Stephen is the founding and managing partner of LangtonHudson, Lawyers. Rated by independent legal directories and peers as one of the leading employment lawyers in New Zealand, Stephen has a busy advisory and litigation practice and acts as trusted advisor to clients on a wide range of employment law and industrial relations issues.  He subscribes to the view that “employment law is, more often than not, urgent and important for a client’s business, or their livelihood; they need to be able to access high level, expert but commercial and practical advice, in a timely fashion and with a correspondingly high level of service“.

Stephen has appeared as counsel in a number of significant “employment” cases, both in the Employment Institutions (the Employment Relations Authority and the Employment Court), the Human Rights Review Tribunal, and in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court.  He has particular interests and expertise in employee competition cases (including fiduciary duty and “team move” claims, misuse of confidential information and restraint of trade claims), claims involving the Employment Institutions’ jurisdiction and their powers, and minimum entitlement claims.

“Stephen Langton has exceptional judgement on complex and high-risk matters. He is highly dependable and trusted by us.”

“He is a very strategic thinker, a great negotiator and a superb courtroom litigator.”

— Chambers and Partners Guide 2025

University of Auckland, LLB, BA (1994)
Harvard Business School, Leading Professional Service Firms (2015)
Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand
Member, The New Zealand Law Society (NZLS)
Member, The Law Association

Partner, LangtonHudson, Lawyers 2005 – present
Kiely Thompson Caisley, 1997 – 2005 (Partner 2000 – 2005)
Solicitor, Hesketh Henry, 1994 – 1997

Search and Freezing Orders

• Counsel for the plaintiff in TradeZone Industrial Group Ltd v Stanton [2025] NZEmpC 15, an Employment Court case where the plaintiff obtained freezing and ancillary orders following the defendant’s fraudulent misuse of the employer’s funds.
• Counsel for the plaintiff in Plan B Limited v Tam Roberts [2019] NZEmpC 108, an Employment Court search order case.

Employee competition

• Counsel for a corporate plaintiff in a “team move” case in the investment banking industry where multiple departing employees were sued for breach of their employment and limited fiduciary duties and misuse of confidential information.
• Counsel for a former managing director and his new employer in a “team move” case brought against him for breaches of his fiduciary duties where a team of investment brokers resigned en masse to join a new competitor.
• Counsel for a well-known utilities company in a proceeding in the High Court against a team of its employees who resigned en masse to join the direct competitor, and the competitor. Computer forensic discovery disclosed a sophisticated plan to leave in order to harm the plaintiff’s business.
• Counsel for the plaintiff in Transpacific Industries v Harris and Green [2013] NZEmpC 97 (Full Employment Court), a leading employment case on the enforceability of post-employment restraints of trade.

Minimum entitlement claims

• Counsel for Tourism Holdings Limited v A Labour Inspector of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [2021] NZSC 157 (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Employment Court), the leading case on holiday pay on variable commission payments.
• Counsel for the intervener in Gill Pizza Limited and Ors v A Labour Inspector of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [2021] NZSC 157 (Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Full Employment Court).
• Counsel for the plaintiff in Howell v Zeetags [2014] NZEmpC 25 (Employment Court), the leading case on holiday pay on incentive payments paid after the employment has ended.

Good faith

• Counsel for the plaintiff in Birthing Centre v Matsas and Ors [2023] NZEmpC 162 (Employment Court), the leading case on the employer’s obligations to consult with employees on confidential commercial transactions, and the application of the statutory exemption to do so.

Jurisdiction

• Counsel for the plaintiff in GEA Process Engineering Limited v Schicker [2019] NZEmpC 166 (Employment Court), a case on the (lack of) powers of the Employment Relations Authority to strike out a claim without investigating it.

Industrial relations

• Counsel for the defendant in proceedings removed to the Employment Court in Maritime Union of New Zealand Inc v China Navigation Company Pte Ltd [2016] NZEmpC 111, a case on the extent to which an employer is required to bargain with a union for a CA in a Greenfields situation, before the union has any member employees.
• Counsel for the successful defendant in National Distribution Union Inc v General Distributors Ltd [2010] NZEmpC 147 (Full Employment Court), the test case on passing on of terms and conditions of employment.

Human Rights

• Counsel for the successful appellant in Claymore Management Limited v Anderson [2003] 2 NZLR 537 (High Court), an appeal from the decision of the Human Rights review Tribunal, and the first and then leading case on indirect discrimination in the workplace.
• Counsel for the defendant in test case proceedings in the Human Rights Review Tribunal, in which the lawfulness of its actions to manage breastfeeding on private property were challenged.

Other

• Counsel for the Government of Niue and Director of Telecommunications in its Commission of Inquiry into the ownership of Niue’s Country Code Top Level Domain Name (CCTLD) “.nu”.
• Counsel for the successful appellant in Williams v Willems (unreported, High Court Hamilton, A62/00, 21 March 2001, per Hammond J), a case on judicial bias by the original trial judge.