Alpha Sesay is the current Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone is set to confront a lawsuit filed by the U.S. law firm Jenner & Block, which is seeking to recover over $8 million in unpaid legal fees stemming from several years of legal representation. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, ruled on January 24, 2023, that the West African nation must proceed with the lawsuit, rejecting Sierra Leone’s arguments that the law firm lacked a valid contract and that the country was protected by sovereign immunity. In 2022, Jenner & Block initiated the lawsuit against Sierra Leone, claiming that the firm “vigorously” defended the country in a legal dispute with Gerald International Ltd., an iron ore contractor. This dispute had the potential to expose Sierra Leone to damages totalling $1.8 billion. The legal representation provided by Jenner was extensive and intricate, far exceeding initial expectations, according to the firm. Sierra Leone’s legal counsel, Paul Thaler, expressed disappointment with the ruling that allowed the lawsuit to proceed. He emphasized that it would be Jenner & Block’s responsibility to substantiate the allegations outlined in their complaint as the legal proceedings move forward.
Thaler remains optimistic about the strength of Sierra Leone’s defence in the case. Jenner & Block was engaged by Sierra Leone in 2019 to pursue claims against Gerald International Ltd. for allegedly breaching a contract related to the removal and sale of iron ore from the country’s mines. Following this, Gerald International countered with claims against Sierra Leone, escalating the legal complexities involved. The law firm claims to have received $3.6 million in fees from Sierra Leone between 2019 and late 2021, leaving an outstanding balance of $8.1 million, which they now seek to recover. In its efforts to dismiss the lawsuit, Sierra Leone contended that Jenner had not adequately demonstrated that it was owed any additional fees. The country also contested the existence of an oral contract concerning some of the work that Jenner claimed to have performed. However, Judge Chutkan ruled that Sierra Leone had waived its sovereign immunity by accepting the terms outlined in Jenner’s engagement letter. The case is officially titled Jenner & Block v. The Republic of Sierra Leone and is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia under case number 1:22-cv-03599-TSC. The legal teams representing both sides include Michael Brody and Maria del Carmen Gonzalez from Jenner & Block, and Paul Thaler, Jackson Nichols, and Casey McKinnon from Cohen Seglias Pallas Greenhall & Furman for Sierra Leone.
