DQ's corporate and commercial practice advises on all Isle of Man legal and regulatory aspects of major corporate transactions, particularly M&A. The department is led by Andrew Harding, valued for his financial service regulatory expertise. The team integrates the experiences of corporate and finance expert Mark Dougherty, shipping finance specialist Donna Matthews, and Rachel Winterbach, who advises on general corporate matters. The practice depth was bolstered by the arrivals of Helen Fretwell, formerly of the Attorney General’s office, in October 2024 and Matthew Wilkinson from Cains in January 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
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Profile
Work Department
Corporate and commercial.
Position
Managing Director.
Mark has extensive experience in the Isle of Man in corporate and commercial law and is consistently ranked as one of the top corporate and commercial lawyers on the Island.
Mark regularly advises multi-national companies, listed entities, banks and private equity houses as well as high net worth individuals in a wide range of Isle of Man corporate and commercial matters.
Mark is a qualified notary public.
Mark’s specialist areas of practice are banking, capital markets, shipping, mergers and acquisitions and general corporate matters.
Career
Trained Simcocks Advocates; qualified Isle of Man 1999, England and Wales 2000; Appleby Spurling & Kempe, Bermuda (now Appleby) 2000-01; Dougherty Quinn (now DQ Advocates) 2001, director 2005.
Languages
English
Memberships
Sits on IOM Government Finance Agency – a public private partnership looking at the economic future of the Isle of Man. Past member of Isle of Man Law Society Council (Head of Education).
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'DQ is very responsive, efficient and collaborative on cross-border transactions.' We worked with Helen Fretwell, who was very responsive and worked effectively to transaction timelines.' 'This practice stands out for its deep knowledge and expertise, which allowed them to provide clear guidance and efficiently navigate us through the process to completion.' 'Both Helen Fretwell and Andrew Harding are highly knowledgeable, professional, and provided clear guidance throughout the process. Their expertise and responsiveness made the experience seamless and efficient.' 'Barry Smith at DQ is outstanding to work with. Very responsive and knows his area well. He is my go-to for Isle of Man corporate and company work and transactional queries.'
Work highlights
Advised Downtown Music Holdings (IOM) Limited in relation to the Isle of Man law aspects of the disposal of Downtown Music Holdings LLC.