The awards evening culminated in the ACC Middle East Achievement Award, whose recipient is chosen by the board of the ACC Middle East chapter. This year, the award went to the legal team at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), which is led by head of legal Salem Al Darei. The legal department caught the eye of the judges for its work training Emirati lawyers and thereby supporting the UAE’s Emiratisation programme, which has been running for more than a decade. ADNOC’s training and development programme includes providing law graduates with sponsored education in the UAE, the UK and US, as well as on-the-job training at ADNOC. The training is underpinned by a mentoring programme for each trainee and junior member of staff.
“The intention is to create a well-educated and well-trained cadre of Emirati lawyers not only for the benefit of ADNOC, but the UAE as a whole,” said Fred Holc, manager of commercial agreements and contracts, who collected the award on behalf of the team from Elias Hayek, chairman of the ACC Middle East group.
