It was another day in the buzzing atmosphere of CJ Attorneys. Kwesi found himself in front of a draft of a contract, busily reviewing it as instructed. It hadn’t been any big deal when he was called and handed the contract; he had been doing this on a regular basis back in his old firm. Nothing to worry about.

What he hadn’t factored in, however, was the fact that he was used to dealing with contracts relating to smaller companies. This was a contract from a major organization, and was way more complicated than any other contract he had worked on. A few minutes in, and Kwesi’s head was already aching. The number of clauses and sub-clauses was doing his head in for real.

Chale, levels really dey to this thing! Ei, see how man make so used to simple contracts, this one dey here dey borst my brain. Chale, chale, chale!

A few minutes more, and he decided to take a brief respite from his work, lest his brain explode, with all the straining he was doing in trying to get things done. He was the only one in their office; Frances and Sarah were in court, and Shani was getting some documents printed.

As he got up from his desk and walked around, he spotted Shani sorting through the documents near the photocopier.

“Chale, Shani! What dey happen?” Kwesi called out.

Shani looked up, a wry grin etched across his face. “Bro. Just getting some documents for Mr. Herman, chale. How far with the DokiTech contract?”

Kwesi shook his head and grimaced. “Chale, I no dey see top ooo. I do reviews before, but this one… walahi, ibi something else. Eiii!”

“Hahaha! Chale, those clients dema contract matters no be joking matters kraaa. Major blockchain technology firm. They’re the ones who supplied the firm with the equipment in the legal tech room, so you can imagine. Mr. Amankwanor no dey take them play.”

“Hmmmm. I can imagine. Chale, then I for really take my time then do the review well.”

“Please ooo, do that. Na those people, them no dey joke about with their reviews. If you like, I go fit help you. Make I just see sey I go fit finish this task for Mr. Herman, then I go pass by.”

Kwesi nodded in gratitude before chuckling out loud. “Thanks, thanks. Chale, law school didn’t prepare us for this, did it?”

Shani shook his head and snickered. “Bro, I dey beg, IEC get aaa, like you no dey here sef. Forget them then just be thankful sey you made it through that hellhole.”

Kwesi laughed. Within the week he had been there, Shani had told him about how he had spent quite some time in the ‘law school wilderness’, having to write a couple of papers a few times before finally passing and getting called to the Bar. As far as his senior by two years was concerned, law school was an absolute nightmare, and the less memories resurrected, the better.

“Fair point, chale. IEC diɛɛ, nightmare inducers! They wouldn’t even give us all this info, sef.”

Shani laughed. “Exactly, chale. Those people, only God wey go take you through their hands unscathed. Anyway, I’ve got to run to the man’s office. I go come back then come help you with the review, wai?”

“Sure thing, Shani. Thanks, and chale, good luck in the meeting,” Kwesi replied as Shani hurried off.

Returning to the room, Kwesi slumped back into his chair and sighed.

For a couple of seconds, his thoughts drifted away from the office setting and back to the Labour Court.

A week had passed since he first set foot in that court. He had been to a few other courts since then, and was obviously too busy to have the chance to go back there. But one thing stayed on his mind: that enchanting clerk.

When he had arrived in Accra, he had not fathomed the idea of falling for any girl. And maybe it was way too soon to imagine that he was, but there was something about her that had him hooked. She wasn’t the only beautiful lady he had seen around these parts; there were other cute ladies he saw around in the discharge of his duties, from fellow lawyers to adorable registrars. This legal profession was not lacking when it came to beauties at all. But every other chance he got, he couldn’t help but think about her and how she managed to be so damn serious and so wonderfully elegant in the courtroom all at once.

None of his colleagues in the office knew her name, and he wasn’t too comfortable asking the others in the other offices. The last thing he wanted was whispers that he was more interested in chasing court clerks than working. He hadn’t been around long, but he had already been told that there was one clique that loved to gossip about others passionately, and he wasn’t exactly in the mood to put himself up for discussion among whoever these gossip freaks were.

He sighed as he sat back, picturing her beautiful face all over again. Who is she? he mused. And what is it about her that’s gotten me so hooked? Chaleeeeee…

As his mind continued to paint pretty images of her in the courtroom, a smile played on his lips. Chale, I really can’t wait to see her again, he thought to himself. The way I see plenty girls and don’t really react this way, there’s got to be something about her for me to be this hooked. Chale… She’s so beautiful… so, so beautiful…

“Okay, I’m in, Kwesi! Let’s get this thing done!”

Slightly startled by Shani’s loud voice, Kwesi sat up quickly before gathering himself and nodding. Back to work after fantasizing about that mystery clerk.

***

“Oh, as for me, it’s part of my personal brand. If you go and plead guilty and you’re convicted on your own plea, and your family comes to disturb me to do appeal, I’m charging you the full amount. No reduction. Not even a pesewa. And no part payment too ooo. You are paying the full 60,000 cedis before I start work. It’s as simple as that.”

