Being actively engaged in the future

Technology law is a very important practice area for emerging markets such as Ghana and West Africa, say Selasie Atuwo and Kwabena Oppong-Kyekyeku of OAKS Legal, a future-focused Ghanaian firm with regional and international reach.

“The technology law space in Ghana is still at an infant state,” says Selasie, the Managing Partner of OAKS Legal, and a dual-qualified lawyer who holds an LLM in Information Technology Law, among several postgraduate legal qualifications.

“We are very happy to be involved in shaping that space, not only with respect to the engagement and support that we have given startups and other technology players, but also with our thought leadership,” continues Selasie. “The Data Protection Commission specifically identified OAKS Legal as a contributor - I think one of a few law firms - for the ongoing Data Protection Bill review. So it shows we are doing some good work.”

Headquartered in Accra, OAKS Legal was established in April 2024 by Selasie, Kwabena, and Frank Atese Kwabena Amuh, all of whom were mentored by the late Cynthia Quarcoo, a leading corporate and finance lawyer. The trio are determined to continue Cynthia’s legacy of empowering young Africans. The words “forward-thinking” and “futuristic” are key parts of their vision and mission statement.

Along with the three founding partners, there are 10 staff, and the firm also in late November welcomed “five exceptional pupil-lawyers”, as part of their 2025-2026 six-month Pupillage Programme. OAKS Legal is committed to nurturing talent, advancing excellence, and shaping the future through mentorship and practice.

The firm aims to have a staff of lawyers who are very actively engaged and focused on the future, says Selasie. To that end, personal development is a core tenet of the firm’s culture and operations, from the Partners through to the Pupil-lawyers.

“Just to give you an idea, Kwabena returned from the UK a couple of months ago, where he did a course in international diploma in arbitration,” shares Selasie, who himself is a former parachute jumping instructor and Major in Ghana’s armed forces, and has four LLM degrees. “All of us are constantly developing ourselves with respect to the areas of law that we are engaged in. Apart from enhancing our competence as core value of the firm, OAKS Legal upholds the values of client centeredness, building relationships and trust.”

That forward-thinking and empowering talent also applies to clients. Selasie and Kwabena share that over the past year OAKS Legal has worked with several startup technology companies, on a pro bono basis, to help them protect their innovations and understand the implications of their products (software, robotics, other technologies), where any liabilities may lie, and how they can comply with the law.

Alongside traditional areas including corporate commercial, banking and finance, energy and infrastructure, dispute resolution, intellectual property, and real estate, OAKS Legal also has specific practice areas in “Start Ups, Innovation, and Venture Capital”, and “Technology, Cyberspace, Privacy and Artificial Intelligence Law”.

“We want to be a forward-thinking law firm, so we are looking into the future, and we believe that technology is the future,” says Kwabena.

However, he notes, the core values that have guided the profession - trust, client service, confidentiality, integrity, etc - shouldn’t be discarded for new ways of doing things. Instead, fast-evolving technologies should be harnessed to improve legal practice. “For me, it’s about merging the old and the new to get a better output.”