Africa-Press – Liberia. On Friday, November 12, 2021, Dr. Jallah A. Barbu will formally launch his bid for the Presidency of the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA). Dr. Jallah A. Barbu brings worth of experience to the Presidency and he is a natural born citizen of the Republic of Liberia with origin in Lofa County, Northern Liberia.
Lawyer: Admitted as an Attorney-At-Law in 2002 and a Counsellor-At-Law in 2006, Cllr. Barbu has close to twenty years of experience as a lawyer and at least fifteen years as a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of Liberia.
Bar Activities: Cllr. Barbu is an active member of the Bar, and has served on several committees. He is the former Secretary General of the LNBA where he committed eighty percent of his work time, working in the headquarters of the Bar as head of the Secretariat. It is during his tenure under the presidency of Cllr. N. Oswald Tweh, that the American Bar Association entered partnership with the LNBA and the motto of the Bar, “Adherence to the Rule of Law” was coined. The Bar has a robust law day program growing out of innovation and ingenuity of the Secretariat of that administration. Dr. Barbu chaired the Special Committee of the LNBA that drafted the Bill for the
Establishment of a Special War and Economic Crimes Tribunal for Liberia. Public Office: Dr. Barbu is the first Vice Chairman and second Chairperson of the law Reform Commission of Liberia. He was engaged in and led the crafting of numerous draft legislations, most of which have taken effect, and was a member of the advisory team for the Government of Liberia. He has also served on special advisory boards responsible to advise at least two of the Presidents of Liberia on diverse national issues. Dr. Barbu also served as the Lead Technical Drafter for the Constitution Review Committee of the Government of Liberia headed by former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott.
Academic and Research Experience: Cllr. Barbu is Associate Professor of Law at Liberia’s only law school, the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law where he has taught for over a decade, and has assisted in administering the School, including acting as Dean. He is among the few, if not the only professor assigned and have taught the highest number of courses at the Law School, including Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Legal Research and Writing, Moot Court, Admiralty, Tort Law, Estates, Trusts, African Law, Legal Accounting, Administrative Law, Constitutional Design, and Legislative Drafting. His teaching experience extends beyond Liberia. Dr. Barbu was a member of the faculty/staff of Indiana University School of Law, where he served as Assistant Instructor.
Dr. Barbu is a publisher. His Liberian Constitutional Law course book, the first in Liberia’s academia history, has been used as a prescribed text at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law. He co-authored Liberia’s first and only Constitutional Treatise, in addition to publishing several literary and professional articles.
Dr. Jallah A. Barbu holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting with minor in Management from the University of Liberia; he also holds a Bachelor of Law (Hons.) degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia. Dr. Barbu earned his first graduate legal studies degree, Master of Laws and terminal legal studies degree, Doctor of Juridical Science from Indiana University Maurer School of Laws in the United States of America. He has earned certificates and diplomas in diverse professional areas including computer studies, management consultancy, alternative dispute resolution, intellectual property, gender equality advocacy and legislative drafting.
Dr. Barbu’s professional experience spans over thirty years in the fields of business, teaching, law, research and Publication. In the field of business, he has worked as a private and public accountant/auditor, accounting and management consultant, banker, and farmer. He has worked with prestigious institutions including Citibank N.A. Monrovia; VOSCON, Inc., CPA; Deloitte & Touche Consulting, West Africa; and H. Richards & Company, CPAs.
In the field of law, he has practiced at all levels of Liberia’s court system including the Supreme Court whose Bar he has been a member of for at least fifteen years and has enjoyed the extra-ordinary privilege of serving on a number of occasions as amicus curiae of the Court and as a ranking member of the Bar Examination Committees for admission for Attorneys-At-Law and Counsellors-At-Law. In this capacity he has presented hundreds of law graduates in all of the Circuit Courts of Liberia for admission as Attorneys-At-Law to practice law in Liberia.
Dr. Barbu’s legal experience also encompasses managing and/or partnering in law offices in Liberia. In addition to serving as the director of the Institute for Constitutional Research, Policy and Strategic Development (ICRPSD), Dr. Barbu is partner and senior consulting consul of the Public Interest Law Office (PILO). Through its partial pro bono nature, the firm furthers Dr. Barbu’s voluntarily service records.
Dr. Barbu’s teaching experience includes teaching accounting at in vocational schools and at the levels of associate and bachelor’s degree, including at the University of Liberia; membership on the faculty of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia where he taught several courses including constitutional law, maritime law, legal accounting, administrative law, moot court, African Law, Constitutional Design, and Legislative Drafting. His classroom experience also includes co-teaching as Assistant Instructor, with professors of law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Bloomington, Indiana, United States of America.
As a researcher and publisher, Dr. Barbu has single handedly and along with other colleagues, published several articles and books. Publication of Liberia’s pioneering Commentary on the Meaning of the Liberian Constitution that covers critical fundamental rights issues involving economic and property rights, privacy, separation of powers and judicial powers, and, a constitutional law course book as a faculty fellow of the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, as well as newspaper articles on law have been highly rated by scholars and readers around the world. Dr. Barbu has conducted several high profile and technical research and advisory works for local and international groups, including National Consultant for the Governance Commission and Land Commission, the Liberia Land Authority, the Center for National Documents and Records Agency, the Forestry Development Authority, the Ministry of Finance, and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
Dr. Barbu’s public service experience includes the Ministry of Finance, Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, Booker Washing Institute, and Vice Chairperson and later Chairperson of the Law Reform Commission of Liberia. He was privileged to lead the review and drafting of several legal instruments, most of which have been enacted into law; some of these laws are the Commercial Code and the Act Establishing the Commercial Court; the Act establishing the Liberia Revenue Authority; the Decent Work Act; the Freedom of Information Law; and, the Children’s Law.
Dr. Barbu’s public advisory services extend to the highest public offices of the Government of Liberia; that is, the offices of the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, and has been a member of the Special Presidential Review Committee, an independent body established by the President of Liberia to advise on the legality and economic benefits of concession agreements and contracts entered into by the Government.
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