EXPERIENCE
Senior Managing Counsel
The Senior Managing Counsel of the Firm, Counsellor Benedict F. Sannoh is a member of the Bar of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia in good standing with over thirty seven (37) years of solid legal experience at both local and international levels. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Law at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, where he teaches Contract Law, Negotiable Instruments and Secured Transactions.
Cllr. Sannoh was Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic of Liberia from 2014 until April 2016, when he resigned to return to private practice. Immediately prior to becoming Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Cllr. Sannoh served as Deputy Minister of Justice for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Justice for three (3) years.
In his capacity as Deputy Minister of Justice for Economic Affairs and subsequently as Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Cllr. Sannoh served as the principal legal advisor to the President of Liberia, then Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and to the Executive branch of the Government of Liberia. In this capacity, Cllr. Sannoh drafted, reviewed and participated in the negotiations relating to a number of concession agreements including mineral development Agreements (MDAs) in the Iron Ore, Gold, Energy, Infrastructure and Agricultural sectors, including among others:
Iron Ore Sector·
Western Cluster MDA (Vedanta )·
Amendment of the AcelarMittal MDA·
West African Exploration/Nimba Iron Ore Project for the development of infrastructure and transshipment of Iron ore from Guinea to Liberia
Gold·
The Aureaus MDA·
Hummingbird Resources MDA
Energy Sector
As a member of the Board of Directors of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) from July 2012 – 2016 and Chairman of the Board of Directors from 2013-2015, Cllr. Sannoh provided legal advice, drafted, reviewed and participated in the negotiations for a number of energy contracts and memorandum of understanding including:·
The US$387 Million grant to the GoL under the Millennium Compact (MCC) for support to the Mount Coffee Hydro Rehabilitation Project.·
Jindal Coal Project;·
Treaty for the establishment of the West African Power Pool involving Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia;·
Memorandum of Understanding for the ECOWAS Oil Refinery for the construction of 1000 Barrel Per day Refinery in Grand Bassa County, Liberia;·
Negotiations with the International Partners including the World Bank, the Government of Norway, Germany, European Bank for the Mount Coffee Project, time lines and financial implications following the Ebola outbreak;·
Led the review of the Manitoba Hydro International (MHI) Management contract by the LEC Board in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands Mines and Energy; and several construction contracts under the Mount Coffee Hydro Rehabilitation Project in close collaboration with the Project Implementation Unit (PIU)
Infrastructure:·
Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement between Bollore and the National Port Authority (NPA) for the development of the Port of Buchanan;·
The China Exim Bank Loan to the GOL for the Robertsfield Airport, and the China Harbor Engineering contract for the construction work on the Airport;·
Grant Agreement between the Government of Japan and the GoL for the Freeport Red Light /Somali Drive expansion Project; and· Several road construction contracts executed between the GoL through the Ministry of Public Works and various companies.
Agriculture·
Liberia Cocoa Corporation (LCC)·
Nimba Rubber Corporation·
Various Logging Companies·
Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPA) between the European Union and the GoL relating to the management of the Liberia Forestry sector.
Others·
Extension of the LISCR Concession Agreement with the GoL for the Liberia Maritime and Corporate Program;·
Cllr. Sannoh served as lead counsel in a number government related commercial litigations including (i) Foreign Arbitration proceedings between Simon Rosenblum v. The Republic of Liberia; (ii) Diamond Fields International v. Government of Liberia; (iii) Government of Liberia v. COCOPA Plantations, (iv) Government of Liberia v E.J. Roye Building; and the DUCOR Hotel, among others. Also served as a member of Inter Ministerial Concession Committee (IMCC) under the auspices of the National Investment Commission, the highest decision making body for the negotiations of Concession Agreements, and participated in almost all concession related negotiations and discussions in Liberia from 2012 – 2016. Cllr. Sannoh has in-depth understanding of the Concession granting process and enjoys cordial relationship with all the stakeholders involved in the concession granting process including the Ministries of Finance, Lands Mines and Energy, Justice, State, the National Investment Commission as well as parastatals including the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) and the National Bureau of Concessions (NBC).
Cllr. Sannoh, between 2012 and 2016, served on the Board of Directors of several public corporations and agencies of Government including Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC); Liberia Maritime Authority (LMA); Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA); National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL); AcelarMittal; John F. Kennedy Medical Center; National Investment Commission(NIC), and as Commissioner on the Public Procurement and Concessions Commission(PPCC).
Cllr. Sannoh also has significant experience in litigation, having litigated several cases at all levels of the Liberian Court system including the Debt Court, Commercial Court, Civil Law Court, and the Supreme Court of Liberia. Upon request by the Supreme Court of Liberia, Cllr. Sannoh has filed amicus briefs in a number of cases before the Supreme Court of Liberia.
At the international level, Cllr. Sannoh worked with the United Nations (UN) in diverse legal capacities between 2003 and 2012 including as Human Rights Officer, UN High Commissioner for Human Right (OHCHR) in Geneva, (Switzerland) (2003); Chief Human Rights Officer and Special Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sierra Leone(2003-2009); Director of Human Rights and Rule of Law and Special Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan(2009-20011); and Director of Human Rights and Transitional Justice and Special Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights South Sudan (2011-2012).
Cllr. Sannoh holds a Masters degree in Law (’86 LL.M) from Columbia Law School, Columbia University in the City of New York, USA with a major in Commercial law and International Business Transactions; a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia; and a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. 8. From 1988 to 2002, Cllr. Sannoh served as Assistant Professor of Law at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia, where he taught courses in Corporations Law, Contract Law, and Commercial law.
Cllr. Sannoh returned to the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia in 2016 after leaving the Ministry of Justice and currently teaches courses in Contracts, Negotiable Instruments and Secured Transactions.