The Government of Sierra Leone has reached a tentative settlement with U.S. law firm Jenner & Block, bringing an end to a long-running dispute over more than $8 million in alleged unpaid legal fees.
According to a recent order issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge G. Michael Harvey in Washington, D.C., both sides have agreed in principle to resolve the matter, though the terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Neither the government nor Jenner & Block has commented publicly on the settlement.
The Chicago-based firm sued Sierra Leone in 2022, claiming the government owed $8.1 million for its role in defending the country during a major arbitration dispute with iron-ore company Gerald International Ltd. The arbitration, tied to an export ban and potential damages exceeding $1.8 billion, was eventually settled—after what Jenner & Block described as a significantly more complex and extensive legal battle than initially expected.
Court filings indicated the firm had received $3.6 million in payments from 2019 to late 2021, but argued that a substantial balance remained outstanding. Sierra Leone disputed the claim, arguing that Jenner & Block had not justified any additional compensation and further asserting sovereign immunity and the absence of a binding contract.
Those arguments were dismissed earlier this year when a federal judge ruled that the government was not protected from the lawsuit and that a valid contractual relationship existed.
The newly reached settlement brings the high-profile case to a close, ending a legal confrontation that highlighted the risks governments face in complex international commercial disputes—particularly when engaging foreign law firms in high-stakes arbitration.
