Mark has practised law since 1995, and became a partner at Harmans in 2002.  He is currently the Managing Partner of the firm. He leads a large commercial and property team, specialising in franchising, hospitality, rural law, property matters and asset protection.

In 2015 Mark was elected onto the Executive Committee of the New Zealand Law Society’s Property Law Section (“PLS).  After serving four years as the deputy chair of the PLS, Mark was elected as the chair in 2021.  The PLS is seen as being at the forefront of all matters relating to property law in New Zealand.  In addition to that Mark sits on the Council of the New Zealand Law Society.

Mark is an Accredited Property Specialist and also has a specialist interest in commercial and business matters.  He has a particular focus on franchising.  He is convenor of the Canterbury committee of the Franchise Association of New Zealand (“FANZ”) and he regularly writes for a specialist franchise magazine.  He has also been a specialist scrutineer of franchise documents for FANZ to ensure that member’s documents comply with all compulsory rules and procedures.

Mark is a member of the Institute of Directors, and is the honorary solicitor for both the DARE Foundation of New Zealand and for Aspire Canterbury, the Disabled Persons Centre Trust.

His leisure time interests include running, mountain biking, playing golf, fishing and white-baiting as well as regular walks with his St Bernard. He is an avid rugby and cricket supporter and a self-proclaimed one-eyed Cantabrian.

Recent projects / work 

• Acting for prominent Queenstown developers creating complex residential subdivisions along Frankton Hill. 
• Acting for and advising a large commercial property owner in relation to the acquisition and leasing of a high profile shopping mall.
• Acting for and advising a large commercial property owner in relation to the acquisition of a vacant “as is” commercial building, associated building and financing matters, remediation and construction matters, and then the leasing of that building as a five star hotel.
• Advising the trustees and associated companies of a prominent Christchurch investment family in relation to their commercial affairs, including a high profile project associated with the regeneration of Christchurch after the earthquakes.
• Acting for a franchisee of a well-known franchise system in disputes with the franchisor.
• Advising a multi-generational farming family on succession issues, chairing family meetings and being instrumental in assisting them reach a resolution from disparate positions so that the farm remained in the family but each person received a fair outcome.

Many of the articles Mark has written can be found here.