Sonia is a Partner in the Dispute Resolution department and head of Mishcon de Reya's Insurance Disputes practice. She specialises in policyholder insurance coverage disputes, including matters concerning reinsurance and captives.
She also deals with all commercial disputes, often multi-jurisdictional and multi-party complex claims. She handles high-value commercial litigation and arbitration disputes, including breaches of contract, fiduciary duty, dishonesty claims, trust and shareholder disputes.
Sonia acts for policyholders in relation to disputes arising under D&O, W&I, property damage and business interruption (PDBI), credit risk, bankers' blanket bond, trade credit, cyber, employment practices, fidelity/crime, fiduciary/PTL and professional indemnity policies. She also advises on related global risk management and renewal issues.
The team's work is often reported in the press, most recently regarding involvement in the FCA Business Interruption Insurance test case relating to recovery of losses flowing from the COVID-19 pandemic from insurers. The team continues to be involved in test case litigation on insurance aggregation issues stemming from COVID-19 losses.
Sonia tends to represent FTSE 100 organisations and high net worth clients. Her clients come from a range of sectors including pharmaceutical/life sciences, financial services/private equity, betting and gaming, retail and consumer, real estate/construction. Many clients are senior executives involved in regulatory investigations; in this respect Sonia is well-versed in dealing with the civil investigation aspects as well as related insurance matters.
Her matters often have a cross-border element and she has been involved in numerous insurance coverage disputes concerning life science/pharmaceutical mass tort proceedings in the US. She is experienced in assisting with deposition requests made in other jurisdictions where English legal and procedural issues come into play, as well as managing the interplay between foreign proceedings and the English courts. Sonia regularly works alongside lawyers in foreign jurisdictions as well as in a monitoring counsel role.
Sonia is experienced in LCIA, ICC, FIDIC and ad hoc arbitrations. In the insurance sector, Sonia has for many years acted only for policyholders against insurers, with a specialism in representing life science/pharmaceutical policyholders in Bermuda Form insurance disputes.
Sonia also has extensive experience of the reinsurance market and can act in disputes between cedants and their reinsurers.
Sonia handles matters where third party litigation funding (e.g. most recently the FCA test case) and/or after-the-event insurance cover is required. Sonia also has experience of dealing with litigation buy-out insurance.
Sonia is co-lead of the firm's EDI Race Equity Committee. She is also a member of the IBA, AIRMIC, BILA, Arbitral Women and the Women in Telecoms and Technology Group.
Sonia is also part of the MDR Solutions I team, a litigation finance venture offering greater access to funding for claimants.