential & commercial property transactions, litigation, immigration, mental health law and probate matters.

Mansa did a short internship at White & Case in London where she received training in areas such as project financing, equity & debt financing, project financing and LNG transactions. She undertakes a broad range of corporate and commercial work at ALA. She was called to the Ghana Bar in 2016 and is also qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales.

Edem Kutsienyo

Associate Lawyer

Edem brings a different approach to the practice of law. Clients commend his ability to reduce issues down to their simplest form and finding solutions to such issues. He holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Ghana, Legon in addition to his law degree from the University of Science and Technology in Ghana.

Prior to joining Africa Legal Associates, Edem participated in several transactions in his previous firm including advising the Emirates National Oil Company, African Development Bank and Danone. His last major transaction was advising a global development bank on the financing of a public private partnership reforestation project between the Government of Ghana and a European entity.

Edem is an ardent believer in giving back to society and thus as a law student founded the charity wing of the Students’ Representative Council of the Ghana Law School, which pays for surgical procedures for underprivileged and indigent children at the Paediatric Surgery Department of the Korle – Bu Teaching Hospital in the Republic of Ghana. He currently volunteers for the Juvenile Justice Project (JJP) where he provides legal services for juveniles who have fallen foul of the law on a pro – bono basis.

Osei Tutu Bonsu

Associate Lawyer

Osei Tutu is an associate lawyer at Africa Legal Associates. He was called to the Ghana Bar in 2018. He obtained an LLB Degree from the University of Ghana. Prior to his legal education, Osei obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Settlement Planning from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Osei has worked at the Legal Department and Company Secretariat of United Bank for Africa (Ghana) Limited, where he gained relevant working experience in the law of Banking and Finance. He is Certified by the Data Commission of Ghana as a Data Protection Supervisor. Osei has participated in a seminar on FIDIC Contracts by the West Africa Built Environment Research Conference as well as an international training course in oil and gas by MDT International in the United Kingdom.

He has been involved in major advisory work at ALA in the natural resource, energy, and infrastructural space. Osei also advised on the set up of the largest logistics provider for Uber (ride hailing company) in Ghana, the acquisition of a major mine in Ghana, the establishment of an insurance company in Ghana, and other compliance and regulatory matters. He has also advised on immovable property matters.

Osei has been part of some of the firm’s most significant litigation matters at the superior courts of Ghana, including contentious litigation such as the enforcement of foreign judgements, to compensation claims that touch on the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.”

Stanley Amartefio

Associate Lawyer

Stanley Amarteifio is an associate at Africa Legal Associates. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2016 and is a member of the Honourable Society of Middle Temple. He was subsequently called to the Ghana Bar in 2018 and is also a member of the Ghana Bar Association. He holds a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Kent, Canterbury. He further displayed competency in the UK’s Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) which he undertook in Nottingham Trent University. He also holds a certificate in Petroleum Revenue Management from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.

Stanley’s areas of focus are on property, family, construction, corporate and commercial law. He has over the years routinely litigated in the above-mentioned practice areas.

Emmanuel Owusu-Tuffuor

Associate Lawyer

Tuffour is a product of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he obtained his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree before proceeding to the Ghana School of Law for the Professional Law Course.

As a young and ambitious lawyer, Tuffour is always excited to take up new challenges and to assist Clients in finding solutions to the toughest legal problems. He is committed to the needs of Clients and consciously deploys his skills to achieve sterling results for them in good time.

After being called to the Bar in 2019, Tuffour has made great strides in establishing himself in various fields of the legal practice including the areas of Corporate and Commercial Law, Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Real Property Law and Human Rights Law.

He loves to advise on Corporate Governance and Compliance issues and has been described as a ‘brilliant negotiator’ and a lawyer with a fervent drive for excellence.

YVONNE IVY SAKYIWAA

Office Manager

Yvonne holds a bachelor’s degree in political studies from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Ghana. She also holds a professional certificate in Human Resources: HR for People Managers authorized by the University of Minnesota, USA.

She previously worked with the Judicial Service, in the human resource and administration department. She has rich experience in personnel management, business administration and project administration. Before joining the legal sector, Yvonne worked in the financial sector with Liberty Asset Management as team leader of the Data Entry Personnel.

As the Office Manager of Africa Legal Associates, Yvonne is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day office operations and procedures and performing human resource duties. She deals directly with clients, assisting mainly with client engagement and registration processes. Her outstanding interpersonal relations is a big plus for ALA, leading to her receiving regular commendation from management, colleagues, and clients, alike.