Fiona Brown

Fiona joined Becket Chambers in October 2023 following successful completion of her pupillage here. She welcomes work across all of chambers’ practice areas, though she is particularly experienced in matters relating to public and private Family Law.

Before joining the bar, Fiona had a career in social work, with over 11 years’ experience as a frontline and court social worker, including two years managing the court service in a busy London local authority. She also spent seven years working for CAFCASS as a public law children’s guardian and two years as a CAFCASS private law family court advisor.

Court work was always Fiona’s favourite aspect of her social work role, so when she felt that it was the right time to pursue a new challenge in her career, this extensive knowledge and experience made becoming a barrister the logical next step.

Her years as a social worker have given her a unique ability to see matters from the perspective of the child, the parents and, in public law cases, the local authority. She welcomes the opportunity to advocate for parents and guardians and to ensure that they get the support they need. Her prior experience enables her to assess a situation from a pragmatic point of view, and to sensitively give her clients a realistic assessment of their position.

Fiona’s natural empathy for her clients makes her sensitive to their situation, and whether in public or private law, her priority is to find the best outcome for the child(ren). Although a strong advocate, able to fight a parent’s corner, she also takes a balanced and fair approach and encourages her clients to consider things from the children’s point of view.

She will always give her clients an honest assessment of the likely outcome of their position.

Fiona has strong analytical skills and is experienced at dealing with lengthy bundles, rapidly assessing complex information, and preparing reports for final hearing at short notice where necessary.

As part of her social work training, Fiona was trained in working with vulnerable clients with mental health and learning difficulties. She is experienced at working with people whose first language is not English, or where the services of a translator are needed.

Fiona is regularly instructed by parents in all aspects of private law proceedings, including where there are issues of jurisdiction, residence, and in matters concerning internal or external relocation. She also acts where there are allegations of domestic violence, and physical, psychological or sexual abuse.

As a former social worker, she has extensive experience of working with families facing the most challenging of circumstances, and is sensitive to the emotional toll that this takes, as well as to the need to make decisions that are in the best interests of the child. Where possible, she will encourage and support clients to make use of other ways to reach agreement out of court, such as mediation.

When needed, she is a strong advocate in court, and is also able to explain matters clearly to clients who may be unfamiliar with court processes. She is highly sensitive to her client’s needs, and will go out of her way to ensure that they feel supported and comfortable – as well as being honest and transparent about the likely outcome of their case.

Fiona acts for parents and other family members, as well as for local authorities, in care cases. Her years as a social worker have given her the ability to see things from a child’s perspective, and to identify the support that family and children need to help them through an emotionally challenging situation. She is experienced at dealing with cases where there are allegations of domestic violence, physical, psychological or sexual abuse.

Her previous experience also means that she is very knowledgeable about how the court system works, along with the processes and priorities of local authorities in public law court proceedings.

Having managed care proceedings in a busy London borough for two years, Fiona understands how local authorities reach the decisions that they make in care proceedings, and her extensive CAFCASS experience provides a valuable insight into how the needs of the child may be considered by the children’s guardian. As a result, whether she is representing parents, other family members or local authorities, she is quickly able to identify what is needed to strengthen a case. It also enables her to assess a case from a pragmatic point of view, and to give her clients a realistic assessment of their position and the likely outcome.

She has a natural empathy for her clients, and her priority is to encourage them to look at things from the child’s point of view and to find the best outcome for the child(ren).

Sensitive to her client’s needs, she is also a strong advocate in court, and her analytical skills ensure that she is able to rapidly assess complex information and present it in a way that helps the court to make a decision.