Fiona Bowen

About Fiona

Fiona Bowen is Regional Director and Head of Care at Cartwright King's Worcester office and a key member of the national Child Care team. She is accredited by the Law Society’s Children Law Panel, enabling her to represent children in complex legal proceedings.

With over two decades of experience in children law since qualifying in 2001, Fiona specialises exclusively in public and private law children proceedings. Her practice spans all levels of court up to the Court of Appeal, where she represents parents, local authorities and children. As a Children Law Panel solicitor, she is authorised to act for children either through a Children’s Guardian or directly where they are competent to provide instructions.

Fiona’s caseload often involves highly sensitive matters, including allegations of non-accidental injury and cases involving complex medical evidence. She is particularly experienced in supporting older children who instruct her directly, ensuring they feel heard, supported and engaged throughout the legal process. Fiona also accepts instructions from the Official Solicitor in proceedings involving clients who lack litigation capacity.

She has acted in cases that have proceeded to the Court of Appeal and has earned the professional respect of the judiciary. Judges have personally requested her to represent parties in complex proceedings, reflecting her outstanding legal expertise.

Fiona is known for her approachable manner and her ability to explain legal concepts clearly and compassionately. She delivers practical advice tailored to each client’s unique circumstances, always striving for the best possible outcome in what are often challenging and emotionally charged situations.

Outside of her legal work, Fiona enjoys singing in a choir, playing the piano, keeping active and hiking.

Advises on Following Areas of Law

• Care proceedings (public law)
• Private law proceedings
• Adoption proceedings (leave to oppose)

Specific Areas of Expertise

• Public law proceedings (care)
• Representing children in private law proceedings through a guardian where the child is made a Party.

Notable Cases

In this case, Fiona acted for one of the parties where it dealt with a forced marriage protection order and dealt with the abuse of process which was evident in this case, using this legislation incorrectly when its existence is intended to protect parties.
https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/OJ/2021/B92.html

In this case, Fiona acted for the children, through their Guardian, in High Court proceedings involving allegations of Fabricated and Induced Illness (FII). The case required careful management of complex medical and psychological evidence, as well as addressing challenges arising from shifting legal positions and attempts to obstruct professional assessments. Fiona played a key role in ensuring the children’s welfare remained central to the proceedings, ultimately securing a Care Order for the older child and a Supervision Order for the younger child, protecting them from further harm. https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2025/334.html
Read more about the fabricated and induced illness case here.

Recent Experience

• We represented a lady who had been arrested following an attempt at poisoning her son with prescription tablets, who at the time of the offence was 7 years old.  The police arrested her and she was investigated with respect to attempted murder. The child was medically affected by the attempt, and kept in hospital for a short period but luckily made a full recovery. We were instructed in relation to the court proceedings issued by the local authority, and the child was immediately placed into foster care, pending further assessment work being undertaken by the local authority. The client was not detained in police custody, but instead was sectioned under the Mental Health Act and admitted into a mental health hospital. My immediate concern upon instruction was her capacity to instruct me as her solicitor and as such, I felt it was appropriate to liaise with her treating psychiatrist at the mental health hospital.  He duly confirmed that she did not have capacity to instruct and we had to represent her through the Official Solicitor forthwith. We instructed a QC in this matter and it eventually proceeded to a 15 day fact finding hearing. The matter was highly complex and very interesting.
• We represented a child in a private law matter, taking instructions from the guardian. The case lasted in total over 2 years, and was very demanding in terms of managing the father who was a Litigant in Person and also case managing the sheer volume of material. Eventually the fact finding hearing took place over 4 days and the judge gave a very damming judgment which essentially found against father on each and every allegations made by her against him. The majority of the Findings sought by him against mother were not proved. Father sought to appeal the Findings made but his application for permission to appeal was dismissed.
• In this matter, we represented a child in public law proceedings. It was the local authority application for a supervision order upon a young baby. The local authority alleged that the order was necessary in its application as a result of a suspected non accidental injury being sustained by the child about 6 months ago. The injury was of markings/bruising to the upper left arm and left inner ear, and there were other bruising injuries which were not relied upon by the local authority.  It was picked up by the hospital paediatrician and referred to the local authority as a child protection concern. The local authority did not seek to remove the child from the parents’ care, and sought an independent opinion from a general paediatrician who also confirmed suspected non accidental injury. We instructed a neonatologist and at the end of proceedings the child remained at home due to the lack of evidence to substantiate the assertion that the injuries had been caused non-accidentally.

Panel Memberships and Accreditations

• Law Society Children Panel
• Member of Birmingham Law Society