Martha Cover

Areas of Practice

Children 

Martha Cover has been head of chambers at Coram since January 2010. She 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 the reliability of the “triad” as a diagnosis of inflicted harm.

 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 “Miracle Baby “ case on behalf of the putative parents. She also specialises in international and domestic 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 2010 Martha was elected  co-chair of the Association of Lawyers for Children. She  also sits on the national committee of the Family Law Bar Association, and is a member of the Interdisciplinary Alliance for Children.
 
Martha regularly speaks and writes on children law matters. In January 2011 she gave the Sir Robin Skynner annual memorial lecture at the Institute of Family Therapy entitled “Secrets and Lies: The Trajectory of the Serious Care Case”. She has written for the Times and been interviewed on Woman’s Hour and Newsnight  about adoption, and about the policy issues affecting care proceedings in the aftermath of the death of Baby P. The link to the Times article is http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article5281792.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

Memberships

Association of Lawyers for Children

Family Law Bar Association

Education

BA (University of Western Ontario)

LLM (London University) 

Reported cases

A Local Authority v. S [2009] EWHC 2115; [2010] 1 FLR 1560
Care proceedings; traumatic infant brain injury; the triad and “Geddes III”; criticism of experts for failure to defer to experts in another field; experts who have acquired a scientific prejudice.

A County Council v K & Ors (By the Child's Guardian HT) [2011] EWHC 1672 (Fam) Judgments (05/07/2011)
Judgment of the President of the Family Division supporting the independence of guardians appointed to act for children in family case.

Re Haringey London Borough Council v C, E and Another Intervening [2006] EWHC] 1620 (Fam) [2007] 1 FLR 1035 (Fam)
Care order – Freeing order – Adoption – ‘Miracle baby’ – Birth parents unknown – Whether religious belief a pre-eminent factor in welfare – Whether adoption has benefits not provided by residence or special guardianship
Re U (Care Proceedings: Criminal Conviction: Refusal to Give Evidence) [2006] EWHC 372 [2006] 2 FLR 690 (Fam)
Care proceedings - Refusal to give evidence - Advice of criminal lawyer - Criminal conviction - Pending appeal - Weight to attach to conviction - Lack of practical sanction - Cross-examination of witnesses allowed
Re N (Sexual Abuse Allegations: Professionals Not Abiding by Findings of Fact) [2005] 2 FLR 340
Contact - Implacable hostility - Interim care order - Role of outside agencies in contact disputes
Re Haringey London Borough Council v C, E and Another Intervening [2004] EWHC 2580 (Fam) [2005] 2 FLR 47
Care – Threshold - "Miracle birth" claim - Child unrelated to supposed parents - Trafficking allegations - Risk to child in being raised as "miracle child"
Re W and X (Wardship: Relatives Rejected as Foster Carers) [2003] EWHC 2206 (Fam) [2004] 1 FLR 415 2003 Fam Law 883
Care proceedings in relation to four children – three living with grandparents after death of sibling – fourth child placed with a view to adoption – court finding that remaining three should stay with grandparents – grandparents rejected by local authority as approved foster carers – children made wards of court with residence order in favour of grandparents and supervision order in favour of local authority
Re A (Care Proceedings: Asylum Seekers) [2003] 2 FLR 921 FD 
Care - Immigration - Family subject to removal directions - Father implied he might kill himself and children - Assessments found no real risk to children - Parents supporting continuation of care proceedings - Whether proceedings to continue
Re N (Contact: Minor Seeking Leave to Defend and Removal of Guardian) [2003] 1 FLR 652
Contact - Minor seeking leave to defend proceedings - Minor seeking removal of guardian
Re M (Residence) [2002] 2 FLR 1059
Expert evidence - Reasons for departing from expert evidence
Re A (Protection from Offenders Regulations) [1999] 1 FLR 697
Care - Foster-parents - Conviction for specified offence - Residence
Re AS (Secure Accommodation Order) [1999] 1 FLR 103
Secure accommodation - Application for secure accommodation order – Procedure
Re S (Appeal from Principal Registry: Procedure) [1997] 2 FLR 856
Practice and procedure - Care order granted by district judge at Principal Registry - Mother's appeal
Re W (Wardship: Discharge: Publicity) [1995] 2 FLR 466
Publicity - Wardship - Discharge of wardship proceedings after Children Act 1989 in force 

The operation of the family courts
Witnesses

1. Martha Cover, Interdisciplinary Alliance for ChildrenMartha Cover, Interdisciplinary Alliance for Children
2. Baroness Howarth OBE, Chair, Anthony Douglas CBE, Chief Executive, and  Bruce Clark, Director of Policy, Children and Family Court Advisory and  Support Service

Please click on the link below to see Martha discussing the operation of the family courts in Parliament.

Martha cover discusses the operation of the family courts in Parliament.