Meet Our LSL Faculty

His Honor Francis Korkpor

Francis Korkpor is a veteran of the Liberian legal system.  He spent close to 20 years on the Supreme Court of Liberia bench, first serving as Associate Justice from 2004 to 2013, and then as Chief Justice from 2013 to 2022.   Prior to joining the Court, Korkpor served for many years at the Justice Ministry where, among other things, he served as Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs, and Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from the University of Liberia, and a Bachelor of Law from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia.  Korkpor also taught for many years at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, something he continued to do even with his busy schedule as Chief Justice.

Kwame Clement

Kwame Clement is the founding President/Dean of the Liberia School of Law.  He has more than 23 years of legal experience practicing and teaching law in the United States and Liberia. Kwame has a BSc in Economics from the University of Liberia and a JD with highest honors from the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.  Upon graduation from law school, Kwame won a prestigious U.S. Federal Judicial clerkship and served as a law clerk to Judge Carlos F. Lucero of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Denver, Colorado.  He subsequently practiced antitrust law and securities litigation at the top-ranked law firm of Arnold and Porter in Washington, DC and then served as a Senior Counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he helped lead the investigation and prosecution of violations of the federal securities laws.  For the last seven years, Kwame has taught Torts and Constitutional Law as an unpaid volunteer at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.

His Honor Philip A.Z. Banks, III​

Philip Banks is by any measure a Liberian legal luminary.  He served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia as well as the Justice Minister and Attorney General of Liberia. Banks was also the Director of Research and of the Legal Department of the National Constitution Commission that drafted  the 1986 Constitution, which is now the basic law of Liberia.  He also previously served as the Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law of the University of Liberia, and as Chairman of the Law  Reform Commission of Liberia. Banks  holds a Master of Law Degree with Honors from Yale Law School in the United States, as well as a Bachelor of Law Degree (Magnum Cum Laude)  from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology (Cum Laude) from the University of Liberia.  His scholarly endeavors include leading the editing and indexing of 14 volumes of the Liberian Law Reports featuring decisions of the Supreme Court of Liberia for the period 1979 to 1999, and 2001 to 2003. Additionally, he was the lead editor of five volumes of the Liberian Revised Code of Law, a compilation of various statutes.   

Negbalee Warner​

Negbalee Warner is the immediate past Dean of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law and Senior Partner at the Heritage Partners and Associates Law Firm, one of the leading law firms in Liberia.  He previously served as head of the Secretariat of the Liberia Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.  He was also an Executive Director at the Central Bank of Liberia, responsible for the supervision and regulation of all banks and non-bank financial institutions in Liberia.  Warner holds an LLM from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Law Degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law as well as a BSc in Economics from the University of Liberia.

Saye Gbalazeh

Saye Gbalazeh, Vice President/Associate Dean of LSL, is an insurance attorney and former insurance executive who previously served as the Managing Director and CEO of Activa Insurance Company in Liberia.  He also has extensive experience as a senior insurance executive in the United States, including serving as Assistant Vice President for the Medical Malpractice/Healthcare Division of OneBeacon.  He has for the last seven years taught Insurance Law at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. He holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia.  He also holds a Master of Business Administration Degree in Risk Management & Insurance Degree from The College of Insurance, now called Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance, and Actuarial Science, Peter J. Tobin College of Business, St. John's University, New York.

Pei Edwin Gausi

Pei Edwin Gausi is an experienced Liberian lawyer having served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia and as Deputy Minister of Justice for Economic Affairs.  He also served as Chair of the Liberia Copyright Management Board and was an Independent Copyright Advocate in Sacramento, California and is a member of the California Lawyers for Artists.  Gausi holds an LLM Degree in Transnational Business Practice from the University of Sacramento, California and a Bachelor of Law Degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law in Liberia.  He also earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education from Cuttington College in Liberia.

Lucia D. S. Gbala

Lucia D.S. Gbala has a background in International Business Law with a specific focus on Finance, Corporate Governance and Intellectual Property.  She previously served as Managing Director of Heritage Partners & Associates, LLC and as Director of ASK Gras Savoye Liberia, a Pan African insurance brokerage company.  She also served as a Short-Term consultant on assessing Forest Harvesting cycles for DAI Global Belgium SRL.  She holds an LLM in International Business Law from the Tilburg University in The Netherlands and a Bachelor of Law Degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law in Liberia.  Gbala also earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration & Management from the Arthur Barclay Business College at the Stella Maris Polytechnic University.

Paul S. Mandell

Paul S. Mandell holds a JD from Yale Law School, where he was a Senior Editor of the Yale Law Journal and Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law & Policy Review. Paul is a past Chair of the Yale Law School Fund Board and the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Board of Trustees, and he currently serves on the Executive Committees of these two boards. Paul previously practiced law with the law firms of Sullivan & Cromwell and Arnold & Porter, and he is an entrepreneur who has successfully launched several businesses.

Richard M. Lucas

Richard M. Lucas holds a JD from Yale Law School, where he served as Managing Editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review. He also previously served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Washington University Law School.  Lucas practiced real estate law for many years at the Arnold and Porter Law firm in Washington, DC, and now serves as a senior commercial real estate executive. 

