MICHAEL CAPLAN QC (54) Year 2007
Mr Caplan is a partner in the firm of Kingsley Napley. He is one of few solicitors to be appointed QC, expert in extradition and international criminal law. Prevented extradition to Spain of former Chilean president General Augusto Pinochet. One of two British lawyers the McCanns have hired to defend them against suggestions that they might have had a hand in their daughter's disappearance. A part-time judge in the crown court and a chairman of the police disciplinary appeal tribunal, Caplan has a reputation in the profession for unflashy reliability and tenacity; in Chambers UK 2007, A Client's Guide to the Legal Profession, he is described as "the weapon of choice for battleship cases". He certainly has experience in dealing with cases in which there is huge media interest, having successfully defended Pinochet against extradition to Spain when he was arrested in the UK in 1998. He also defended the captain of the dredger Bowbelle, whose collision with the Marchioness on the Thames in 1989 resulted in the deaths of 51 people.

CARLOS PINTO DE ABREU (40) Year 2007
One of Portugal’s best-known lawyers with reputation for taking on controversial cases. Pinto de Abreu has been in place since the start of September. He lodged McCanns’ libel action against Portuguese newspaper which said they were police suspects. De Abreu, a Lisbon lawyer, has offered his services to the McCanns for free, and began his job by filing a libel suit against a Portuguese tabloid, Tal & Qual, which claimed that police believed the McCanns administered their daughter a fatal drug overdose. He has also applied to the district attorney for a change in the couple's formal status, from "witness" to "assistant" in the investigation. This would mean they would be allowed to know more about it. A specialist in human rights, De Abreu is the president of the human rights committee for the Portuguese bar association.

ANGUS McBRIDE (42) Year 2007
Leading criminal solicitor with expertise in dealing with media and protecting reputation of individuals subject to media or criminal investigation. McBride is, like Caplan, a partner in the legal firm Kingsley Napley. He is particularly experienced in defending the reputations of celebrities, or accidental celebrities, such as the McCanns. He represented the actor Chris Langham, who has just been jailed for downloading child porn, and defended various professional footballers, including John Terry, charged with and acquitted of affray in 2002, and two Premiership players accused of rape in 2003. He is currently acting in Sir John Stevens's inquiry into past collusion between soldiers, police officers and paramilitary gunmen in Northern Ireland. Angus McBride trained in London and qualified in 1991 before working in criminal defence in Bristol for eight years, returning to London to join Kingsley Napley in 1999. He was made a partner in 2002. He specialises in all aspects of criminal defence including general crime, fraud and defends individuals in regulatory investigations. He is also experienced in advising members of government agencies in sensitive inquiries where independent expertise is required.

FRANCISCO PAGARETE (32) Year 2007
Mr Pagarete is Robert Murat's lawyer. He describes Murat as "his friend and client"; he invited Robert Murat to his wedding in August. Francisco Pagaret accused Madeleine's parents of "strange" behaviour, referring to the fact that they had left the three-year-old alone in their holiday apartment.

ROGERIO ALVES (45) Year 2007
Rogerio Alves is President of the Portuguese Bar Association and has worked on some of country's most high profile cases. He told the Diario de Noticias: "If I accepted the job, it's because I believe there are good reasons to do so." Confirming his appointment, Mr Alves said: "I am delighted to be helping the McCanns in their current situation and look forward to working closely with Carlos Pinto de Abreu."

EDWARD SMETHURST (38 ) Year 2007
Edward Smethurst is Head of Legal Services for the Latium Group and its related Group companies owned by Brian Kennedy. He is currently acting as the McCanns' legal coordinator. Edward started his career as a solicitor with Halliwell Landau before moving in house with British Nuclear Fuels Plc where he spent seven years before moving to join the Board of Ultraframe Plc in 2000. Edward specialises in a variety of contentious matters including intellectual property related litigation and commercial litigation generally. Edward has been Chairman of the Law Society North West Commerce and Industry Group since 1994 and has twice been National Chairman of the C&I Group. He is the Director elected on behalf of England and Wales to represent English Law Society on the Board of the European Company Lawyers Association. Edward Smethurst was appointed as a Director of the Madeleine Fund on January 9th 2008

D.O.B: 16/10/1968 Solicitor Commercial law specialist with wealthy McCann supporter Brian Kennedy's company, appointment announced 09 January 2008 Took over from Esther McVey

JUDGE PEDRO DANIEL DOS ANJOS FRIAS (38 ) Year 2007
The immediate future of Madeleine McCann’s parents lies in the hands of a criminal instruction judge who has been in his post since August, For Pedro Daniel dos Anjos Frias, being appointed to a role overseeing police investigations in southern Portugal was simply the next step in his highly successful career. Judge Frias is renowned for his diligence. Some lawyers, particularly defence barristers, are said to be daunted by his businesslike manner. Others are said to feel that he can be aloof.

