Colin Prince has represented hundreds of clients in federal trial courts in Eastern and Western Washington and before the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.  Mr. Prince started his career representing some of the largest companies in the world, litigating complex cases for Fortune 25 corporate clients in Washington, California, Delaware, Texas, and elsewhere. Corporate work was not gratifying. Looking to represent actual people, Mr. Prince joined the Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington as a trial attorney, spending years doing what lawyers so rarely now do: standing in a courtroom, arguing motions, trying cases to juries. He then served as the Chief Appellate Attorney for the Federal Defenders, regularly appearing before the federal court of appeals on legal issues with widespread impact across the western United States (including victories in published decisions on individual Brady rights, the Sixth Amendment, federal sentencing guidelines, and more).

Mr. Prince has taught trial and appellate practice across the country, including as adjunct professor at Gonzaga Law School, for the federal United States Courts in Washington, D.C., and for the federal bar association. In addition to teaching, Mr. Prince was appointed by Chief Judge Murguia of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to serve as an Appellate Lawyer Representative assisting the federal courts in creating courtroom evidence systems and in organizing the circuit’s annual judicial conference.

Mr. Prince joined Connelly Law to continue helping people fight overwhelming odds. His practice focuses on all aspects of plaintiffs-litigation: complex and catastrophic personal injury, civil rights, medical malpractice, governmental misconduct and liability, wrongful death, products liability, and more.

Outside of the office, Colin likes playing in the outdoors with his wife and two kids (currently ages 5 and 3). He is an Ironman finisher, has summited and skied Mount Rainier, and occasionally enjoys enduro mountain-bike races. Before attending law school, Colin was a commercial fisherman in Alaska’s Bering Sea and Prince William Sound.

EDUCATION

Seattle University School of Law, 2010, J.D., Summa Cum Laude

• Editor-in-Chief, Seattle University Law Review
• Dean’s List All Semesters; Law Trustee Scholarship Recipient
• Winner of 2011 National Burton Award for Distinguished Legal Writing (given in association with the Library of Congress to the top 15 student-published legal articles in the country)

REPRESENTATIVE CASES

• Chen v. Department of Children, Youth, and Families, No. 16-cv-1877 (W.D. Wash. 2025). Represented mother against the State of Washington for wrongfully removing three-year old autistic child from parents’ custody and causing mother to be falsely prosecuted for criminal neglect. After trial, jury returned total verdict of $7 million for family, the largest wrongful-removal verdict in state history. (Seattle Times: Washington department wrongly removed boy from family’s home, jury finds).
• R.T. et al., v. Geo Group Inc., et al., No. 26-2-05940-9 (Pierce Cnty. Sup. Ct. 2026). Representing multiple immigration detainees against Defendant Geo Group, a for-profit company whose employees physically and sexually assaulted the plaintiffs. (Read the Complaint here.) (News Coverage: King 5: Detainees sue GEO Group, allege sexual assaults, beatings and cover-ups at Tacoma ICE facility; The Seattle Times: Lawsuit accuses WA ICE detention center staff of assault, sexual abuse).
• Roberts v. Armscor Cartridge, Inc., No. 24-cv-5468 (W.D. Wash. 2024). Represented veteran injured by defectively manufactured ammunition cartridge. Case resolved for $3 million.
• J.G. et al. v. Mead School District No. 354, No. 24-2-05564-32 (Spokane Sup. Ct. 2024) (ongoing). Representing victims of sexual assault, racial discrimination, and civil rights violations. (Spokesman-Review: Former Mead football players file lawsuit against school district for alleged assaults, bullying, racial discrimination); (KREM2 News: Lawyers speak on alleged Mead High School football program assaults).
• A.L. v. United States of America, No. 24-cv-06580 (N.D. Cal. 2024) (ongoing). Representing sexual-assault victim in largest federal prison sexual-assault conspiracy case in U.S. history. (Spokesman-Review: Spokane woman details widespread sexual misconduct at now-shuttered California prison).
• TB et. al. v. Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center, No. 25-2-05271-32 (Spokane Sup. Ct. 2025) (ongoing). Representing victims of childhood sexual assault. (Read the complaint; Lawsuit alleges decades of child sexual abuse at Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center Lawsuit alleges 30 years of ongoing sexual abuse by Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center guards | Non-stop | khq.com
• J.M. v. United States et. al., 1:25-at-1011 (E.D. Cal. 2025). Representing victim sexually and physically assaulted by prison guards at facilities run by the federal Bureau of Prisons. (Read the Complaint.)