About

Dr. Rowland Atta-Kesson joins the University of Ghana School of Law (UGSOL) with legal expertise that cuts across professional law practice in Ghana, international legal consultancy, and legal education. In area of legal education, he has taught both public and private law courses in different universities in Ghana. These include Jurisprudence, Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Ghana Legal System and Method, Agricultural Law, Public Procurement Law, Labour and Employment Arbitration, Company Law, Contract Law, Tort Law, and Commercial Law. At the international level, he worked with the African Development Bank (AfDB), as a legal consultant from 2013 to 2016. And during this period, he researched and wrote a publication for the General Counsel titled “Fostering Opportunity Through Development Finance In Africa; Legal Perspectives From The African Development Bank.” (Published in the World Bank Legal Review, Volume 5). His two decades of legal practice in Ghana has equally blurred the binary between public and private law as a public interest litigator and transactional lawyer. For instance, he practiced pro bono legal service, and in April 2005, he researched and co-wrote on “Innovative Legal Aid Provisioning In Developing Countries: The Case of the Legal Resources Centre in Ghana”. He presented this research paper at an international legal aid conference at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He has also advised and represented real estate corporate clients in construction contract negotiations and execution.

His expertise in the area of law reforms is equally noteworthy. Between 2010-2012, he worked with the Constitution Review Commission of the Ghana Government as manager of the Research and Legal Unit. In this role he conducted research and also managed a research team of no less than 20 researchers and assistants. The final research report was presented to the President of Ghana on 20th December 2011. He also co-authored two chapters of the report respectively on the Executive, and Lands and Natural Resources. Furthermore, between August 2009 and January 2010, he worked as a supervising researcher on a World Bank commissioned research study on "Ghana Uses and Users Study". This study tracked the progress of cases in Ghana's high court, as part of a series of studies in selected African countries including Ghana and Ethiopia. His consultancy experience in justice sector reform is noteworthy. From July to August 2021, he researched and wrote a gap analysis research consultancy report for the Legal Resources Centre under a USAID sponsored Justice Sector Support Activity Research Consultancy. He is currently researching Ghanaian legal doctrine and practice.

Credentials

• Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD), Indiana University, Indiana, USA
• Master of Laws, LLM, Indiana University, Indiana, USA
• Public Policy Mediation, Indiana University, Indiana, USA.
• Barrister-at-Law, BL, Ghana School of Law, Ghana
• Bachelor of Laws, LLB, University of Ghana, Ghana

Areas of Expertise

• Law and Political Theory
• Administrative Law and Policy Process Research
• Interdisciplinarity
• Alternative Dispute Resolution 

Publications

Books

• Atta-Kesson, R. Securitizing Ghana’s Oil Against Africa’s Resource Curse; A Legal and Institutional Decoupling of the Commercial State from Regulatory State (LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2014)
• Atta-Kesson, R. & Abdulai, J. ADMN 308 Company Law II (Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE), University of Ghana, 2011)

Law journals

•  Atta-Kesson, R. “Corporatizing Administrative Law in Ghana: Lessons from US and UK” Rutgers Law Record. Vol. 50, 2023, 187-221
• Atta-Kesson, R. “Reforming Campaign Finance Laws in Ghana: A 'Political Party Bank' Proposal” UCC Law Journal. Vol. 1 Issue 2 Dec. 2021, pp. 187-220
• Atta-Kesson, R. “Legal Effect of Corporate Deregistration; Ghana in Comparative Law Perspectives” (Forthcoming in UPSA African International and Comparative Law Journal