AB & David Africa named Law Firm of the Year for championing women in law
By DL News
Published
2 min read
The pan-African business law firm received the accolade for what IAWL described as a consistent, intentional commitment to gender equality across its operations.
AB & David Africa has been honoured as Law Firm of the Year by the Institute for African Women in Law (IAWL) at the organisation’s 10th-anniversary gala in Johannesburg.
The pan-African business law firm received the accolade for what IAWL described as a consistent, intentional commitment to gender equality across its operations, including structured investment in women’s leadership and gender-inclusive policies in its offices and wider African network.
According to IAWL, the recognition comes at a time when, across many African jurisdictions, women remain significantly underrepresented in senior legal roles at the bar, on the bench and in academia, despite gradual gains in entry-level participation.
Reacting to the award, Isabel Boaten, Managing Partner of AB & David Africa’s Ghana office, said the firm viewed the honour as validation of a long-term strategic choice, not a symbolic gesture.
The firm said it sees the award as both recognition and obligation: a signal to deepen its internal structures and talent pipeline so that more women rise into partnership, management and board-level roles across the network.
Boaten added that AB & David Africa intends to leverage the visibility of the award to intensify collaboration across the profession.
Beyond its internal policies, AB & David Africa is an active supporter of IAWL’s Women’s Excellence in Law & Leadership Academy (WELLA), which equips emerging female lawyers across the continent with leadership training, mentoring and professional networks. The firm sees this as an investment in a broader ecosystem of women prepared to lead in Africa’s evolving business-law landscape.
AB & David Africa operates as a global business law firm with a strong pan-African footprint, maintaining independent offices in several African countries and a broader network spanning about 30 jurisdictions. Its client base includes governments, development finance institutions, multinationals and regional companies, with mandates in infrastructure, energy, mining, telecommunications, public–private partnerships, corporate and M&A, and complex cross-border transactions.
IAWL, a pan-African non-profit, works to advance gender equality in law through research, advocacy, training and leadership development, partnering with institutions across Africa and the diaspora to build more gender-inclusive legal systems.
