A former federal public defender, Colin Fieman brings vast trial and appellate experience to his practice advising and representing public, private, and nonprofit clients in state and federal courts. Colin has tried dozens of cases and argued more than 30 appeals in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court and New York appellate courts.

Prior to joining Pacifica, Colin served a four-year term as the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Washington, where he directed an office representing clients charged with federal crimes and served as lead counsel on numerous trials and appeals. Before his appointment to lead the office, Colin served as its Senior Litigator. His work as a public defender included cases concerning complex frauds, internet crimes, and the legal and ethical boundaries of law enforcement. In one of his highest-profile cases, Colin defended several clients charged as part of a Federal Bureau of Investigation international computer hacking operation, and coordinated a national defense working group that challenged the legality of the FBI’s investigation, raising important ethical and computer privacy concerns.

After graduating from Columbia Law School, Colin began his legal career in the New York County District Attorney’s Office in its Appeals Bureau and Special Prosecutions Unit, where he investigated and prosecuted official corruption cases and white collar fraud cases. He later worked with the New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption; at the University of Georgia Law School Legal Aid Clinic; and as Public Defender in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Colin is also an experienced educator, and has taught at the National Forensic College, National Criminal Defense College, and the University of Washington, among other institutions, and has presented numerous CLE programs on Fourth Amendment issues related to data searches and other topics.

Bar Admissions:
  • Washington
  • New York (inactive)
  • Georgia (retired)

Federal Court Admissions:

  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
Education:
  • Haverford College, B.A. Philosophy & Sociology (Phi Beta Kappa, Thomas J. Watson Fellowship)
  • Columbia University School of Law, J.D. (Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar; Director, Stone Appellate Moot Court Competition; Submissions Editor, Columbia Human Rights Law Review)
Speaking:
  • “The Science of Cross-Examination,” M3 Federal Bar Association, Seattle, 2026
  • “Police Data, Computer Hacking and Discovery,” Sacramento, 2020
  • “Advocacy Strategies & Skills to Maximize the Use of Experts,” Austin, 2019
  • “Challenging Computer Hacking in Criminal Cases,” U.C. Berkley, 2019
  • “Peeling the Onion: Discovery Issues Involving ‘Network Investigative Techniques’ and Advanced Computer Search Methods,” New Orleans, 2017
  • “Network Investigative Techniques,” Washington Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2017
  • “Network Investigative Techniques: Tor and the Dark Web,” Pittsburgh, 2016
  • “Collecting Social Media Evidence: Legal and Practical Challenges,” Washington Assoc. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2016
  • “Introduction to Defending Internet Criminal Cases,” Portland, OR 2009
Publications:
  • Inside ‘Operation Pacifier’ and the FBI’s Global Computer Hacking,” The Champion (November, 2017)
  • “When Acquittal is Just a Tweet Away: Obtaining Historical Social Media Evidence When Service Providers Use the Stored Communications Act as a Shield,” The Champion (November, 2015) (co-author)
  • “Defending Internet Cases by Challenging Interstate Jurisdictional Elements Under United States v. Schaeffer,” The Champion (January, 2009)
  • “Do Nonlawyer Justices Dispense Justice?”, 69 New York State Bar Journal 20 (1997) (co-author)
  • “The Second Circuit Upholds Waste Management Systems in the Wake of Carbone v. Clarkstown: The Decisions in USA Recycling, Inc. v. Town of Babylon and SSC Corp. v. Smithtown,” 23 Fordham Urb. L. J. 767 (1996)
  • “A Relic of McCarthyism: Question 21 of the Application for Admission to the New York Bar,” 42 Buffalo L. Rev. 47 (1994)
  • “A State’s Duty to Protect Refugees Under Customary International Law: A Case Study of Thailand and the Cambodian ‘Displaced Persons’,” 21 Columbia Human Rights Law Review 287 (1989)
Professional Organizations:
  • Washington Council on Public Defense, 2016-2020
  • Washington State Bar Association Amicus Curiae Committee, 2010-2012
  • National Association of Federal Defenders Amicus Curiae Committee, 2017-2025