Chevening 2021/22 Application Preparation Mentorship

(via Telegram Group)

Day Twelve: Tuesday August 2, 2021
Presenter: Mr. Isaac Lartey (Ghana) – Chevening Scholar 2021/22
Moderator/Compiled by: Mr. Jason Sabajo (Suriname)

Opening Remarks on the session day by the Moderator and calling the platform to
order.
Leader, welcome to today’s session.
Please let me know if you are ready and present.

Some background information of the Presenter:

Today’s scholar is Isaac Lartey from Ghana. He is an associate at Sam Okudzeto & Associates
where commenced his legal practice in 2017. His areas of practice are Civil Litigation, Labour
Law, Property Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

His recent work for the firm includes representing a Fortune Global 500 manufacturing company
in a labour dispute at the National Labour Commission. Isaac has also acted as associate counsel
in a million-dollar property dispute where he successfully negotiated an out-of-court settlement in
favour of his client. He was an associate counsel representing a multi-national oil marketing
company in an arbitration in which his team successfully obtained an award in favour of their
client at the Ghana Arbitration Centre.

Isaac is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) where he serves as the African
Regional Forum Liaison Officer of the Young Lawyers’ Committee (YLC). In June 2018, he was
declared a scholar of the Law Firm Management Committee and the African Regional Forum of
the International Bar Association (IBA). He is also a member of the Commonwealth Lawyers
Association (CLA), Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG)-LCIA, Young ICCA and the
Association of Young Arbitrators (AYA).

He will be studying an LLM in Comparative and International Dispute Resolution at Queen

Mary University of London.

Isaac, welcome, the house is yours!

Presentation by Isaac
Introduction:
Before we delve into today’s presentation, permit me to introduce myself.
My name is Isaac Aburam Lartey, I am a private legal practitioner.
I work at Sam Okudzeto & Associates, a band 1 dispute resolution law firm in Ghana. I will be
studying an LLM in International Dispute Resolution at the Queen Mary University of London.
Following the presentation on the Career Plan yesterday, I wish to add some tips which would
assist in writing the career plan essay.

Disclaimer:
The information contained in this document and in any response to questions which shall be posed
does not represent the views of the Chevening Secretariat on the Chevening Awards. Neither does
it represent that of the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). It is only an
expression of my opinion based on my application last year.
Permit me to repeat the question once again for some guidance:
Question:
Chevening is looking for individuals who have a clear post-study career plan. Please outline your
immediate plans upon returning home and your longer-term career goals. You may wish to
consider how these relate to what the UK government is doing in your country.

Objective of the Essay

Before you begin this essay, please bear in mind that the objective of this essay is to test whether
you have any plans of making an impact in your home country with the scholarship. Whether you
have any idea how you can implement these plans? And whether these plans are feasible.

Structure
As with all the other essays, the structure is key to acing this essay. You may consider any
structure which is suitable to your writing style. I will however recommend that you start with an
Introduction that essentially talks about the problem you want to address with your master’s degree
upon returning to your country through the implementation of your career plan. It could also be an
opportunity which you see for your growth in your country.
The Introduction could also highlight how the UK government has been addressing this problem
or how the UK government sees this opportunity as a priority. In my case, my introduction was a
blend of an opportunity for economic growth based on the strengthening of the country’s dispute
resolution mechanisms. I also talked about how the UK Government was helping to achieve this
over the years.
I will at this point cite as an example the introduction in my essay:

“Ghana has great potential for economic growth and development. This potential will be realized
through partnerships with foreign investors. The country is the UK’s fourth-biggest export market
in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is therefore imperative to strengthen the dispute resolution mechanism
of the country to boost investor confidence.” (problem to be addressed)
Talk about how the UK Government is solving this problem or developing the opportunity as a
priority. So I followed with another paragraph.

“The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) of the UK government has been
improving commercial dispute resolution in Ghana over the past years through its logistical and
technical support for the commercial courts in the country under the “Ghana Business Enabling
Environment Programme (BEEP). The programme has centred on Improving Commercial Justice
and Contract Enforcement (CJCE) (including arbitration).” (What the UK is doing)
Trick: How do you know what the UK is doing in your Country?

• Development Tracker (fcdo.gov.uk) Database of What the Foreign Commonwealth and

Development Office is doing worldwide
• Read the News.
• Look out for Bilateral Agreements Signed between the UK and your Country.

After talking about what the UK has been doing in your country you may now bring in what you
want to do with your career plan to address the problem or develop the opportunity.

THE CAREER PLAN

Now you have the chance to talk about what you want to do with the master’s programme.
You are advised to divide your plan into short term, medium-term, and long term.
As a guide, you should present your plan using the SMART Approach.
The SMART Approach
The “SMART” method is as follows:
S= Specific
M= Measurable
A= Achievable
R= Realistic
T= Timely

Specific
This is particularly important for your short-term career plan. You should also adopt it for the other
terms. However, lay much emphasis on your short term since you are required to return home for
a minimum period of two years. Chevening would like to know what exactly you will be doing
once you return to your home country. Mention the names of the Company, Agency, Industry,
Place, or anything that clarifies your work in the short term. It could also be names of persons you
would want to work with or even the city you want to work in if the problem is related to a
particular city in your country. Highlight what exactly you will be doing in this role and the exact
impact your short-term career plan will achieve.

