Donna Matthews > DQ > Douglas, Isle Of Man > Lawyer Profile

Banking and finance work is a mainstay of DQ‘s active practice, which advises both lenders and borrowers. Andrew Harding heads up the department, with a deep understanding of financial regulations and secured finance matters. Mark Dougherty and Donna Matthews are both active in the ship financing space, acting for some of the largest maritime lenders.

DQ is an independent law firm which offers specialist tax, regulatory, and compliance services. Andrew Harding leads the practice and has an in-depth understanding of financial services regulation. As well as general commercial expertise, Mark Dougherty is experienced in Bermudan and shipping law. Annemarie Hughes is recognised for her commercial expertise, particularly regarding trust and tax law, and Donna Matthews manages a broad range of commercial matters, undertaking work for ship financiers.

DQ‘s dedicated tax and private client team undertakes a ‘wide and varied’ workload on behalf of leading banks, law firms, trustee providers, and accounting practices. Team leader Annemarie Hughes has notable experience in trust and private client matters, as well as international tax investigations, while Donna Matthews advises on the full spectrum of trust matters, from day-to-day administration issues to complex restructurings. Catherine French routinely assists corporate service providers and family offices with complicated trust and tax matters, such as economic substance issues. Joshua Quinn recently joined from M&P Legal.

DQ is highly active in the shipping industry, acting on a notable volume of international maritime transactions and financings. The team is led by Mark Dougherty, who has experience in ship financing mandates involving the Isle of Man and Bermuda, while Donna Matthews counts several ship finance lenders as clients. In the aviation space, the firm acts on multijurisdictional transactions, aircraft registrations, security documentation, and regulatory mandates.