Laura Couves

Laura qualified as a solicitor in September 2024 following completion of her training contract at Dawson Cornwell. She now works primarily in our Matrimonial Department alongside Simon Bruce, Sarah Jane Lenihan and Jessica Reid.

Laura achieved a Distinction in her Legal Practice and Master of Laws at the University of Law, where she wrote her LLM dissertation on Divorce Reform. Laura also graduated from Nottingham Trent University with an Upper Second-Class Honours degree in Law. As part of this sandwich degree course, she spent just over a year working as a legal assistant in our Matrimonial Department from 2019 to 2020.

In the first year of Laura’s training contract, she worked in the firm’s Matrimonial department where she gained experience in all matters of relationship breakdown including divorce and financial remedies, pre and post nuptial agreements, cohabitation, TOLATA disputes and cases involving jurisdiction disputes. During this year, Laura assisted partners Simon Bruce and Sarah Jane Lenihan on the reported case of MN v AN [2023] EWHC 613 (Fam). In her second year as a trainee, Laura assisted partner Carolina Marin Pedreño in our Children department, gaining experience working on a variety of cases including private child arrangements, specific issue and prohibited steps matters, international and domestic relocation, international child abduction, wardship, care and Article 21 proceedings. Laura assisted Carolina Marin Pedreño on the reported case of J & H (Jurisdiction: 1996 Hague Convention : residual domestic jurisdiction: parental responsibility jurisdiction), Re [2024] EWHC 1395 (Fam).

She is a member of Resolution and YRes, and is committed to promoting a constructive approach to family issues that consider the needs of the whole family.

During her undergraduate studies, Laura mentored first year law students at Nottingham Law School. She has also volunteered at a conservation programme based in Tamil Nadu, Southern India, alongside the ARMDS charity.