Lawyer Sandra Ankobiah |
The long-standing hope among stakeholders of the showbiz fraternity
that Ghana’s entertainment industry would get the services of qualified lawyers
who understand the business of entertainment has gotten a boost, as Sandra
Ankobiah, host of Fashion 101, has been called to the Ghana bar, and is now a
lawyer.
Speaking in an exclusive
interview with NEWS-ONE, Sandra Ankobiah opened her arms to handling cases pertaining to
entertainment and not just other cases.
Sandra Ankobiah |
“Why not, I will handle
entertainment cases,” she said and promised not to abandon the entertainment
industry, especially her Fashion 101, a TV Magazine show.
Sandra Ankobiah and friends Yvonne Okoro, Becca and Roseline Okoro |
“There is
Entertainment Law, and it encompasses all of the legal problems and issues most
commonly faced by a variety of related industries, including film, television,
radio, music recording, publishing, theater, and sports. The areas of law most
frequently associated with this field are intellectual property, agency,
antitrust, contracts, and labor and employment. And although I specialized in
International and Commercial Law, I studied most of the courses under
Entertainment Law during my LLB and LLM. Courses such as Intellectual Property,
Antitrust, and Contract and fortunately, Entertainment Law are predominantly
Contract and Intellectual Property based.
“My aim now is to provide legal services to the
entertainment industry- services such as Contract Drafting, Negotiation and
Mediation, and of course Litigation, if the need arises.
Sandra Ankobiah and parents |
“I believe the
reason why Entertainment Law is not big in this country is due to the fact that
our industry is not big. It's a very young industry which doesn't make use of
legal services/lawyers. I have seen and heard of actors/artistes, etc. who
enter into agreements/deals without any form of contracts and later have
problems when breaches occur. It's time for all industry players to get more
professional by engaging legal services and I am pleased to offer my services.
Although young and new at the Bar, I have the drive, determination, skills, and
passion to provide the best quality services to my clients. The industry is
growing and I would like to grow with it,” she added.
The beautiful lady who is also a model was among some 39 lawyers who
were inducted into the Ghana bar by Her Ladyship
Chief Justice Georgina Wood at a meeting
of the General Legal Council in Accra on Friday April 12.
Like the other lawyers,
she took an undertaking to be of good behaviour, and adhere to the general
ethics of the profession.
She has flirted with
Ghana’s showbiz industry for a long time and better understands the issues.
Hence there are high hopes that she will be handling cases pertaining to the
industry.
Her feat is currently being
hailed by many Ghanaian entertainment stakeholders.
Minutes after the
induction ceremony last Friday, a number of them joined her at a party held on
her behalf at the Golden Tulip Hotel to celebrate her success.
Among them were Yvonne
Okoro, D Black, Nana Boroo, Mugeez, Roseline Okoro, Chester Ani, Fred Nuamah,
4x4’s Coded, Deborah Vanessah and a host of others.
Sandra entered the
reception grounds full of smiles while she was welcomed with flashes from media
cameras.
She hugged some guests
who made it to the reception.
After a short prayer and
words of encouragement headed by Chester, there was nothing left but to eat and
drink while they posed for the cameras.
Sandra has indeed raised
the bar with her new calling and she has proven that there is indeed brain
behind her beauty.
Besides her attainment in entertainment, she is a graduate with
multiple degrees in Law.
Sandra is a former student of
the Akosombo International School, and also holds a degree from the University
of Buckingham, UK (LLB). She acquired an LLM (Masters in Law) in International
and Commercial Law before entering the Ghana School of Law, Makola, Accra.
Finally, she has made her way
onto Ghana’s legal frontiers and observers have no choice but to say
congratulations.
Sandra echoes essence, style,
quality, wits, glamour and humour. Her peers describe her as an “elegant, young
fashionista who strongly believes in the importance of looking good”.
A runner-up in the 2002 edition
of the Miss Ghana and Miss ECOWAS beauty pageants, the past decade has seen her
do pretty awesome stuff in the line of fashion, modeling for renowned designers
such as Kofi Ansah among others. In 2000, she was one of the faces used by
Ghana Textiles Print (GTP) for their numerous advertizing campaigns.
Between 2004 and 2007, she
operated Sandra’s, a high-end fashion
boutique in Dzorwulu that set trends and managed to give clothing a face-lift.
But in all, education is also a priority for her.
Credit: NEWS-ONE
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