CORPORATE GOVERNANCE TRAINING WITH HPW FRESH & DRY LTD

It was great to have worked with my boss and mentor  Dr. Kweku Ainuson on a training workshop on Corporate Governance & Business Ethics for HPW Fresh & Dry Ltd. For four days, we took middle-level and senior-level managers through the principles of Corporate Governance and Business Ethics. HPW is located in the Eastern Region on…

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STEP BY STEP TO WRITE A GOOD LEGAL OPINION

April 2024 marks my sixth year of working with my current law firm AB LEXMALL & ASSOCIATES. From my journey as a legal intern & research assistant to now being a fully-fledged legal practitioner, I have had the privilege of working on various aspects of law practice. One of the aspects of law practice that my boss and mentor Dr. Kweku Ainuson made me do a lot of work on during my nascent days was writing legal opinions. I passionately undertook this task of writing legal opinions and it became one of my favourites (still is) things to do as an intern and now a lawyer.

When I began my journey of writing legal opinions, it was quite challenging and scary sometimes, especially knowing that someone was going to rely on it to make a decision. If the opinion is not properly written, it could give rise to personal/collective liability (lawyer and the firm). There were times that after spending hours or days researching and writing the first draft of a legal opinion, it would be rubbished after sending it for review and comments. At that point, the difficulty is how to reorganize yourself to amend, vary or draft a completely new opinion, especially knowing you have put your best foot forward in the first draft. However, in all these things I never relented on learning the art of writing a good legal opinion.

I recently worked on a legal opinion for one of Ghana’s leading players in the telecommunication service industry. After I submitted the opinion, I got a lot of positive feedback. I decided to look back on my journey in this aspect of law practice and put together a few things that have helped me over the years. This write-up is intended to serve two purposes. One is to assist lawyers as they navigate writing a good legal opinion. Two, to assist clients in assessing or identifying a good legal opinion. Enjoy.

Sports Betting in Ghana, An Industry whose time has come

Today, there are 31 licensed sports betting operators in Ghana. In just a few years, the number has increased from only 12 licensed companies to 31. One would agree that adverts promoting the business of one operator or the other have become commonplace –  billboards and paraphernalia are everywhere.

Indeed, the time of the gaming industry has come, and the government has taken a keen interest in the industry. Sports betting together with the casino business are the major players in Ghana’s gaming industry, though sports betting is much more popular and accessible to many Ghanaians.  Between 2019 and 2022, the government collected GHS450m in taxes from the gaming industry. There is still a lot more to be collected.

Right to Work and Restraint of Trade Agreements in Ghana

In recent years, contracts of employment especially for professional services executed between employers and employees in Ghana contain some provisions on restraint of trade. Restraint of Trade Agreements or Clauses (RTAs) are provisions in contracts that restrict the activities of one party after the termination of a business relationship, typically an employment agreement or a business sale/transaction. RTAs may take the form of non-competition clauses, non-solicitation clauses, non-disclosure/confidentiality clauses and non-interference clauses among others.

These clauses aim to protect the legitimate interests of the party imposing the restriction, usually by preventing the other party from engaging in certain competitive activities within a specific time period or geographic area. RTAs seek to protect the legitimate interest of employers by preventing the employees from taking advantage of trade secrets, business information, and clientele among others. RTAs are usually targeted at preventing employees from unfairly competing with their employers after the employment relationship has been severed.

Generally, RTAs are seen as restrictions on an employee’s right to work since they limit the scope of work the employee can engage in usually for a specific period after the severance of the employment relationship.

This piece thus seeks to answer three questions. The first question is whether  RTAs are valid and enforceable in Ghana. The second question is to what extent will the courts in Ghana enforce RTAs? The third question is what are the remedies available if any for the breach of RTAs in Ghana?

STRESS MANAGEMENT FOR LAWYERS

According to research, one of the biggest problems confronting lawyers is stress management in the workplace. Therefore, effective stress management is one way to be efficient and effective at work.

“At least get good at selling tomatoes before getting into hard-core politics”, Prof. Raymond A. Atuguba advises young politicians to have a career or professional track record.

In a recent interview on the podcast, “All the Way Up”, the Former Executive Secretary to President John Mahama and the current Dean of the University of Ghana, School of Law, Prof. Raymond A. Atuguba shared his journey and experience of being co-opted into mainstream politics. He also shared his journey to becoming a successful lawyer and academic.

TALENTED KIDZ IN AFRICA

Sunday, April 17, 2023, will go down in history as one of the best days in the life of TV3 Talented Kidz winner, Abigail Adjiri. Despite her hearing impairment, young Abigail sealed the perfect victory with her performance at the grand finale that wowed the judges, audience and viewers at home.

GHETTO KIDS appeared on Britain’s Got Talent on 15th April 2023 and got the Golden Buzzer while performing!😱 The very first time in the history of #BGT!

Meet the Four Astronauts Who Will Soon Take a Trip to the Moon

NASA has selected four astronauts that will travel to the Moon during the upcoming Artemis 2 mission, which will be humanity’s first crewed return to the Moon in more than 50 years.

The four astronauts are: Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch of NASA, and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency.

REDISCOVERING THE LOST ART OF TALKING ON THE PHONE

Hearing a friend or family member’s voice during a phone conversation builds social connection more effectively than sending a text, according to research. Tone is especially lost in texting. How often are relationships severed or at least damaged over a text miscommunication? Someone is trying to be funny or sarcastic, and the little emoji they’ve snuck in at the end of their text doesn’t convey their emotion properly, and suddenly there is a miscommunication.