Sierra Leone has reached a settlement in principle with the U.S. law firm Jenner & Block to resolve its dispute over $8 million in allegedly unpaid legal fees

Sierra LeoneChicago-based Law Firm
Written By Theo Edwards
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Sierra Leone and the U.S. law firm Jenner & Block have reached a settlement in principle, resolving their legal dispute over $8.1 million in allegedly unpaid legal fees related to Jenner & Block's representation of Sierra Leone in a major international arbitration case against Gerald International Ltd, which had sought over $1.8 billion in damages over an export ban.

The settlement was disclosed through a brief order issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey in Washington, D.C., with no public details on the specific terms.​

Sierra Leone paid Jenner & Block $3.6 million between 2019 and late 2021, but the law firm claimed an additional $8.1 million was owed for work that was “far more complex and voluminous” than anticipated.​

Sierra Leone contested the claim, asserting that Jenner & Block had not demonstrated entitlement to more than the amount already paid, and initially argued that it was immune as a foreign sovereign; however, these arguments were rejected by a federal judge, allowing the lawsuit to proceed.​

Jenner & Block initiated the lawsuit in 2022 after failing to collect the balance it alleged was due.

The legal services in question concerned Sierra Leone’s defense against Gerald International Ltd., an iron ore contractor, leading to the settlement of the underlying case.

This settlement closes a significant legal and financial dispute for Sierra Leone and concludes Jenner & Block’s three-year effort to recover fees it claimed for international legal services.​

Representatives for Sierra Leone and Jenner & Block have not commented publicly on the specifics of the new agreement.

YAME Digital

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Theo Edwards

Theo Edwards has over twenty years of diverse Information Technology experience. He spent his days playing with all things IBMi, portal, mobile application, and enterprise business functional and architectural design.

Before joining IBM as Staff Software Engineer, Theo worked as a programmer analyst and application specialist for businesses hosting eCommerce suite on IBMi platform. He has been privileged to co-author numerous publications such as Technical Handbooks, White paper, Tutorials, Users Guides, and FAQs. Refer to manuals here. Theo also holds a degree in Computer Science, Business Administration and various certifications in information security and technologies. He considers himself a technophile since his engagement at Cable & Wireless then later known SLET.

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