Brooke was educated at Marlborough College (1949–54) and undertook national service in the Royal Engineers (1955–57).
He then studied Mods and Greats (classical language and literature, and ancient history and philosophy) at Balliol College, Oxford (1957–61).
He was Counsel to the Sizewell B Nuclear Power Station Inquiry in 1983–85, and one of the DTI Inspectors into the 1985 takeover of Harrods by the Al Fayed brothers (1987-88[3]).
He was President of the Society for Computers and Law for nine years, and was a major player in the formation of the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII), of which he was the chairman of trustees between 2000 and 2011.
He became General Editor of The White Book (Civil Procedure Rules) between 2004 and 2007, and was a trustee of the Wordsworth Trust until 2001, when became a Fellow.