Maia is a specialist family law barrister whose focus is public children law, deprivation of liberty applications and appellate hearings.
Prior to transferring to the Bar, Maia worked as a doctor for the NHS and specialised as a surgeon. Her medical background gives her a strong advantage in handling complex non-accidental injury cases. She has previous experience in Court of Protection matters involving medical issues.
She is regularly instructed by NHS Trusts, who value her practical understanding of hospital systems and operations.
Public Children Law
Overview
Maia accepts instructions for all stages of care proceedings including contested hearings, deprivation of liberty applications and multi-day fact-finding and final hearings. She acts for parents, family members, children, NHS Trusts and interveners.
Maia has experience of dealing with vulnerable clients. The Court said she provided “excellent representation” in a multi-day final hearing, where she represented a mother who had learning difficulties and was facing care and placement orders for her tenth child after already having had nine children removed from her care and placed for adoption. She recently achieved success in M (A Child: Intermediaries) [2025] EWCA Civ 440.
Her experience as a doctor means she is highly proficient in interpreting medical notes and expert reports with ease and accuracy. In her first non-accidental injury trial, Maia was described as “fearless” in her cross-examination of one of the medical experts. In these cases, she capably holds her own alongside practitioners with considerably more years of call. She has acted in numerous non-accidental injury fact-finding hearings and been led by King’s Counsel.
Notable Cases
The Court of Appeal overturned a lower court’s refusal to appoint an intermediary for a vulnerable mother during a 9 day fact-finding hearing.
M (A Child: Intermediaries) [2025] EWCA Civ 440
A successful appeal that permitted a neurodiverse, vulnerable mother to be supported by an intermediary for the duration of proceedings up to and including the 9-day fact finding hearing, which is aimed at determining who was responsible for a skull fracture to a 1 year old.