By way of an example, this is an extract from my essay;

“Upon returning to Ghana, I will resume my work with Sam Okudzeto and Associates (Specific
place of Work) and strengthen the Dispute Resolution arm of the firm with the knowledge
acquired. I aim to encourage our clients to resort to alternative dispute resolution methods in
settling commercial disputes for an expedited resolution of their disputes. (What I will be
doing) This will reduce the caseload in the commercial courts, making them more efficient.” (The
impact the role will achieve)

To conclude on “Specific”, I would say that in all the three terms in your career plan, talk about:
1. Specific Place of Work
2. Specific thing you will do.
3. Specific impact you will achieve with your work.

Measurable
Your career plan must be assessable in numerical terms. This makes it a lot easier to drive home
the impact you wish to make. How many students are you doing to teach? How many patients will
benefit from your role? How many clients will you hope to advise? How many vehicles will ply
the road you want to construct? This is what the measurable requirement seeks to achieve. If you
just leave it in a vague form, you risk not standing out. By way of example find an extract of my
essay which satisfies this requirement.

“I will also commit the short term of my career to giving back the knowledge acquired in the LLM
course by volunteering as a part-time teaching assistant in the Alternative Dispute Resolution
class at the Ghana School of Law. This will build the capacity of the over 500 law
students (number of students who will benefit from my role) who take the programme at Ghana
School of Law to appreciate the values and importance of ADR particularly arbitration.”

Achievable
So how are you going to achieve your plans? Y0ur career plan essay must elaborate on how you
intend to achieve the things you want to do. If it is a job you want to do after the master's
programme you may state, the people you have already contacted on the openings on the job after
your programme.
NB: It is easier to meet this requirement if your plan is to return to your place of work in the short
term. Because you would not have to justify how you are going to get the job since it is a job you
were already doing before your master's programme.

“Upon returning to Ghana, I will resume my work with Sam Okudzeto and Associates”
This is an achievable plan since I am only resuming work I was already doing. Another example
could be as follows;

Upon completing my programme in Data Analytics, I intend to join Microsoft Ghana where I
interned in 2015. I have spoken with Mr. Osafo, the Head of Information Department on my plan.
He has indicated that the company will be recruiting in 2022 due to an anticipated expansion.

Realistic
Your career plan must be realistic. Much as applicants must demonstrate ambition in the career
plan, your ambition must be realistic. Make sure all the things you put in the career plan can be
realized within the time frame you provide. For example, it will be unrealistic to say you want to
become the President of your Country in the Short-term when there is no indication of you ever
contesting for public elections in your country. Such a plan could be best seen as a long-term career
plan.

Timely
Your plan should be time-bound. It is a good way to start by dividing the plan into Short-Term,
Medium-Term, and Long-Term. Your plan is more concrete when you indicated specific timelines
for the execution of your plan. As an example:

“In the short-term, I wish to register at the Ghana Arbitration Centre and work as a Chartered
Arbitrator. I aim to research the law and write competent awards that will seek to resolve disputes
at the Centre. By 2022, (specific timeline) I would have conducted at least 10 arbitrations at the
centre. This will go a long way to reduce the caseload in our commercial courts.”

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Finally, please read about the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN and find which of the
goals will be achieved by the implementation of your career plan. This will enhance the impact
your career plan seeks to make. As an example:
“In the short-term, I wish to register at the Ghana Arbitration Centre and work as a Chartered
Arbitrator. The LLM at Reading will enable me to obtain the CIArb qualification for the role. I
aim to research the law and write competent awards that will seek to resolve disputes at the Centre.
By 2022, (specific timeline) I would have conducted at least 10 arbitrations at the centre. This will
go a long way to reduce the caseload in our commercial courts and strengthen the Ghana
Arbitration Centre and help achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 on Peace Justice
and Strong Institutions.”

Conclusion:
The Career Plan essay is the last impression you will make. Be sure that it incorporates everything
you have said previously. Your leadership, Network, Studying in the UK will all add up to making
your career plan a success.

Wishing you all the best!

Isaac Aburam Lartey.
Sam Okudzeto & Associates.
Isaac.lartey@senachambers.com
Moderator: Isaac thank you very much for this wonderful presentation. I like how you talked
about the SMART method and how it can help you shape the career plan essay.
Guys, if you have questions please send them in.

Questions and Answers:

Q1: Thank you Isaac, great presentation! The examples made it clearer. I have a couple questions,
you wrote about focusing more on the short term, would you say a good proportion is 50% short-
term and 50% the other half?

Ans: Thanks for your question. I said so because of how the question was couched. "Highlighting
on your immediate Plans upon returning home" ...Generally I must admit that you should address
all the terms clearly. I however think the short term must be the clearest of all your career plans

Q2: If I am planning to start a company (mid or long term), which would be the criteria to make
it feasible or not? Regardless how I state that I want to achieve that.

Ans: If you are Planning to start a company, you may want to talk about the steps you have already
taken, the contacts you have established to make succeed. You may talk about how you have
secured funding for it already etc. This shows the feasibility of it.

Q3: I am planning on designing a drug. but at the moment I am not working with an industry.
Would it be OK if I said upon my return to my country I'll secure I job in Industry A. To help in
designing the molecule?

Ans: Sure. You can do that. But just make sure you talk about how achievable it is. Make your
you essay states that it is possible to get that job due to either the networks you have already
established in the industry, or through other assurances you have obtained.

Follow up Q: Will it be a crime, if I didn't mention the industry in my networking essay, and I am
mentioning it here?

Ans: Not at all.

Moderator: If there aren't more questions I will close today's session.

Once more thank you Isaac for this wonderful presentation.
Group thank you for being present!

That was it for this preparation session, till the next one!!