The role of Conyers Dill & Pearman lawyer John Collis in the Bermuda Fire case came under question yesterday in Supreme Court as the company's liquidators argued he was closely involved with the 1991 split, which they say was illegal.

Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux yesterday interrupted Gabriel Moss' remarks about the knowledge the defendants had about probable pollution losses facing the company to query whether a lawyer should be expected to know about such matters.

Conyers Dill & Pearman is being sued for damages over the legal advice they gave the firm. Mr. Collis acted as legal advisor to Bermuda Fire. He gave legal advice on the 1991 separation of the company into two businesses. His father Charles Collis was a partner at the same firm and was chairman of Bermuda Fire.

Mr. Moss, lawyer for the liquidators, claimed that John Collis knew or suspected that the 1991 split might not be permitted under the Convenyancing Act and declined to advise the company not to go ahead.

He claimed John Collis had read a letter from the Bank of N.T. Butterfield's legal advisor Peter Rodger querying whether the split would be a "fraudulent conveyance'' depriving creditors of property under section 37 of the Convenyancing Act.

Mr. Moss claimed John Collis had written a letter on August 28, 1991 in answer and "declined to advise'' either the Bank of Butterfield or Bermuda Fire about the matter.

"You will appreciate, of course, that we can only give opinions on questions of law,'' he stated. "You will also know that section 37 of the Conveyancing Act specifically relates to conveyances `with intent to defraud creditors'.

Whether or not an intention exists is a question of fact and not one of law.'' John Collis attended finance committee meetings from time to time and had knowledge of the business through interaction with his father, Mr. Moss claimed.

"Do you think when he entered into the finance committee you can see some of his prints along that path?'' Mr. Justice Meerebux asked.

"Absolutely,'' Mr. Moss replied. "...Why is a lawyer brought in to plan a reorganisation which strips out the profitable assets, leaving the insolvent rump to the creditors?'' Geoffrey Vos, lawyer for Conyers Dill & Pearman, interjected that the only question facing Mr. Justice Meerabux was whether John Collis had given Bermuda Fire the reasonable advice as was asked for a lawyer.

Mr. Moss replied that Mr. Collis could have stopped the deal.

"There comes a time when a professional advisor has to say no to his clients -- when he cannot just go around with blinkers on and pretend he does not know what the client is up to,'' he said. "It is not enough to give what on the face of it looks like the right sort of advice when he knows that his advice is being taken as a kind of blessing for public purposes of a transaction which is plainly bad.'' Lawyer's role questioned Mr. Justice Meerabux then questioned whether Mr. Collis simply had a different approach and whether his decision was good or bad was a matter of subjective judgment. "It is not subjective,'' Mr. Moss replied, adding that Conyers Dill & Pearman were being sued for negligence. "Negligence involves an objective standard and failing to meet it,'' he said. "So we do not have to prove that John Collis was subjectively bad. All we have to show is that he did not live up to the standard which the law expects of a barrister and attorney in his position.'' Mr. Vos interjected that John Collis had done his job as a legal advisor to the company.

"I shall submit in due course that Mr. Collis' advice was perfectly correct in the context in which it was sought and he never had any reason to suppose that Section 37 would present a problem if his advice had been followed,'' Mr.

Vos said. "My Lord that is why he dealt with the Rodger memorandum in the way that he did and he dealt with it perfectly properly. The complaint against him was not if he was acting as an accountant or financial advisor or banker or something else. His duties were to act as a reasonably competent barrister and attorney of Bermuda and no more.'' John Collis BUSINESS BUC