Nana Akua shares her Achieve Vacation Scheme experience

Nana Akua Boamah Osei is a future Foot Anstey trainee and an international student from Ghana who is based in Bristol, having recently successfully completed her SQE LLM course. Interested in law from a young age, Nana Akua shares her law career journey to date including her experience on our Achieve Vacation Scheme, which supports wider access to legal careers.

A desire to make an impact through law

My interest in law was first sparked when I witnessed a conversation between my grandmother and her solicitor regarding tenancy issues. I was intrigued by how the solicitor explained complex terms in the tenancy agreement using elements of the Ghanaian culture, unique to her understanding. This sparked a desire in me to pursue a career in law to help people understand the complex legal issues that affect their businesses and lives.

I decided to pursue a legal career in the UK due to the broad range of practice areas available and the opportunity presented to make an impact that aligns to my strengths.

Gaining experience and applying learning

I moved to the UK to study and undertook some legal work experience at Meta, where my desire to become a lawyer solidified as I started to understand the importance of commercial awareness when practicing law.

After my undergraduate degree, I took a gap year in Ghana where I worked as a Sustainability Research Intern at the International Centre for Evaluation and Development. Through conducting research into renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa and reviewing contractual agreements for collaborations with other research organisations, I was able to combine my interest in commercial law with a newfound interest in renewable energy.

Taking the next step with a Vacation Scheme

I was drawn to the Achieve Vacation Scheme at Foot Anstey as it was uniquely designed for candidates from underrepresented groups within the UK workforce, like myself. As a young black woman born and raised in Ghana, I often experienced imposter syndrome due to the lack of representation of black women in the legal profession and my status as an international student.

The scheme acknowledged the under representation of identified groups in the UK workforce and presented me with the opportunity to gain work experience in a commercial law firm.

In the lead up to the scheme, I took part in a series of masterclass sessions that helped participants strengthen commercial awareness skills and gain an insight into practice areas such Corporate and Finance. These sessions, led by Marsha Francis, gave me a much deeper understanding of how a law firm is run and supports its clients. It was also inspiring and motivating to learn from a successful black woman in the legal profession.

During the scheme, I worked with the Charities team where I drafted a deed of disclaimer, a renunciation of a client’s role as an executor and a deed of variation of a will. These tasks helped me to understand the ambitions of the client and how best to achieve them. I learnt to approach daunting tasks with confidence and not to be afraid to ask for help or guidance from my supervisor or colleagues. I gained a deeper understanding of the expectations of clients and my ability to meet and exceed those expectations as their trusted legal advisor.

The Achieve Vacation Scheme was very different from other work experiences I've had as I was able to work on real life cases alongside colleagues and felt like a valued member of the team.

Looking to the future

I am yet to decide which area of law I would like to qualify into as I've got an interest in so many areas! I'm looking forward to joining Foot Anstey as a trainee solicitor in 2025 and exploring different practice areas through each of my seats. I also hope to contribute to the diversity and inclusion initiatives at the firm by joining the firm's African-Caribbean Connections Group.

Ultimately, I want to be a leading expert in the area I chose to qualify in and be an example to young Ghanaian women that they can be successful in the legal profession. My experience on the scheme has deepened my desire to become a lawyer and to make a difference in the lives and businesses of my clients.

In the meantime, I am looking forward to spending quality time with my family in Ghana before joining the firm. I'm also planning on trying out some new hobbies - swimming and learning to play the saxophone!

Find out more about our Achieve Vacation Scheme.