Qualifications

• Graduated from the University of New Zealand with LLB Degree 1960

Professional Experience

• Consultant, Johnston Prichard Fee Limited, 2018 - present
• Director, Johnston Prichard Fee Limited, 2011 - 2018
• Partner, Johnston Prichard Fee/Johnston Prichard Fee & Partners 1965 to 2010.

Specialisation

• Colin's area of specialisation from the time he first began practice until the last ten years has been in the field of litigation, primarily civil (commercial) and insurance litigation.
• Over the past ten years Colin has slowly moved away from direct litigation specialisation to a specialisation more focused on commercial, contractual, property and trust issues.

The first 25 years

The new Zealand Law Reports include reported decisions in which Colin successfully argues difficult issues and points for clients before the High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Examples are:-

• Pukekohe Joinery Limited v Sargent [1974] 2 NZLR 506
• North Shore Demolitions v McKay [1978] 1 NZLR 454
• Samuel v District Land Registrar [1984] 2 NZLR 697

The middle years

Throughout the middle part of his career and up to the last 10 to 15 years Colin's specialisation and focus was mainly on insurance litigation and within that field, professional indemnity insurance litigation, in particular. Acting mainly on instructions from FAI Insurance, Colin represented the insurer in many of the major professional indemnity insurance claims of the period involving defalcations from solicitors trust accounts (including the Renshaw Edwards claims).

He also acted as solicitor for the insurer of the law firm involved in what was at that time the biggest civil action ever to come before the New Zealand Courts (The Equiticorp litigation).

The past 10 to 15 years to present

Over the past 10 to 15 years Colin has been moving away from his litigation specialisation towards contractual documentation, civil and commercial issues, plus property, trust and estate planning issues. Bringing to bear, though, on those areas of his practice, the knowledge, background and experience derived from his long involvement in the litigation field.