A chance to reacquaint, reminisce and meet former students is at the essence of our Saint Kentigern Old Collegian reunions, a time of reigniting the forum of fellowship and a wonderful opportunity to hear of the great success stories from our Old Collegian community.

At our London reunion in July, Danny Gowan Chairman of our Old Collegians United Kingdom branch, spoke of the importance of the foundations that his Saint Kentigern education gave him and how this made him who he is today.

Danny was a foundation student at our Boys’ School and also went to the College from 1965-1969 where he played in both the 1st XI cricket and 1st XV rugby teams.

For the past 30 years he has been working in London in the legal industry specialising in advising on legal disputes in the construction, civil and mechanical engineering sectors, only recently retiring in April from his position as International Senior Partner as at DAC Beachcroft LLP, where he will now consult part-time.

After College life at Saint Kentigern, Danny graduated from the University of Otago with a law degree, and went on to secure a position working for the Crown Solicitor in Auckland where he represented Government departments and state-owned organisations in a variety of courts and tribunals.

Following his passion for travel and his love for skiing, he spent the next three years travelling extensively in South America, the United States and in Europe and spent two winters skiing in Chamonix in the French Alps and then in Klosters in Switzerland.

Before joining DAC Beachcroft LLP (previously Davies Arnold Cooper) where he gave 30 years of service to the firm, Danny worked for Freedman & Co until 1983.

He has been included in The Lawyers 'Hot 100' list of the United Kingdom Legal Profession's High Achievers and also listed in the Legal 500 and Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession for Construction as, "particularly skilled in this area and possesses 'an impressive knowledge of the field'." (Chambers 2008).

Danny is also a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court in New Zealand, a Solicitor of England and Wales and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is also a Fellow of Selwyn College and the University of Otago.

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