Name: Abenaa Agyekum
Position: Legal Counsel and Head of Legal Services
Company: FGR Bogoso Prestea Ltd, Ghana
Sector/Industry: (telecoms, financial, govt, energy etc): Mining
Worked in current position for (number of years/months): 2 years
Total years as an in-house lawyer: 9 years
A day in the life: Provide a brief overview of your current role (what you do, how you spend your time etc):
I currently work for a foreign-owned mining company with sites located in the Western region of Ghana. My role involves advising on and helping the business mitigate its legal and regulatory compliance risks. I also support ethics and compliance, oversee governance, manage contracts, and handle claims and litigation. Additionally, relationship management and training are key aspects of my job.
Most of my time is spent on contract and vendor/contractor management issues, regulatory compliance, and litigation management. As a mine with over 500 workers and active unions, labour issues also pop up often. There is also significant interfacing with the group office for due diligence and funding processes. In-country support is required for governance processes, which also consumes a significant amount of time.
The best thing about my current job is:
That I am never bored! In a previous role, I worked for an independent oil&gas exploration and production company with operations offshore. The operation was accessible only by helicopter or a long boat ride, minimizing potential disruptions. The impacts to wildlife and the environment were mitigated as much as possible. I felt it was a lively role.
Gold mining, however, is onshore and very invasive. Our operations take place on what may have been farmland or hunting grounds, generating a myriad of issues and regulatory requirements. Some sites are close to town and have to be managed carefully. There are incursions with illegal mining activities that are managed with the security team. The mining site has been operational for over a century, and there is never a dull day. It requires constant engagement, collaboration with the rest of the management team, and tact. The gap between black letter law and workable solutions must be constantly explored. I am always engaged and learning, with no time to be bored!
The most challenging thing about my current job is:
Transitioning from an independent contributor into a team manager. I have been responsible for projects and worked cross-functionally with teams in the past but was largely an independent contributor, and I quite liked that. In my current role, I started out as an independent contributor and was later handed my first team – a team that I had no hand in designing or building. The challenge has not been the people; they are fantastic individuals and a joy to work with. The challenge was cohesively managing the various skills within the team (we’re not all lawyers) and effectively complementing each other.
Most pivotal career decision:
Taking on my current role. Before now, I had worked for tried and tested “brands”: The Attorney-General’s department of Ghana, top-tier, award winning law firms or listed multinationals. Accepting this role, for an unknown quantity taking on a mine with a century old legacy, was a decision I thought a lot about. During the interview process, the team stated the challenges with the operation, how they were going through a funding process and the support required to turn the mine around. It sounded like a way to be impactful and support nation building. The operation directly and indirectly supports about 1500 people and whole communities within the catchment. It also gave me a chance to stretch myself, as an associate I had done a lot of mining work, but worked in-house in the oil and gas sector.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve had to face in your in-house career journey is:
Not making work my whole identity as an associate, I was fully immersed in commercial work. When I went in-house, I was assigned to support supply chain (SCM) and it created some self-doubt as I had expected to be working similar tasks, on the commercial or operations side. I felt SCM was almost fully reactive to the business’ objectives, unlike others that could set the agenda. I undervalued the role and started to underrate myself, feeling deflated for a period, though I worked diligently.
I have since learned not to make my work or my role my whole identity – something that can be difficult when you take a professional course and pass out as an identifiable expert (such as a lawyer, an accountant, a doctor, etc.) I reset my views after some time in the role when I fully understood how inactions or mistakes from the supply chain could massively affect the bottom line.
What advice would I give my younger self?
Take diligent care of yourself and your health. I found myself frequently falling ill – plagued by migraines, pain, and stomach issues. It began a long, expensive journey to figure out what ailed me. I was misdiagnosed with several conditions before discovering it was essentially stress manifesting physically – something I had not even been aware was possible.
I had been putting in sixty-hour work weeks with horrible dietary habits, little sleep, even less exercise, and was as hydrated as desert sand. I thought I was young and invincible, but could harmed myself irreparably.
Health really is the bedrock of productivity. I’m still shocked at all I was able to do while dealing with near chronic pain, but I could have avoided most of it with better habits and boundaries.
Key influencers that have shaped my journey: I have been blessed with amazing Managers who cared about me and my professional journey at every stage of my law practice. I have been so blessed that I thought it was the norm until I realised how privileged I had been. My biggest influence however came from home: my father, Mr. George Agyekum, is a living breathing embodiment of belief in ‘the law’ and integrity.
One cool thing I’ve observed in the legal industry recently ? The increased importance of ESG reflects a broader shift towards sustainability, ethical governance, and social responsibility. Lawyers are mostly at the forefront of this and while it is more work, it is an opportunity to enhance business accountability and performance, as well as the function’s influence and resourcing.
Favourite pro bono/ volunteer or charitable activity: I have been so stretched in my current role that I have had to limit my activities. I only kept my high school alumni projects but have taken up more mentoring that I did in the past. Previously I had been involved in projects supporting orphanages and in a reading project for primary school children.
If I were not practising law, I would probably be: a fashion designer or curator or…apparently a fashion & lifestyle blogger, according to my friends!
What (singular) achievement are you most proud of? I am raising a feisty seven-year-old, who (usually) likes me, is kind and thriving at school despite her mother changing roles four times since she was born. I am/was constantly plagued by mummy guilt as I was not able to attend ‘magic circle time’ and drop off or pick her up from school much but she appreciates what I am able to do and is a happy bunny. Half a billion dollars of contracts later nothing I have done professionally trumps that for me.
Something you love doing that but you’re not that great at? Sleeping
Something you dislike doing that you’re pretty good at? Cooking. I used to love to cook but lately it’s too much work.
In 5 years-time I’d love to be: A published author, coaching and mentoring more, growing and thriving in my profession as a GC in a multinational and/or a strategic regional role. Helping the bar and legal education to be more inclusive of in-house (and academic roles).