Mr Justice Derrington began his legal career in Rockhampton and spent 28 years at the Bar (8 as a Queens Council) before being appointed to the court on December 3 1982. Justice Derrington was President of the Land Appeal Court from 1985 - 1987 and was Chairman of the Supreme Court Library Committee from 1995 - 1998. The Judge was instrumental in the establishment of digitised legal information for courts whereby regional Judges could be provided access via CD-ROMs.

After retiring from the Supreme Court in April 2000, Justice Derrington wrote a number of books and articles on insurance and liability laws. He is an Adjunct Professor at the TC Beirne School of Law at The University of Queensland. (Accurate at 7/7/2017)