Honor Lanham

Profile

Honor is an experienced criminal and civil lawyer with particular expertise in serious fraud and regulatory cases.


She represents corporate and individual clients under investigation or prosecution by regulators including Inland Revenue, the Financial Markets Authority, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Maritime New Zealand, WorkSafe, the Ministry of Primary Industries and Police.  Honor also prosecutes for the Crown as a member of the SFO’s Prosecution Panel and is appointed as counsel to assist the High Court and Coroner in notable cases.


Honor has a background in human rights law and brings this expertise to her work in litigation and inquiries.  She is a member of the New Zealand Law Society’s Human Rights and Privacy Law Committee.  She has worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Vice-Chair of the United Nations Committee Against Torture on a pro bono basis.  


Prior to joining the bar, Honor worked as a defence lawyer at the International Criminal Court, consultant to the New York County District Attorney’s Office and as a Crown Prosecutor in Wellington.  


Honor has an LLB(Hons)/BA from Otago and an LLM from Columbia University in New York. At Otago, Honor won various academic prizes and was President of the law students’ association. At Columbia, she was a James Kent scholar, the W Bayard Cutting Jnr Fellow for International Law and a William Georgetti scholar.


Profile

Honor is an experienced criminal and civil lawyer with particular expertise in serious fraud and regulatory cases.


She represents corporate and individual clients under investigation or prosecution by regulators including Inland Revenue, the Financial Markets Authority, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Maritime New Zealand, WorkSafe, the Ministry of Primary Industries and Police.  Honor also prosecutes for the Crown as a member of the SFO’s Prosecution Panel and is appointed as counsel to assist the High Court and Coroner in notable cases.


Honor has a background in human rights law and brings this expertise to her work in litigation and inquiries.  She is a member of the New Zealand Law Society’s Human Rights and Privacy Law Committee.  She has worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Vice-Chair of the United Nations Committee Against Torture on a pro bono basis.  


Prior to joining the bar, Honor worked as a defence lawyer at the International Criminal Court, consultant to the New York County District Attorney’s Office and as a Crown Prosecutor in Wellington.  


Honor has an LLB(Hons)/BA from Otago and an LLM from Columbia University in New York. At Otago, Honor won various academic prizes and was President of the law students’ association. At Columbia, she was a James Kent scholar, the W Bayard Cutting Jnr Fellow for International Law and a William Georgetti scholar.


Profile

Honor is an experienced criminal and civil lawyer with particular expertise in serious fraud and regulatory cases.


She represents corporate and individual clients under investigation or prosecution by regulators including Inland Revenue, the Financial Markets Authority, Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Maritime New Zealand, WorkSafe, the Ministry of Primary Industries and Police.  Honor also prosecutes for the Crown as a member of the SFO’s Prosecution Panel and is appointed as counsel to assist the High Court and Coroner in notable cases.


Honor has a background in human rights law and brings this expertise to her work in litigation and inquiries.  She is a member of the New Zealand Law Society’s Human Rights and Privacy Law Committee.  She has worked with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Vice-Chair of the United Nations Committee Against Torture on a pro bono basis.  


Prior to joining the bar, Honor worked as a defence lawyer at the International Criminal Court, consultant to the New York County District Attorney’s Office and as a Crown Prosecutor in Wellington.  


Honor has an LLB(Hons)/BA from Otago and an LLM from Columbia University in New York. At Otago, Honor won various academic prizes and was President of the law students’ association. At Columbia, she was a James Kent scholar, the W Bayard Cutting Jnr Fellow for International Law and a William Georgetti scholar.


Additional information

Case History
  • R v Martin [2022] (lead counsel for Crown on appointment of the SFO, $8m mortgage fraud)
  • Yu v Bradley [2022] NZCA 378 (lead counsel, successful defence of civil appeal in Court of Appeal)
  • Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care (2022) (junior counsel to Andrew Barker KC for Dilworth School)
  • Li v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2022] NZHC 514 (counsel assisting the High Court, first case to consider double recovery by Police and Inland Revenue in criminal proceeds)
  • Amaltal Fishing Co Limited v Ministry for Primary Industries [2021] NZHC 2275 (lead counsel, successful appeal against conviction)
  • Bell v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections [2021] NZHC 413 (counsel assisting the High Court, judicial review of RSA murderer, William Bell’s security classification)
  • R v Hutchison (2021) (junior counsel to John Billington KC, SFO’s prosecution of CBL Director Alistair Hutchison (now deceased))
  • East by West Company Limited v Maritime New Zealand [2020] NZHC 1912 (lead counsel, first sentence appeal concerning s 49 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015)
  • Peters v Bennett [2020] NZHC 761 (junior counsel to Bruce Gray KC, successfully defending Hon Paula Bennett and Hon Anne Tolley against tort of privacy claim)
  • R v Foster [2018] NZHC 1422 (lead counsel, $40m mortgage fraud case in Auckland High Court)
  • R v Bublitz [2017] NZHC 1059 (junior counsel to Rachael Reed KC, FMA prosecution in Auckland High Court and longest criminal trial in New Zealand’s history
Documents
  • R v Martin [2022] (lead counsel for Crown on appointment of the SFO, $8m mortgage fraud)
  • Yu v Bradley [2022] NZCA 378 (lead counsel, successful defence of civil appeal in Court of Appeal)
  • Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care (2022) (junior counsel to Andrew Barker KC for Dilworth School)
  • Li v Commissioner of Inland Revenue [2022] NZHC 514 (counsel assisting the High Court, first case to consider double recovery by Police and Inland Revenue in criminal proceeds)
  • Amaltal Fishing Co Limited v Ministry for Primary Industries [2021] NZHC 2275 (lead counsel, successful appeal against conviction)
  • Bell v Chief Executive of the Department of Corrections [2021] NZHC 413 (counsel assisting the High Court, judicial review of RSA murderer, William Bell’s security classification)
  • R v Hutchison (2021) (junior counsel to John Billington KC, SFO’s prosecution of CBL Director Alistair Hutchison (now deceased))
  • East by West Company Limited v Maritime New Zealand [2020] NZHC 1912 (lead counsel, first sentence appeal concerning s 49 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015)
  • Peters v Bennett [2020] NZHC 761 (junior counsel to Bruce Gray KC, successfully defending Hon Paula Bennett and Hon Anne Tolley against tort of privacy claim)
  • R v Foster [2018] NZHC 1422 (lead counsel, $40m mortgage fraud case in Auckland High Court)
  • R v Bublitz [2017] NZHC 1059 (junior counsel to Rachael Reed KC, FMA prosecution in Auckland High Court and longest criminal trial in New Zealand’s history
Qualifications

LLB (Hons), BA (Otago) 2010

LLM (Columbia) 2013

Barrister Sole: 2015

Honor
Lanham
[email protected]
+64 21 114 9139
+64 9 306 2773
Shortland Chambers