Who? Steffan Groch, 36, a partner in the Manchester office of DWF.


Why is he in the news? He represented James Porter, headmaster of a private school in Bangor, North Wales, who was convicted by a jury of breaching health and safety rules following the death of a three-year-old pupil.



The child had leapt off a step in the playground during playtime, pretending to be Batman, and was found lying face down with head injuries. He was treated in hospital, but died a month later after contracting MRSA.



There had been only one member of staff on duty in the playground at the time, supervising 59 pupils aged from three to 11, and areas of the playground were out of view - including the step. The prosecution told the jury that such a ratio of supervisor to pupils would have been unacceptable in the public sector.



Mr Porter was ordered to pay £20,000 in fines and legal costs.



Background: Mr Groch graduated in law from Hull University and in 1993 went on to take his legal practice course at Northumbria University. He completed his training contract at Newcastle firm Beecham & Peacock, staying on there for three years post-qualification. There followed four years at the Manchester office of Davies Arnold Cooper before he joined DWF in 2001.



Route to the case: DWF acts for a number of insurance companies, including the one that provides cover for the private school in Bangor. Mr Groch had a meeting with Mr Porter and agreed to work with him.



Thoughts on the case: 'It was difficult to maintain the right balance between one's emotional reaction to the case and the law. After all, that poor boy was the same age as my elder daughter when he died and the same age as my younger daughter when the case came to court. I found myself asking how I would have reacted in the same circumstances and felt for the emotional trauma of the parents.



'Nonetheless, I felt that the Health & Safety Executive, which brought the prosecution, had got the balance wrong, in that the principles of risk management were not properly applied. Risk is present in all environments and it is simply impossible to remove all risk. What is more, many educationalists would argue that a degree of risk is necessary for children to learn what is dangerous and how to protect themselves from injury.



'The jury decided otherwise, however, but an appeal has been lodged and the outcome is awaited.'



Dealing with the media: 'The case attracted a lot of coverage in the press, which in turn inspired hundreds of people to email and send letters in support of the headmaster, Mr Porter. They mostly wrote that it was MRSA that killed the poor child, not the school's negligence.



'I was impressed that the media is such a well-oiled machine. I had a phone call from a friend of mine in Italy, on the same day that the trial ended, saying he had seen me on television reading out a statement at Mold Crown Court.'



Jonathan Rayner