Tompkins Wake

Corporate & Commercial

Special Counsel

Mark is a highly experienced corporate and commercial lawyer. He advises New Zealand and international companies on a range of matters such as mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, private equity, venture capital, corporate recovery and international investment. Mark merged his practice with Tompkins Wake in 2020.

Mark is a member of the firm's technology and digital practice, acting for a wide range of clients from start-ups to global brands on local and international matters.

Mark commenced practice at Simpson Grierson. After a period as in-house counsel for BP Oil New Zealand, he founded Lowndes Jordan in 1986 as New Zealand’s first ’boutique’ law firm, and the first New Zealand law firm to be ISO 9001 certified. Mark is known as an innovator in the legal profession. 

In 1997 he founded corporate and commercial law specialist firm Lowndes, which combined the partner accessibility and client-focus of a boutique firm with the knowledge and range of senior specialist expertise of a large commercial law firm. The firm and its directors were ranked across the international legal industry directories as a leading firm and/or leading practitioners across seven areas of law. The firm ceased practising when Mark merged his practice with Tompkins Wake.

Alongside his corporate advisory work, Mark holds company directorships and trusteeships in New Zealand and internationally. He is a Certified Member of the Institute of Directors and has served as a mentor for the Institute's training programmes.

Mark is a recent Chair of Multilaw, a leading global association of over 10,000 lawyers practising in 100 countries, and ranked as ‘Elite’ by Chambers Global. He is active in the Inter-Pacific Bar Association where he is Vice-Chair of the Legal Practice Committee.

Mark is recommended as a leading lawyer by prominent international legal industry directories including Chambers Asia Pacific, Asialaw Profiles (‘a Market Leading Lawyer’), IFLR1000 (‘a highly regarded individual’), and Best Lawyers in New Zealand.

Mark has served as a judge of the New Zealand Law Awards and the Australian Law Awards for some years.

English

AEA International Lawyers Association American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand Angel Association New Zealand British New Zealand Business Association Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) Institute of Directors NZ International Bar Association (IBA) Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA) Justinian Lawyers New Zealand Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (NZVCA) Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association New Zealand Incorporated (RITANZ)

Bachelor of Laws (Honours) Bachelor of Commerce Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia Certified Member of the Institute of Directors Honorary Consul of the Republic of Mauritius to New Zealand Knight Grand Officer Portugal Knight Order of St Michael of the Wing Portugal Cross of Merit Sovereign Military Order Knights of Malta