Harold Joseph Hanson (9 August 1904 – 17 February 1973) was an eminent South African advocate (QC) and Senior Member of the Johannesburg Bar Council.
He appeared for the plaintiff, defendant or accused in a number of the most important and lengthy cases in South African legal history.
[2] He is perhaps best known for his contribution to the last day of the Rivonia Trial (12 June 1964) in which he accepted a request from his colleague and friend Bram Fischer to argue mitigation for the accused.
Alan Paton, novelist, national president of the Liberal Party, a devout Christian and opponent of violence was called as the only witness.
Ultimately the presiding judge, Justice Quartus de Wet, commuted the death penalty for high treason to life imprisonment.