About

Formerly a lawyer for the Ukrainian government, at the Defence and Justice Ministries and then a lawyer for the Ukrainian parliament, Irina Kovalchuk originally moved to the Middle East to practice arbitration with Al Tamimi before joining Zakher Marine International (ZMI) where she is now head of legal. She names three major transactions that have had a major impact on her as an in-house lawyer. ‘As well as advising on a loan facility supported by Sinosure totalling US$123m, I advised on a US$200m construction contract for a shipbuilding programme for accommodation barges and settled a US$24m dispute with a Chinese shipbuilder’, she recalls. ‘While working on these transactions, I gained valuable international experience, negotiating and diplomatic skills and realised the importance of soft skills – patience, flexibility and compromise in the daily life of a business lawyer’. She has also had a major impact on the overall legal function at ZMI: ‘I optimised expenses for external legal counsel by establishing an advising panel and taking the lead over all legal aspects of the company. I have expanded the legal department and created an efficient legal advising structure within the company and ensure the legal department is working closely with the commercial side of the company and taking an integral role in the company’s business’.