Mark Rowlands

Office Location

British Virgin Islands

Short Biography

Mark Rowlands specialises in complex international and cross-border disputes and investigations with a focus on contentious trusts, corporate and investment structures, duties of fiduciaries, and sanctions. Mark is regularly instructed by ultra-high-net-worth individuals to advise and act in connection with complex matters often involving multiple jurisdictions and engaging private, public, and regulatory issues. Before joining Kobre & Kim, Mark practiced at another leading BVI law firm, where he handled a wide range of matters involving contentious trusts, complex fraud, and corporate insolvency. Before that, he practiced as an independent barrister at the chambers of Sir Geoffrey Cox KC, the former Attorney General of England and Wales, specialising in commercial chancery, insolvency and property law. In 2014 he opened and managed an affiliate office of chambers in the Ebene Cybercity, Mauritius, specialising in private-client, insolvency, and arbitration work.

What is your favorite restaurant to take a client or colleague to?

El Rincon Latino, Sea Cow's Bay, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

Everything you say should be focused on your client's situation and helping them move forward: even if you're breaking bad news, always have strategies at the ready with which to ameliorate the problem or solve it altogether.

What was your first job?

Restaurant pianist

What is the book you recommend to everyone?

The Daughter Of Time, Josephine Tey

What changes do you expect to see in your practice over the next year?

Increased litigation in various jurisdictions concerning Russia sanctions, scope of general licences, interpretation of prohibitions and offences, use of litigation tools to resolve structural issues affecting trusts and companies.