Who? Trevor Cooper, 41-year-old specialist in animal law at his own practice Cooper & Co in Canterbury.

Trevor Cooper

Cooper & Co Why is he in the news? Acts for the owner of Dino, the German shepherd dog that won a reprieve last week after being ordered to be put down by a magistrate following a one-off incident in July 2001. The dog's owner, Bryan Lamont, took the case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights, where it was rejected, before the ruling was finally overturned by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Dino had attacked another dog, and the owner of the second dog suffered injuries to her hands in trying to pull the two apart. Mr Lamont was reported to have spent some £60,000 in the legal battle, though Mr Cooper says the figure is inaccurate.


Background: LLB at University of Kent in 1984, then legal practice course at the College of Law in Guildford and articles at Worthing Council, qualifying in 1987. Joined Week Legg & Dean in Brighton, then moved to Sharratts in Canterbury, becoming partner in 1991. Set up his own firm specialising in animal law in 1997.


Route to the case: A recommendation from the Law Society.



Thoughts on the case: 'This is the furthest any dog case has gone, but there is no reason why it should not have gone this far - the CCRC is there to rectify miscarriages of justice. The real costs figure was in the tens of thousands. There were reports that the family had to sell their home to fund the case - they did sell their home, but only to buy a bigger one. Ultimately, they were aware of the anticipated cost. The experts, the barristers and myself all acted for less than we could otherwise have done.' He added: 'I did not meet the four-legged client until after the hearing, but he was very well behaved despite the camera crews and journalists. The most he did was bark when the doorbell rang and I came away with all my fingers still attached.'


Dealing with the media: 'I felt under attack over the cost. But I enjoy dealing with the media, and it can be helpful to a case - the judge mentioned the media attention at the beginning of his judgment. There was a lot of interest from the dog press from the start, and the Scottish press adopted the dog's cause, as the family are from Scotland.'