Catching up with… Ann Mazzucco

Ann was an Associate, and then Senior Associate at HFW between 1998 to 2009, working in the London, Dubai, Shanghai, and Piraeus offices. She is now based in Abu Dhabi at ADNOC Group.

I was born and bred in Surrey in the United Kingdom. From the age of three I vividly remember wanting to be a palaeontologist, digging up dinosaurs in the Gobi Desert – a far cry from law! I studied German and Japanese at university and spent a year teaching in Japan. On my return I remembered a teacher of mine once said that a career in law would suit me, so I pursued this. Though, this same teacher also said that a career in the diplomatic service would be a good option. Just as well I didn’t go down that route as I am known for being very undiplomatic and straight talking. I submitted hundreds of applications to hundreds of law firms and secured three interviews. Two of these were at stuffy, boring, corporate type city law firms. The other was at a fun firm; Ince & Co. I joined Ince as a Trainee Solicitor in 1996 and fell into shipping, which is ironic given how seasick I get. I absolutely loved it and 20 years later, I still love shipping!

On completion of my training contract I joined HFW as an Associate in 1998 where I worked on dry shipping litigation and arbitration. Later adding drafting to my repertoire. I worked in HFW’s London office for eight years and then completed secondments in Dubai, Shanghai, and Piraeus.

In London I shared an office with Nick Roberson. We were fellow cyclists and would often leave our cycle gear to air in our room which unsurprisingly seemed to deter visitors. We had a laugh on the 4th Floor of Marlow House, I fondly remember Champagne Thursdays. I initially went to Dubai as holiday cover which kept being extended, when HFW took over the Hill Dickinson office there. I loved it so much in Dubai and hinted that I would be very interested in any opportunities that should arise there. Luckily, those hints were sufficiently heavy (remember – undiplomatic and straight talking) to result in a move to Dubai.

My time at HFW took me all over the world which I look back fondly on, though some adjustments were required. When I first moved to Shanghai, I pretended to be vegan as I was yet to acquire a taste for the local delicacies found in backstreet restaurants which included things like bullfrogs and chicken feet. However, the biggest culture shock for me was living in Piraeus. I am half-Italian and this part of Greece at this time reminded me of the Italy I used to visit as a child. As an early riser, my body clock did not get on with the pace of life there, where you start work late and party late. People were often heading out for the night as I was on my way back home from parties.

I left HFW in 2012 to work with Graham Harris at a boutique shipping firm in London, Thomas Cooper. I worked there for two years before moving with Graham to Squire Patton Boggs in London. I continued to specialise in dry shipping, charterparty, bill of lading and cargo claims (wet and dry), ship building contracts, drafting charterparties and ship sale and purchase agreements.

In 2017, I joined ADNOC Group in Abu Dhabi as General Counsel of its maritime arm (ADNOC Logistics & Services, known as ADNOC L&S) where I headed the reorganisation of ADNOC’s maritime group of companies, the “merger” of three companies into one, and led ADNOC L&S’ first joint venture. I restructured the chartering business and redrafted their charterparties. I regularly advised on project work, structuring, vessel sale and purchase and new builds and also dealt with maritime disputes. In 2021, I moved to ADNOC HQ to oversee all maritime work at ADNOC HQ and across the Group companies. Gordon Inkson, with whom I worked when I was with HFW in Dubai, has taken over my role as ADNOC L&S’ General Counsel.

I would say that the UAE is my favourite of all the places I have lived. I had a brilliant Arabic teacher who equipped me with enough to get by after a few months – my attempts at learning Greek and Mandarin were far less successful! I love the weather, the people and it’s a very safe place to live. There is so much more to the UAE than the shopping malls of Dubai – there are mountains and deserts with huge opportunities to go hiking, off-roading (wadi and dune bashing), camping, diving, snorkelling. Also, Oman is relatively nearby – a few hours’ drive away (well, longer if I’m driving) – and is one of my favourite countries to visit.

For anyone visiting Abu Dhabi I would recommend doing a bus tour, visiting the Grand Mosque, going to Al Hosn fort, the F1 track, having a Friday (which given the recent change to our working week has become a Saturday) brunch, going to the camel races and a camel beauty contest. Interestingly, 40 camels were disqualified from Saudi Arabia’s recent camel beauty pageant for allegedly having botox and other cosmetic enhancements!

Outside work I like to keep active and enjoy off-road mountain biking and cycling which I do all year round despite the intense summer heat and humidity. I also enjoy hiking, foreign and domestic travel and am passionate about wildlife and conservation. I have kept in touch with various HFW colleagues including Rula Dajani Abuljebain, Damian Honey, Sam Wakeley, Alistair Mackie and Jo Palin. I am not part of any other companies’ alumni networks but have found it interesting to see what people have done post-HFW. It was a fantastic steppingstone for me. Going from contentious private practice to predominantly non-contentious inhouse General Counsel was an unusual transition so I would be interested to hear how others in the alumni network made this transition. That said, in my current role, I am going more back to my roots.