Ms Martha Cover > Chambers of Mark Twomey KC and Alison Easton > London, England > Barrister Profile
Coram Chambers Offices
Coram Chambers
9-11 FULWOOD PLACE
LONDON
WC1V 6HG
England
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Ms Martha Cover
Work Department
Children.
Position
Martha has specialised in children law for the last twenty years, and she usually represents parents and children in the most serious child protection cases. She is frequently instructed in cases of death or serious injury to children where there are concurrent criminal proceedings. Many of these cases involve complex medical evidence relating to traumatic infant brain injury and/or allegations of fabricated or induced illness. Martha also appears in cases where there are allegations of emotional harm to children who are being brought up in unusual belief systems. She appeared in the first reported ‘Miracle Baby’ case on behalf of the putative mother. She also specialises in adoption and the use of wardship. In recent years she has developed a niche practice representing legally competent teenagers who wish to intervene in intractable private law disputes concerning themselves and sometimes their siblings.
In November 2015 Martha was re-elected co-chair of the Association of Lawyers for Children. She has given evidence to the Justice Select Committee on the representation of children in family proceedings, and to the House of Lords committee on adoption law reform. She regularly speaks and writes on the wider policy issues concerning care proceedings, adoption and the representation of vulnerable children in court.
Career
Called 1979.Head of Chambers since 2010
Memberships
Family Law Bar Association
Association of Lawyers for Children
Human Rights Lawyers Association
Gray’s Inn
Education
University of Western Ontario (BA); London University (LLM).
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Family: children and domestic abuse
(Leading Juniors)Ranked: Tier 1Martha Cover –Coram Chambers ‘Martha is clever, gets on well with judges whilst able to appropriately challenge the Local Authority’s case. She is not afraid to think laterally in order to bring about the best outcome for her client. She fights for justice for those whom she represents.’
Coram Chambers continues to handle family and child law matters across all levels of the court system. Mark Twomey KC represented the local authority in the case Re S (A Child) and Re W (A Child) in the Court of Appeal, a case concerning the interaction between care orders and voluntary accommodation of children in need. Other key members of the team include Martha Cover, who regularly represents clients in serious injury and death cases, and Victoria Roberts, who handles domestic abuse cases and matters in which parental alienation is alleged. The junior end of chambers was bolstered by the arrival of Kyle Squire in January 2024.