Mark focuses on divorce and family law, in particular international cases and those involving trusts. He also deals with pre-nuptial and pre-civil partnership agreements.
Mark also acts in international children’s cases, including relocation cases. His Court of Appeal case of K v K helped to shape the law on relocation. In S v S, Mark achieved relocation but also change of primary carer for the children.
Mark was ranked one of the top ten UK family lawyers in Spear’s Wealth Managements’ Family law index 2017, 2018, and 2019 and was described as “without doubt the best technician in London”.
He was also ranked in The Lawyer’s ‘Hot 100 lawyers’ under Family and Private Client and is listed among the Top 10 Family & Matrimonial Lawyers in Citywealth’s Leaders List and Spear’s Family Law Index’s ‘Top Flight Family Lawyers’. Mark is also listed in Tatler Address Book’s Advisory as one of the leading family lawyers in their trusted network of influential and elite private client experts with “gilt-edged” expertise.
Mark is the co-author of three leading textbooks on family law: International Trust and Divorce Litigation (Third Edition), Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnership – The New Law, and Model Letters for Family Lawyers, all published by Jordans. Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, in a review of International Trust and Divorce Litigation said “This is a book which needs to be in the bookcase and in the briefcase of everyone involved on a divorce case with a trust element”.
Mark is a regular commentator on family law issues in the press and TV, having appeared on BBC News and Radio 4’s Today programme. He regularly lectures in England and in offshore jurisdictions on a broad range of family law issues, especially trusts on divorce and pre-nuptial agreements, and was the European Chapter President of the International Academy of Family Lawyers between 2014 and 2016.
Mark continues to have a strong presence in the UK’s top legal directories, having been ranked for nearly 30 years. Chambers UK 2026 reconfirms Mark’s Band 1 ranking for Family/Matrimonial Finance: Ultra High Net Worth, stating Mark is “a really deep thinker. He is genuinely thinking on the client’s behalf and is exceptionally bright.” The Guide further enthuses that Mark is “a market leader and extremely good on trust issues.”
Chambers HNW 2026 highlights that Mark is a “born fighter who goes the extra mile for all his clients.”
The Legal 500 UK 2026 ranks Mark as a ‘Leading Partner’. The guide has noted “Mark Harper continues to stand out as a leading practitioner. His experience in international matters and trusts positions him as the ‘go to’ lawyer in these complex areas. His down-to-earth manner is greatly appreciated.”
Mark has a keen interest in architecture, foreign travel and classic cars.
Mark studied at Pembroke College, Oxford and Guildhall University, London. He qualified as a solicitor in 1988 and was a partner at Withers from 1999 until September 2014, when he joined Hughes Fowler Carruthers.
Hughes Fowler Carruthers is the trading name of Hughes Fowler Carruthers LLP and Hughes Fowler Carruthers Ltd. These are separate legal entities. From 1 April 2025 all new clients or new matters will be clients of the LLP. Any ongoing matters after this date will continue to be serviced by the Ltd.