Derek Fels, a Dunedin practitioner, died in March 1982 aged 34.

A notable contributor to Otago District Law Society affairs in recent years, Mr Fels was a member of the organising committees of both the Centennial Celebrations in 1979 and the successful 1981 New Zealand Law Society Triennial Conference in Dunedin. Mr Fels was particularly concerned with the social functions held in conjunction with the Conference.

An American Field Scholar, Mr Fels graduated LLB from the University of Otago in 1970, was admitted as a solicitor in the same year, and from 1973 until the time of his death was a partner in the Dunedin firm of Cook, Allan & Co.

This obituary was published in LawTalk 145, 19 March 1982, page 4.