A graduate of Columbia University School of Law (1993), he served as in-house counsel to the United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO (USW) until 2019. During his tenure with the USW, he worked on significant Alien Tort Claims Act litigation against The Coca-Cola Company, Drummond, and Occidental Petroleum, arising from serious human rights violations in Colombia.

His longstanding work in defence of Colombian trade unionists led The Christian Science Monitor to describe him as "one of the most prominent defenders of Colombian workers in the United States." Mr Kovalik has received several professional distinctions, including the David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship from Stanford University School of Law and the Project Censored Award for his reporting on the killings of trade unionists in Colombia.

He has written extensively on international human rights and United States foreign policy, contributing to publications such as The Huffington Post and CounterPunch, and has lectured widely on these subjects. He is the author of several books, including The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela: How the US Is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil, which features a foreword by Oliver Stone.