Declaring her intention to contest for the presidency of the Greater Accra Regional Bar(GAR), is Isabel Boaten. Isabel is the Managing Partner of AB & David Ghana, current Vice President of the GAR and part-time lecturer at the Ghana School of Law. She chairs the board of Ecobank Retirement Fund and also serves as a director of the Institute of African Women in Law. Isabel is a family- oriented woman of faith who stays unflinchingly committed to the causes she believes in.

Isabel’s decision to run for the presidency of the GAR is inspired by a heart for service and a desire to resolve the perennial challenges that members encounter in their professional and personal development. Specifically, under her leadership Isabel intends to:

1. Provide specialist and industry-based training for lawyers

2. Institute a programme for young lawyers focused on opening up networking /mentoring opportunities to enhance their professionalism and ethical standards,

3. Work with the judicial service to improve sanitation standards in the courts

4. Foster gender mainstreaming and inclusion

5. Enhance participation of members in the governance of the GAR and foster camaraderie.

6. Provide a platform for lawyers to give back to the community through a structured pro bono scheme in partnership with the Legal Aid Commission

Ultimately, Isabel’s vision is to build the GAR into a dynamic association that is responsive to the needs of its members and a lamppost for professional excellence, pride and service to the community.

Recognized by Chambers Global and IFLR 1000 for her legal work, Isabel has established an excellent career in consulting on policy, legislative and institutional reform in Africa.

A member of the Law Firm Management Committee of the International Bar Association Committee, she is an advocate for and speaks frequently at local and international fora on the need to elevate practice standards in Africa. Significantly, Isabel led AB & David’s campaign to become the first law firm in Africa to secure the Law Society of England and Wales Lexcel management standard, an accreditation awarded to law firms that meet the highest management and client care standards.

Isabel is a member of the CPD Committee of the Bar and has served on important committees of the Bar and the Judicial Service, including the Committee for the development of CPD Guidelines, the GAR Review Committee on the proposed Legal Profession Bill and the Chief Justice’s Committee on the review of paralegal curriculum for the Judicial Service.

In 2023, she received the Robert Legh Excellence in Leadership Award (conferred by the African Legal Awards), which celebrates lawyers who inspire change and drive innovation. She is recognized as a Woman In Law to watch by IAWL and was a double award recipient of the Law Digest Africa Managing Partner/Young Managing Partner award in 2015.

Isabel is a mentor to many young lawyers. Apart from spending time with family, Isabel writes a blog where she shares life lessons for personal and professional growth. (Her blog can be read here)

When The Law Platform caught up with her on her candidature she said, “Over the years I have learnt how to work with people of different backgrounds, agenda, ages and temperaments, – listen to their ideas, build trust and create impact whether or not the spotlight was on me. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the region to deliver on what matters to all of us, if I do become President of the GAR”.

Listen to her story on becoming partner(2022) :

Watch her share her thoughts on client care and time management (2023)

Read her blog here on her early days as a lawyer (2020)