Dr Maria Wright is a Senior Associate in our Family and Relationships department, specialising in children’s law.

Maria has a nationally respected practice in international parental child abduction, regularly acting for parents in urgent High Court proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and in cases involving non‑Hague states under the Inherent Jurisdiction of the High Court. She frequently advises on matters involving the wrongful removal or retention of children, emergency return applications, and the recognition and enforcement of orders concerning children.

A founding member of the Child Abduction Lawyers Association (CALA), Maria is known for her meticulous case preparation, strategic approach, and ability to navigate technically complex international family law issues.

In 2023, Maria was awarded her doctorate by the University of Bristol for empirical research into child protection in an international context. She has published extensively on cross‑border children’s law, including Care Proceedings with an International Element: An Empirical Study (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2025) and International Issues in Family Law: The 1996 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Brussels IIa (Jordan Publishing, 2015).

Maria is routinely instructed in domestic private law children disputes, particularly those involving allegations of domestic abuse. She represents parents in complex cases involving coercive and controlling behaviour, intimate partner violence, and emotional or psychological harm to children. She has significant expertise in preparing evidence for fact‑finding hearings and advising on how serious allegations affect child arrangements, contact, and residence.

Maria also advises relatives and extended family members seeking to secure care arrangements through Child Arrangements Orders and Special Guardianship Orders, including kinship care arrangements with an international dimension.

Legal directories describe her as “empathetic as much as she is strategic” and “pragmatic while always fighting for her clients.” Before joining Hunters, she served as Senior Legal Advisor to Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB), where she advised on complex cross‑border child protection matters.

Maria has acted in a number of reported cases in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court throughout her career. Her most recent reported cases since joining Hunters include: