Biographical Statement: EDRISSA M.O. FAAL

Edrissa M.O. Faal is a distinguished legal practitioner whose career spans more than four decades of continuous practice in common law jurisdictions, beginning in 1982. Throughout his career, he has combined extensive courtroom advocacy, international arbitration, legal education, and public service, earning a reputation for professional excellence, integrity, sound judgment, and unwavering commitment to the rule of law. His practice has encompassed complex civil, criminal, constitutional, commercial, administrative, and international disputes before state, federal and appellate courts, and international tribunals.

Edi M.O. Faal as he is commonly known, is an Attorney and Counselor of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, a member of the Bar of England and Wales, and a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia. Since 2021, he has served as a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the World Bank institution responsible for the resolution of international investment disputes between States and foreign investors.

Edi Faal was admitted to practice as an Attorney and Counselor of the Supreme Court of California in 1982 and, in the same year, became a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of Indiana. He has also been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States District Courts for the Central, Eastern, and Northern Districts of California, and the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana.
In 1992, Faal was called to the Bar of England and Wales, and reportedly became the first Gambian called to the Bar in the United States and United Kingdom. In 1993 he was admitted and enrolled as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia.

Mr Faal’s academic and professional qualifications include a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of London, a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Western State College of Law, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida International University. He is a Barrister-at-Law of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), and holds a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from the Asian International Arbitration Centre (formerly the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration), as well as a Certificate in Correctional Studies from the former International Training Institute in Mosman, Australia.

Over the course of his career, Faal has handled several thousand legal matters involving litigation, arbitration, mediation, appellate advocacy, and legal advisory services. His civil litigation practice has included professional liability, product liability, wrongful death, negligence, commercial disputes, contractual litigation, business torts, constitutional and civil rights claims, administrative and regulatory proceedings, and intentional torts. His criminal practice has encompassed capital and non capital homicide cases, violent felonies, constitutional criminal litigation, and complex white-collar prosecutions involving financial fraud, healthcare fraud, insurance fraud, money laundering, forgery, identity theft, and related economic offences.

Mr Faal has extensive trial experience in both jury and bench trials in state and federal courts. Throughout his career, he has served as lead counsel, co counsel, and sole trial counsel in numerous contested proceedings, conducting every phase of trial advocacy, including case preparation, jury selection, opening statements, examination and cross-examination of witnesses, evidentiary proceedings, closing arguments, and post-trial motions. His appellate experience includes matters before the California Court of Appeal, petitions for review before the Supreme Court of California, petitions for certiorari before the Supreme Court of the United States, and appeals before the United States Courts of Appeals for the Sixth and Ninth Circuits in Cincinnati and San Francisco, respectively.

Edi Faal has served as lead counsel in several high profile cases, including in People v. Dr Druciel Ford, a complex criminal prosecution in the Los Angeles Superior Court involving numerous charges of child endangerment and criminal negligence arising from the rendering of pediatric dental care. Following a lengthy jury trial, the defence secured acquittals on more than sixty counts, resulting in no convictions. The outcome reflected meticulous trial preparation, effective examination of medical and dental expert witnesses, and persuasive courtroom advocacy. Mr Faal was also lead defense counsel in the criminal prosecutions arising out of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots following the Rodney King incident, which attracted worldwide attention and became a focal point of global public discourse on police use of force in the United States. The case involving the attack on truck driver Reginald Denny during the civil unrest was conducted under intense national and international media scrutiny. Edi Faal’s acclaimed courtroom advocacy was the subject of contemporary press coverage, including a front page Los Angeles Times article in 1993, referring to him as a “rising legal star.”

Mr Faal has also developed substantial expertise in international arbitration and commercial international law. He has represented the Republic of The Gambia in multiple high-value proceedings before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), in London, involving complex investment treaty disputes. In one significant international arbitration, he served as Co-Lead Counsel for the Republic of The Gambia in proceedings concerning offshore petroleum exploration rights. The successful outcome preserved The Gambia’s rights over valuable offshore exploration blocks while securing a significant financial recovery for The Gambia.

A defining feature of Edi Faal’s professional career has been his longstanding commitment to the development of The Gambia’s legal institutions and the administration of justice. Since the late 1980s, he has devoted substantial time and professional expertise to strengthening legal education, professional standards, and international engagement of The Gambia’s legal system.

