Our People
We take great care in vetting our lawyers to make sure they observe the highest standards of confidentiality and integrity because in Iraq this unfortunately can be a problem. It is for this reason QC Law Firm concentrates on the quality of its lawyers rather than the quantity.
Zainab was admitted to the Iraqi Bar Association in 2002 and qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2005.
Zainab Al Qurnawi is unique in that she is one of the very few lawyers dually qualified both in Iraq and England/Wales thus understanding both the common law and the civil law concepts. She has also held positions both in-house and with international law firms, giving her a detailed understanding of the needs of businesses.
She was born, raised and educated in Iraq. Zainab was admitted to the Iraqi Bar Association in 2002 and qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2005. She undertook her English training in London with one of the largest leading international law firms (Clyde & Co) and practised there for a number of years. Zainab also worked on secondment with JP Morgan Chase Bank in London for one year and with ADWOC (a leading drilling company in Tripoli, Libya) for several months.
Zainab returned to the Middle East (Dubai, U.A.E.) at the beginning of 2011 to take up a post within Royal Dutch Shell’s legal department concentrating on oil and gas matters in various parts of the region, particularly Shell’s huge interests in Iraq.
Zainab then left Shell to take up a post with Clyde & Co Dubai in their Corporate Department again primarily specialising in advising clients wishing to undertake business in Iraq. In January 2014, Zainab left Clyde & Co to set up QC Law Firm.
Zainab has spoken at several conferences on Iraq oil/gas and infrastructure in London, UAE and Iraq as well as having written a number of articles and broadcast on the BBC’s World Service and Dubai Eye.
In addition to the Principal, the firm has a number of first class lawyers and has offices in Baghdad and Basra.
In July 2024, Zainab was appointed the member for Iraq on the ICC Court of Arbitration in Paris for a 3 year term.
Paul has over 40 years of commercial legal experience as a partner in City of London legal firms, including 11 years as a partner with Clyde & Co and 15 years running his own firm. He was also Head of Arbitration for several years at the Middle East's largest law firm based in the UAE. He currently acts a Senior Consultant at QC Law Firm, a law firm providing specialist advice to companies operating in Iraq.
His experience has been largely in the field of international disputes before the LCIA, ICC, LMAA, LME, RSA, GAFTA, FOSFA, SAL, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce as well as court cases in the English High Court, Court of Appeal and the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court). He has also handled ad hoc arbitrations in Geneva, Moscow, Doha, London and Dubai.
His clients over the years have included the Governments of various Middle Eastern countries and Central Asia plus some of the world's largest commodity companies.
Paul has also acted as an arbitrator in proceedings under the rules of the ICC, LCIA, LMAA, DIFC-LCIA, DIAC and in a number of ad hoc matters.
Since 2017 Omar has been working for QC Law Firm as a Senior Consultant and is an important member of the team. Omar specializes in a wide range of Iraqi legal matters and has handled numerous Iraqi law legal actions including civil law & civil procedures, enforcement law, corporate & banking, commercial, litigation, agency and distribution, employment, foreign residency law, shipping, criminal law and procedures, customs & Import, Government Procurement Regulations.
Prior to private legal practice, Omar worked for four years as in-house counsel with the Basra Governorate Council, Basra Investment Commission (BIC), and the Council of Ministers Secretariat, Prime Ministry office.
Since 2022 Mahmoud has been working for QC Law Firm as a Senior Consultant and is a valuable member of the team.
Mahmoud has over 30 years’ experience in Iraqi law matters with specific focus on company and corporate matters especially registration of companies and branches of foreign companies; selling, buying, increasing/decreasing of share capital and various companies’ interests and corporate transactions including sorting out companies’ and branches’ affairs with the Iraqi tax authorities and social security department; liquidation issues.
Fatima joined QC in 2021 and her responsibilities include managing companies and branch offices registrations with the Iraqi Companies Registry and overseeing a variety of day-to-day corporate tasks as well as taking part in liquidation processes.
She actively supports court proceedings by appearing alongside senior counsel at hearings before the civil courts,investigating magistrates and labour courts. Fatima also engages with various state entities and government departments to deal with matters/enquiries on behalf of clients. Fatima additionally conducts in-depth legal research across a broad range of Iraqi laws and principles.
Yusur is a court certified legal translator based in Baghdad, with extensive experience in interpretation and office administration. She graduated as the top student from the Department of English and third overall from the College of Arts at the University of Baghdad. She also holds a Master's degree in English Literature.