Public Profile

Hargrove, Suttcliffe & Marsh is a Perth-based law firm specializing in what it describes as “interspecies tort litigation.” Founded in 2014 by Harold Suttcliffe and two partners — Diane Hargrove and Colin Marsh — the firm initially handled agricultural liability and livestock injury claims before pivoting to represent animal plaintiffs directly.

The firm’s website states that it offers “the full spectrum of legal remedies available to non-human plaintiffs,” a practice area that, as of 2026, no other firm in Australia has sought to enter. The firm employs four attorneys, two paralegals, and a full-time ethologist whose role is described as “client communications.”

Notable cases include a 2023 nuisance complaint filed on behalf of a colony of fairy penguins against a Phillip Island beachfront resort (dismissed on procedural grounds), a 2024 property dispute brought by a family of wombats against a regional council (settled out of court for an undisclosed number of protected burrow easements), and the 2026 quokka class action libel suit, which represents the firm’s most ambitious filing to date.

The firm’s offices are located in central Perth and feature a waiting area that has been described by visiting journalists as “designed to accommodate clients of varying species, with seating options at multiple heights.”

Private Profile

The firm is a perfect vehicle for stories involving animal legal rights — absurd in premise, completely straight-faced in execution. Harold Suttcliffe is the public face; Diane Hargrove handles research and rarely speaks to press; Colin Marsh manages the business side and is rumored to be skeptical of the firm’s direction but financially committed. The in-house ethologist, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, is responsible for translating client behavior into legally admissible testimony.

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