The partners and staff of Hesketh Henry extend their deepest condolences to the Henry family following the passing of the Rt Hon Sir John Steele Henry KNZM PC KC on 24 July 2026, aged 94.
Sir John was the son of Sir Trevor Henry, a founding partner of Wilson Henry Sinclair & Martin, one of the constituent law firms of Hesketh Henry and later a High Court judge. Fittingly, Sir John was admitted to the bar in 1955 on the same day his father was sworn in as a Judge of the High Court of New Zealand. With Sir Trevor now on the bench, the young John Henry stepped up to become a partner of the firm, ensuring the Henry name remained over the door – where it remains at Hesketh Henry to this day.
Sir John worked as a barrister and solicitor at Wilson Henry Sinclair & Martin (now Hesketh Henry) for 25 years until he went to the independent bar in 1980. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in the same year. He also served as President of the Auckland District Law Society from 1979 to 1980, and Vice-President of the New Zealand Law Society from 1980 to 1981.
In 1984, he was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of New Zealand, where he had a distinguished career, serving as a Commercial List Judge and later as Executive Judge of the High Court in Auckland. He was appointed a permanent member of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand in 1995.
In 1996 he became a member of the Privy Council, sitting on its Judicial Committee. After his retirement from the Court of Appeal, he was appointed as an Active Judge of the then newly established Supreme Court of New Zealand from 2004 to 2007. He also served as a judge of the High Court of the Cook Islands, and as President of the Pitcairn Islands Court of Appeal. In 2001 he was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, later converted to a knighthood in 2009.
Sir John will be fondly remembered at Hesketh Henry not only as an outstanding pillar of the legal profession but also as a deeply ingrained part of the firm’s history.
