He served as Auckland District Law Society president from 1985 to 1986, was Vice President of the New Zealand Law Society, and was awarded a commemoration medal for services to the law following the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi.
For his daughter Joanna, of Pidgeon Law, Colin was a fantastic father whom she looked up to and admired. "He was a very principled person, with high standards, and he always sought to help the underdog.
"He was a very kind, unassuming, and quite humble person with a sharp intellect. He was probably more of an introvert but when he performed as counsel he was quite something."
Law in the family
Four of his six children originally pursued law at university, which is a reflection of how his children saw him, which was that he thoroughly enjoyed and was passionate about what he did, Joanna said.
Of those four Richard Pidgeon (a barrister) and Joanna remain in practice, while David is captain of a super yacht out of Spain and Sarah is an Anglican ordinand. Philippa and Virginia pursued ballet overseas. Virginia remains in London, Philippa in Christchurch.
"There was never any pressure to pursue law, but we all saw the enjoyment and satisfaction dad had in his career. Mum and dad always encouraged us to do our best, and supported us in any endeavour we had. They really believed we could achieve anything."
Then having only one family car, Colin would take the bus from Torbay everyday, and he would use this time to read law reports.
In the days when the discovery process included 10,000 pieces of evidence, Colin would not delegate the task of reading through the information to juniors, as is now common practice, instead doing everything himself.
"There is nothing like really being on top of the material."
Which is why, perhaps, he was known for being an extraordinary litigator. In fact former acting judge of the Supreme Court the Rt Hon Sir Edmund Thomas remembers one occasion where Colin stepped out of his comfort zone by representing an accused of fraud in a week-long criminal case.
"Having presided over hundreds of criminal cases, Colin's defence was one of the best I had ever heard. What was remarkable was his cross-examination. It was vastly superior than what I was accustomed to. It was a dramatic example of a good lawyer - one that can cross over from civil and public matters to criminal.
"He was outstanding as he was fervent, he truly believed his clients were innocent, and his line of defence was incredibly solid. I cannot speak too highly of him. When we would see each other at legal functions, safe to say Colin and I would gravitate towards one another. He was a very likeable fellow."
Kiely Thompson Caisley partner Peter Kiely ONZM instructed Colin on a number of cases. Notably Colin represented Winston Peters in 1993 in a case involving a breach of parliamentary privilege, after Peters was expelled from the National Party.
Colin went on to represent Bob Clarkson and the National Party in 2005 in a case where Winston Peters alleged Clarkson had overspent permitted funds. Colin was successful in his defence of Clarkson, the point being that he could represent both sides over a period and in an extremely professional and civil manner, Kiely said.
Queen's Counsel
He also took his position as Queen's Counsel very seriously, where he would attend every admissions ceremony, the swearing in of a judge or the call to the inner bar of other silks as he saw it as his role as an officer of the court.
"Colin came from provincial New Zealand and he never forgot his origins. He was a man with a very strong Christian faith, (having assisted the Anglican and Presbyterian churches in many matters) and I think that shaped his approach to life in the law. He was very much about fairness and integrity, and charged a [minimal] fee and worked hard beyond what was required to advocate to the best of his ability."
He had a rare approach, where he was thoughtful, clinical, ethical, hardworking, and understated - qualities that are somewhat lost today, Kiely said.
Colin had a small COVID-19 affected funeral in Auckland on August 18 and is survived by his wife Judith; children David, Joanna, Philippa, Richard, Sarah and Virginia; and his eight grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; and two sisters Angela and Janiece. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