In 1989, he played a leading role in organizing the official visit of the President of The Gambia and a high-level governmental delegation to Los Angeles at the invitation of the Mayor of Los Angeles. The delegation included the Attorney General, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary General to the Government, and The Gambia’s Ambassador to the United States. The visit facilitated engagement with members of the legal profession, public officials, and professional organizations in California with the objective of fostering institutional relationships and encouraging professional cooperation in support of the continued development of The Gambia’s legal system.

Following his admission to the Gambian Bar in 1993, Faal established a legal practice in The Gambia with M.L. Saho, Esq, the renowned practitioner who served as the first Gambian Attorney General. After Mr Saho’s passing, Faal continued to practice in The Gambia by serving as advisory counsel or legal consultant to various law firms. In these capacities he provided legal services and strategic advice in civil, criminal, commercial and international matters. His work in The Gambia included preparation of litigation strategy, legal research, case analysis, preparation of witness examination outlines, drafting of pleadings and other court submissions for counsels of record, review and revision of briefs of argument, drafting of opening and closing arguments, trial preparation, and advisory services in significant matters before the superior courts. Mr Faal has also consulted with and provided pro bono legal advice to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Secretariat in The Gambia, and the Ministry of Justice on various matters pertaining to Gambian law and international law. In 2021, Mr Faal successfully represented the Permanent Mission of The Gambia to the United Nations in a court action in the United States.

Edi Faal’s commitment to legal education has paralleled his litigation and arbitration practice. He is a former Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, where he taught Conflict of Laws, including jurisdiction, choice of law, cross-border litigation, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. He also served on the editorial board responsible for the revision of Jefferson’s California Evidence Benchbook, an authoritative judicial reference widely used by judges and legal practitioners throughout California.

His commitment to legal education and professional development has extended internationally. He has served as a moot court judge for international law competitions organized by the American Society of International Law, involving law schools from around the world. In The Gambia, he has delivered several lectures at the Gambia Law School on advocacy, trial strategy, evidence, legal ethics, comparative legal systems, and international commercial arbitration. He has also conducted training programmes for lawyers within the Ministry of Justice, and in 2009, he presented a lecture for members of the Gambian Bar Association on standards of practice, professional responsibility, and ethical standards. For nearly a decade, he has sponsored an annual academic prize awarded to the outstanding student in Company Law and Commercial Practice at the Gambia Law School, reflecting his enduring commitment to mentoring
future generations of Gambian lawyers.

Mr Faal’s professional achievements have been recognised by numerous legal organisations. He received the Lawyer of the Year Award (1994) from the Langston Bar Association of California in recognition of outstanding professional achievement, leadership, and service. In 2026, he was selected for induction into the Langston Bar Association Hall of Fame in recognition of forty-four years of distinguished service to the legal profession. He is also the recipient of the President’s Award of the Criminal Courts Bar Association of Los Angeles for distinguished service and contributions to the administration of justice, and he has been repeatedly selected for inclusion in Southern California Super Lawyers through a peer-review process recognising lawyers who have attained a high degree of professional achievement and peer recognition.

Throughout more than four decades of professional practice, Faal has consistently combined distinguished advocacy with international arbitration, legal education, professional mentorship, and public service. In 1987, upon the invitation of the then Attorney General, Faal authored an article on the Powers of the Speaker to remove absentee members of Parliament from office in The Gambia. His career reflects extensive experience across multiple common law jurisdictions, sustained engagement with complex domestic and international legal issues, and an enduring commitment to mentoring young lawyers and supporting legal training in The Gambia. Through his practice, teaching, and public service, he has sought to promote professional excellence, integrity, and competence among young lawyers.

The documentary record demonstrates that, by letter dated 15 June 1998 (Ref. JSC/C/4(20)), the Judicial Service Commission formally recognised Mr. Edi Faal as one of The Gambia’s eminent legal practitioners and invited him to accept appointment as a Justice of the newly established Supreme Court of The Gambia. The invitation was sent to Mr. Faal at his professional offices in Los Angeles, California, where he had been engaged in active legal practice since 1982. The Commission’s decision necessarily reflected its considered assessment that Mr. Faal possessed the professional standing, legal experience, and qualifications required for appointment to the country’s highest court.

Mr Faal’s long professional career has afforded him the unique opportunity to practise at the highest levels of the legal profession in the United States, before international arbitration tribunals, and in The Gambia. This breath of experience gained over more than four decades has exposed him to complex litigation, sophisticated judicial procedures, and best international standards of legal practice. These experiences reflect a solid legal background and sustained engagement with The Gambia’s legal system, and will undoubtedly contribute to the advancement of the rule of law, the development of jurisprudence, the promotion of professional competence, ethical practice, and excellence within the Bench and Bar.