John Hancock

John Hancock is a distinguished legal professional with extensive experience in human rights and child advocacy. Serving as Chief Legal Adviser at the New Zealand Human Rights Commission since February 2015, John Hancock also holds the position of Lay Member - Legal with the Health and Disability Ethics Committee at the Ministry of Health. As a Barrister since January 2009, John Hancock has represented youth as an advocate and has contributed significantly to children's rights as Principal Advisor (Legal) at The Office of the Children's Commissioner from 2011 to 2015. A former Fellow of the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, John Hancock conducted research on the Child Poverty Act 2010 in the UK and its relevance to New Zealand. John Hancock has also provided leadership as Chairperson for Action for Children and Youth Aotearoa and served in various legal capacities at YouthLaw and the Ministry of Justice's Public Advisory Committee.