An exceptional lawyer keeps curiosity alive. They refuse to just settle for the obvious, always probing for what others overlook. True excellence in practice is often a blend of creativity and legal knowledge.- Akua Ameley
Akua Ameley is an International Maritime Lawyer with a strong interest in technology and business. She has used these interests to co-found Jomda Africa, a tech startup which connects MSMEs in Ghana and Nigeria to trade. Alongside leading Jomda and advancing her expertise in maritime law and consultancy, she continues to explore how law intersect with innovation and entrepreneurship.
For Akua, being a lawyer is not a fixed destination but a versatile tool, one that enables her to explore diverse passions and contribute meaningfully beyond the boundaries of traditional law practice. She holds an LL.B from the University of Ghana School of Law and an LLM in International Maritime Law from the World Maritime University in Sweden, a credential that underscores her commitment to excellence in her field.
Akua is open to opportunities spanning emerging legal fields like Artificial Intelligence, to developing her creativity in music and design. She advocates for the celebration of multidimensionality in career paths, emphasizing that professional identities should not be confined to a single discipline, but in the long run, should be able to embrace versatility and transformation.
1. Every great journey begins with a spark. What ignited Akua’s passion for the legal profession, and what continues to make the practice of law a deeply fulfilling pursuit for her?
Akua always knew she was going to be a lawyer from a young age, following in the footsteps of her father. Her fascination with the law deepened right from the beginning of law school where she began to encounter and familiarize herself with case law and the insightful judgments of distinguished Ghanaian judges such as Francois JSC and Acquah CJ. The depth of the law captivated her from that moment and she was deeply drawn to legal practice.
To her, the law is a beautiful discipline, one she sees as an honour to be able to apply its principles across different aspects of life and work. Yes, it is a highly laborious field, both in education and practice with its long, intensive hours of hard work and the high-stakes pressure that comes with it. But for many, it turns out to be very rewarding, especially when one discovers their personal niche and pace. For her, finding a place within the law was never just a career pursuit, but a fulfilling journey of self‑discovery as well.
The legal landscape is constantly evolving. In Akua’s opinion, what qualities define a truly exceptional lawyer in today’s world, and how can young professionals cultivate these attributes?
An exceptional lawyer keeps curiosity alive. They refuse to just settle for the obvious, always probing for what others overlook. True excellence in practice is often a blend of creativity and legal knowledge. For young professionals, the intensity of legal work can lead to them easily undermining that combination and loosing the balance of it, Akua notes. She advises them to be cautious of that, because it is the interplay of creativity and knowledge as well as curiosity that makes young professionals really stand out in today’s legal landscape.
3. True leaders are always thinking ahead. What is the next ground-breaking project or initiative that Akua is or would be working on and what impact is she hoping it wpuld make?
At the moment, Akua is focused on growing and strengthening her existing projects. Her legal practice remains a central commitment, sustained by her hard work and dedication. Aside from her creative ventures, she channels her energy into Jomda Africa, a Tech Startup she co-founded to connect African MSMEs to trade.
She is not taking on new initiatives at this stage, choosing instead to ensure that her existing ones gain firm footing and live up to the remarkable expectations with which they were started. Her hope is that by nurturing them to maturity, they will create a lasting impact: like empowering businesses, expanding access to trade and driving meaningful transformation across industries and communities.
4. Which legal minds have profoundly influenced Akua’s journey, and what book (s) has shaped or is shaping her thoughts and perspectives?
She’ll admit that her journey has been shaped less by books and more by the influence of remarkable legal minds whose guidance left an enduring mark on her as a lawyer. Among these mentors is one who stands out profoundly; Emmanuel Yaw Benneh, formerly of the University of Ghana School of Law and a luminary in Public International Law.
As her lecturer, he opened the law to her in a very special way, teaching with the passion of someone who had witnessed major international events firsthand. He offered interesting perspectives in his teaching, for example, “terrorist or freedom fighter,” where he took his time to present both sides of the coin and challenged his students to make informed judgments on the topic. Learning under such a brilliant and incisive mind expanded her thinking into so many depths of the law she still continues to explore.
5. For those who are just starting off, the path may seem daunting. What advice or guiding principles would Akua offer young legal professionals and advocates trying to find their place and purpose in the legal terrain?
She believes that young legal professionals should take their time and remember that reaching their end goal is a journey, not a race. Moreover, they should not measure their progress against someone else’s journey, because the law and life itself unfolds differently for everyone.
The key is to approach the discipline with genuine curiosity that helps in eventually discovering the line of practice that works for them. But even after that breakthrough, it does not just end there. Young lawyers need to follow that line with persistence, keep asking questions and allow themselves the freedom to change their minds as they grow and evolve with the law.
Click here to read our previous millennial, Suad Abdel Aziz
Editorial Team
