Panels and List
Farm Debt Mediation, National Panel of Conciliators, Rural List
Profession
Lawyer, Barrister, Mediator, Facilitator, Adjudicator, Arbitrator, Advocate, Consultant, Farm Specialist, Director, Solicitor
Speciality Area
Farm Debt Mediation, International, Rural & Primary Industry, Arbitration and Litigation, Banking, Commercial, Business, Management, Employment and Labour Relations, Environmental, Real Estate, Resource Management, Sport, Companies, Rural
Region covered
Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Wellington, Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, West Coast, Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Overseas
Career Summary
Mark is a senior commercial lawyer with offices in Rotorua and Auckland. He is a farming expert, and is one of New Zealand's top agri-business lawyers. Mark has an enviable track record of over 25 years' practicing in the rural sector, including in resolving hundreds of farming disputes.
Together with two fellow Trustees Mark also runs a large mixed portfolio farming group with seven dairy and drystock farms in the North and South Islands.
Appointments
Rural Dispute Resolution
In his career Mark has acted for private individuals, government entities and major international corporations. He has participated in rural dispute matters as an advocate lawyer, as a Conciliator, as a Mediator and as an Arbitrator.
Mark has assisted many dairy farming, dry stock farming, horticultural and viticulture parties - including Farm Owners, Managers, Sharemilkers (50/50 and Lower Order), Contract Milkers and Rural Suppliers, Kiwifruit Orchardists and Vineyard Owners.
Mark is available for appointment as a Sharemilking Conciliator, Mediator or Arbitrator in all agribusiness dispute matters throughout New Zealand
Speciality Areas
Farm Debt Mediation
As well as assisting many farming and other agribusiness parties Mark has also acted for leading Rural Lenders and Insolvency Practitioners. Among other Lender involvements he was a member of the Bank of New Zealand Advisory Board, Central Plateau Region, between 2011-2013.
Mark holds qualifications in the below primary sector economics and financial areas:
Implications of trading in global commodity markets
Role of primary and secondary creditors in farm operations
Land holding and business arrangements, e.g. family trust, corporate farmers, Maori land, lairage, sharemilking and cross-loans
Farm financial and business planning tools
Role of cooperative structures and arrangements
Tax arrangements and obligations
Knowledge of insolvency processes including receiverships, and succession planning
Mark and well-known PriceWaterhouseCoopers Insolvency Practitioner John Fisk jointly presented on Potential Settlement Options to the joint AMINZ/Resolution Institute First Farm Debt Mediation Training Day in early 2020.