This short Portuguese video shows Pedro Frias, the investigating judge, arriving at court in his car. In the video they say that he is 38 years old and previously worked in the circle of Lagos. It was Pedro Daniel dos Anjos Frias, who rejected the prosecutors' request to have the McCanns brought back to Portugal for further questioning. He insisted that the fresh interviews be carried out by British police in the UK. 

There is also a brief clip of the McCanns entering the church at Praia da Luz with their own key and a short interview with Father Hubbard

DAN KRANE
Dan Krane (forensic expert) is a DNA specialist from Ohio, has been hired to defend the forensic case against them. Krane, a biology professor from Wright University in Pennsylvania, has taken part in more than 60 judgments where DNA evidence was crucial to the case. Krane plans to use a software program he and colleagues at the university invented to interpret automated DNA analysis generated by a crime lab.

ALBERTO BERNARDES COSTA (Minister of Justice)
Portugal Justice Minister, Alberto Costa, had to step in publicly to assure all parties that the relationship between the Portuguese and British police forces working on the Madeleine McCann case was still strong and of "beneficial co-operation."
Alberto Costa claimed that "it is important that all teams are focused on the investigation work and not on the comments" and was reacting to comments made by Gonçalo Amaral to a daily newspaper where he criticised British police action. Gonçalo Amaral, who has said he thought his statements were being made "off the record", had accused British police of "working exclusively on the information wanted by the McCanns and that suits them better.".

Mr Amaral's comments were made in relation to a report in the British media about an anonymous email sent to the official website of Prince Charles.

The email accused a former employee of the Ocean Club of being responsible for the abduction of Madeleine McCann in a revenge action to destroy the resort's credibility. But the PJ investigator said this information "had no credibility for the Portuguese police" and therefore "it was completely excluded" from the investigation.

JUDGE NORONHA DO NASCIMENTO (Chairman of the Supreme Magistrates Council)

JOSE CUNHA DE MAGALHAES
Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses, a district attorney, who was charged with sifting through 10 boxes of evidence. Police handed their files to the Algarve-based prosecutor, Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses, for him to decide whether to bring charges against Kate and Gerry McCann. He has the authority to move someone from arguido to formal suspect.

left to right, (1)Pinto Nogueira, (2)Luis Armando, Bilro Summer (Bilro Verao) ( 3) Francisca Van Dunen,  (4)Braga Feared

Bilro Summer GOOGLE TRANSLATE
A case can make a career and is the most compelling point put Luis Armando Bilro summer under the attention of journalists. In September 2007, Pinto Monteiro has determined that the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Praia da Luz, come to be directly monitored by the District Attorney General of Evora. The process fed news many months and did not die with the filing, given in July 2008. Borba Alentejo born, Bilro summer was placed on the Court of Appeal in Evora. Has responsibility for the judicial district with the greatest territorial coverage, which complicates coordination. But the flip side is the small number of cases (compared with other districts) and, in general, the lower complexity of the crimes investigated. Assistant Attorney General for 11 years, Bilro Summer is described as experienced magistrate but discreet. Except for the pressure to which he was subject in the Maddie case, seldom appears in the media.

LUIS BILRO VERAO
Luis Bilro Verao, the public prosecutor. It was Verao who announced on September 20 that no new evidence had emerged to justify further interrogation of the McCanns at this stage

PINTO MONTEIRO (Head of the Public Prosecution Service)
On 23rd November, Attorney General Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro said the publicity would have turned Madeleine into a “liability’’ for her snatcher.

Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro was born in 1942 in the village of Porto de Ovelha, council of Almeida, district of Guarda. He has a degree in Law from the Law Faculty of Coimbra University, he was a delegate for the Public Ministry in Idanha-a-Nova, Anadia, Oporto and Lisbon and a Law judge in Ponta do Sol, Alcacer do Sal, Loures, Torres Vedras and Lisbon. He was a at the Appeals Court of Lisbon and since 1998 he is a counselling judge at the Supreme Court of Justice. In October 2006 he was nominated Attorney General of the Republic by Cavaco Silva and Jose Sócrates. (Thanks to Astro for profile)

TONY CONNELL (Crown Prosecution Service)
Tony Connell, a member of the Crown Prosecution Service’s special casework unit, has been advising the “Gold Group” of senior detectives at Leicestershire Police, which is investigating the Madeleine case. Mr Connell led the review which led to the conviction of Damilola Taylor’s killers