Tiawan Gongloe

Tiawan Gongloe is the immediate past president of the Liberia National Bar Association.  He is also a former Labor Minister and Solicitor General of Liberia, who has devoted much of his professional live to fighting for human rights.  Gongloe holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Liberia and a Bachelor of Law Degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia.

Jerome Korkoya

Jerome Korkoya brings to LSL more than 30 years of legal practice and public service.  He is the immediate past Chairman of the National Elections Commission of Liberia (NEC), which organizes and supervises all elections for the President and the National Legislature of Liberia. During his tenure at the NEC, Korkoya supervised and directed the conduct of the 2017 presidential and legislative elections, which marked the first such elections conducted exclusively by Liberian election technicians. The elections marked the peaceful transfer of power from one Liberian president to another for the first time since 1944. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas School of Law in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as a  Masters of Law Degree from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Korkoya also holds a Bachelor of Law Degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia 1994, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Liberia.  Korkoya is an experienced commercial litigator who has represented various high profile corporate clients at all levels of the Liberian court system, including the Supreme Court. 

Boakai Dukuly

Boakai Dukuly serves as one of five Commissioners of the National Elections Commission of Liberia, responsible for overseeing all elections for national offices of Liberia.  He has extensive experience teaching and practicing law in Liberia and the United States, including serving as an Adjunct Professor at the Thomas Cooley College of Law in Lansing, Michigan, as well as serving as a Law Clerk to Judge Paula Manderfield of the Michigan State District Court in Lansing, Michigan.  Boakai holds an LLM Degree in International and Environment Law from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia.  He also attained an LLM on a fullbright Scholarship in Administrative Law from the Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago, Illinois.  Additionally, Boakai earned an LLB from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law and a BSc in Agriculture from the University of Liberia.

John A.A. Gabriel

John A.A. Gabriel is the former Director of Sexual and Gender Based Violence Crimes Unit of the Ministry of Justice, R.L. He is also the former County Attorney of Sinoe County, Republic of Liberia.  Cllr. Gabriel holds a Master of Laws degree in Trial Advocacy from the Temple University in Pennsylvania, United States. He also holds a Bachelor of Laws from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of Liberia.

Zaiye Dehkee

Zaiye Dehkee is an expert in Liberia's natural resource law, who previously served as the country's Minister of Lands, Mines, and Energy.  He holds a  Master of Law Degree in Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law from the University of Houston in Texas, the United States of America.  He also holds a Bachelor of  Law Degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia, from where he also attained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mining Engineering.  He currently heads the Natural Resource Practice at the prominent Pierre Tweh and Associates Law Firm of Monrovia, Liberia.

Abrahim B. Sillah, Sr.

Abrahim B. Sillah, Sr. holds a Master of Law Degree in Energy, Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Dickinson School of Law at Pennsylvania State University, and a Bachelor of Law Degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia.  His vast legal experience includes serving as the Managing Partner at one of Liberia's leading law firms, the Heritage Partners and Associate Laws Law Firm.  He also previously served as the General Services Manager at the Forestry Development Authority of Liberia.  Additionally, Sillah has served as an Assistant Professor at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, teaching Environmental Law and  Evidence.

Dr. Mohammed Sheriff

Dr. Mohammed Sheriff is an expert in the field of Medical Jurisprudence.  He holds a Medical Degree with Honors from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy, and a Bachelor of Law Degree with High Honors from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law.  Sheriff has served for several years on the faculty of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, where he teaches Medical Jurisprudence.  He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the the Liberia Post Graduate Medical College. Additionally, Dr. Sheriff has served as the Deputy Minister of Health at the Liberian Ministry of Health, as well as Liberia's  Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations World Food Program in Rome, Italy.

Gerald D. Yeakula

Gerald D. Yeakula is a co-founder of LibLaw--Liberia’s largest digital law library providing access to legal resources and legal scholarship. He has significant experience in the field of democratic governance and currently serves as Program Manager at the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), the national chapter of Transparency International.  Yeakula has published in leading journals, and provided research services for local and international firms on studies related to corruption, human rights, and governance. He is a candidate for the Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. He holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree in Human Rights and Democratization in Africa from the University of Pretoria, a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree (Cum Laude) from the Louis ArthurGrimes School of Law, University of Liberia, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Liberia.

Forstina Gongbah

Forstina Gongbah holds an LLM Degree from Cleveland State University College of Law in Ohio and was admitted to the Ohio State Bar by the Supreme Court of Ohio having passed the State Bar on his first sitting in April 2024.  He is also a 2022 graduate of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law where he ranked second out of 35 students.  Gongbah was Lead Counsel for the school’s Moot Court Team.  He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the Stella Maris Polytechnic College where he ranked second out of 30 students.

Charles K. Sunwabe, Jr.

Charles K. Sunwabe, Jr. holds a JD Degree from Washburn University School of Law in Pennsylvania. He also has a Master of Arts Degree in International Affairs from the Catholic University of America as well as a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University. Since 2012, he has practiced law in the United States, including as a Litigation Attorney at the Schuchardt Law Firm in Pennsylvania.