Mark teaches and researches mainly in the law of property, trusts law, and jurisprudence, but also has interests in legal aspects of regulation, and the rights of indigenous peoples. A selection of Mark’s publications in these areas can be found below.
Mark returned to Victoria University of Wellington in 2010, where he undertook his undergraduate education. After graduating with an LLB(Hons) and a BA in Classics and Sociology, Mark took up a position as an Assistant Lecturer in the Law Faculty, completing an LLM with Distinction at the same time. Following this, he was awarded the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship to study for an LLM at Harvard Law School. He then undertook doctoral studies at the University of Toronto, supported by a Connaught Fellowship. His thesis ‘Legal positivism and the Rule of Law: the Hartian Response to Fuller's Challenge’ examines the competing understandings of the concept of 'the rule of law' in contemporary legal philosophy.
Areas of research and supervision interest
Legal Theory/Jurisprudence—general jurisprudence, the rule of law, property theory, political theory.
Property and Trusts Law—property theory, residential tenancies, reasonable expectation constructive trusts, wealth structuring and the avoidance of legal obligations.
Selection of publications
“Competing views on illusory trusts: The Clayton v Clayton litigation in its wider context” (2017) 11 Journal of Equity pp 48-79.
(with Joel Colon-Rios) “Public Participation in New Zealand’s Regulatory Processes” in Susy Frankel and Deborah Ryder (eds) Recalibrating Behaviour: Smarter Regulation in a Global World (LexisNexis, Wellington, 2013) pp 181-264 SSRN.
“Harvey v Beveridge: Common Intention Constructive Trusts in New Zealand” (2015) 46 Victoria University of Wellington Law Review pp 959-988 SSRN.
(with Sarah Bierre and Philippa Howden-Chapman) “Decent Expectations? The Use and Interpretation of Housing Standards in Tenancy Tribunals in New Zealand” (2014) 26 New Zealand Universities Law Review SSRN.
