Hamada Zahawi is an International Attorney-Advisor with the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Zahawi is assigned primarily to work on legal reform and economic development issues with Iraq and countries in the Arabian Peninsula.

Prior to joining CLDP, Mr. Zahawi was in private practice with a focus on International Commercial Law, Islamic/Middle East Finance, and International Project Finance Law. Mr. Zahawi also co-founded a global education consulting company.

Mr. Zahawi earned his Juris Doctorate at the University of California-Berkeley (Boalt Hall), where he co-founded the Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law (JMEIL) and was on the Editorial Board of the California Law Review. Mr. Zahawi also holds a Masters (MPhil) in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, where he focused his studies on modern Middle East economic, legal, and social affairs. He earned his Bachelor degree in History and Political Science (minor) from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), graduating Summa Cum Laude. Mr. Zahawi is fluent in Arabic and conversational in Spanish, and is admitted to practice law in the State of California and the District of Columbia.