Kwesi nodded in agreement at the assertion of Frances. “Sharp. Man cannot come and stress himself over some appeal that won’t even work. Chale! If you want it to be done at all costs, take the whole damn thing!”

“That’s all! Every damn pesewa!” Shani added. “After all, that’s what the GBA has determined. You’re not a bad person for demanding it.”

“At all. I’ll show you the scale of fees for you to see. It’s as simple as that.”

The conference room at Corpus Juris Attorneys was filled with the steady hum of discussion as the lawyers gathered for this case allocation meeting. Under the orders of Mr. Amankwanor, the corporate litigation cases were to be distributed among the lawyers, and as Kwesi sat among his colleagues, discussing various matters like the irritation of clients stressing lawyers to perform magic acts, his anticipation built up as he awaited the distribution of cases.

Those who had been around for a while were openly hoping and praying not to get certain cases. Kwesi, however, was up for anything he got. Sure, some sounded kinda scary, but he was willing to take them on and see how they went. There was just one case he was praying would go to him.

The case at the Labour Court.

Of course, he wanted nothing more than to be able to see that beautiful clerk, and getting assigned to that case would be nothing short of perfect. Considering he had already joined Mr. Ofori for that case, he was feeling slightly confident that he would get that allocation. He couldn’t be too sure, though, so he could only hope for the best.

Myles Mensah, a senior associate to the ones chatting, ventured into the discussion. “You just reminded me. A few months ago, this friend of mine called me and told me a family friend had some issue bi. Apparently, this friend’s brother was caught at some galamsey site bi with gold in his car and tools for mining, and he was arrested. So, she wanted a lawyer to come and help out. And the way he said it, I thought the case was ongoing and maybe they need to lawyer to defend him and all that. The case had already finished. The guy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to fifteen years.”

The lawyers grimaced at this revelation.

“It’s when I spoke to the lady herself that this was revealed to me. She had a copy of the proceedings for the day. People, the guy said in his mitigation plea that he is guilty but the court should spare him. Chale, when I saw that, I was like ‘na what do you want me to do’. Because there’s no way I can convince any court to overturn the judgment, especially with that on record.”

“Nahhh, no way, no way,” Sarah agreed. “You try it kraaa, some judges will blast you. They’ll tell you that you’re only chasing after the money…”

She trailed off as Mr. Ofori, Mr. Herman and Mr. Nehemiah Annan entered the conference room. It was time for the meeting to begin.

Mr. Annan, the senior of the three, was the one to preside over the meeting. He nodded as his gaze scanned the agenda before him. “Alright, good afternoon, team. I trust you’re all doing fine, and your week has been smooth so far. The three of us have a meeting with the Ga Mantse right after this, so let’s get down to business straight away. We have some interesting cases coming in alongside the existing ones, and we need to have the right people on them.”

As he scanned the list and started assigning cases, Kwesi couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness. He couldn’t do it openly, but ‘in spirit’, he crossed his fingers, silently praying for the case that would lead him back to the Labour Court, eager to experience its unique atmosphere and see that beauty once more.

As the list of cases unfolded, Mr. Annan turned his attention to Kwesi. “So, for the upcoming employment dispute cases, Mr. Kwesi Amamfi, I understand you joined Mr. Ofori in the ongoing TransGlobal case. Grace Darko versus TransGlobal. So you’ll be representing us going forward. You and Myles will handle that case.”

A serious look on his face, Kwesi glanced at Myles briefly before turning to Mr. Annan and nodding his head. “Yes, sir.”

That, of course, was a professional front he had to put on. Inside, though, a surge of excitement rushing through him. Yes! Yes! Thank You, Lord! I got what I wanted! The Labour Court! he silently screamed.

Oh, the joys of having his silent prayer answered.

“Good, so Myles, you’ll be taking that case up with him. Okay? Alright, you’ll also be handling the Rocco Hospital v Bentoni Publications case at Land Court 4…”

As the allocation continued, Kwesi kept his attention on all that was being said. In the back of his mind, however, it was glee galore, as he imagined various scenarios.

Presenting his arguments before the calm and collected Judge Amankwah. Feeling at ease in a most serene yet professional court environment – one which was rare and needed to be taken full advantage of.

And of course, catching more glimpses of that enchanting clerk.

Twenty minutes of more allocations, and the meeting concluded, with the three senior partners quickly dispersing for their upcoming meeting with the chief.

As Kwesi gathered his belongings and followed his people out of the conference room, a newfound excitement bubbled within him. Back to that court it is. Oh, thank heavens, he thought, a smile playing on his lips. Here’s to another day at the Labour Court. At least I’ll have one court to be looking forward to. Correct atmosphere with a correct judge who doesn’t have time for those aggressive shenanigans… it’ll be great!

And of course, I’ll get to meet Maria once again… and that other clerk. That beautiful woman… this time, I’ll definitely find out who she is…

Well, our guy’s already on the path to finding out who this beauty is. We’ll soon find out with him…