Mark Sherry

Mark has practised law at Harmans since 1995 and was appointed a Partner in 2002. He is currently the Managing Partner of the firm and jointly leads our large commercial and property law team, specialising in commercial property , business and commercial law, franchising, rural law and asset protection.

In 2015 Mark was elected to 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 of the PLS and has a special interest in commercial and business matters.  He has a particular focus on franchising and is convenor of the Canterbury committee of the Franchise Association of New Zealand (“FANZ”).  He has been a specialist scrutineer of franchise documents for FANZ to ensure that member 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 Aspire Canterbury, the Disabled Persons Centre Trust.

Some of Mark’s recent work/projects include:

• Acting for developer of a new commercial precinct in Rolleston, including associated construction, financing, leasing and sale matters.
• Acting for the developer of a large scale commercial development in Rakaia, including structuring of entities, financing, subdivisions and sale of lots.
• Acting on the negotiation of a large scale solar farm project in Mid-Canterbury.
• Acting for prominent Queenstown developers creating complex residential subdivisions along Frankton Hill. 
• Acting for and advising 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 while each person received a fair outcome.