Sonia studied law at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge. She is a commercially astute litigator who is client focused at all stages of litigation and alternative dispute resolution. She acts for a range of clients from private individuals to large corporate bodies both in the UK and abroad. Sonia has experience in bringing proceedings in the High Court, Court of Appeal, and under a variety of institutional arbitration rules.

Sonia’s has a broad commercial practice specialising in high-value commercial litigation and arbitration, commercial chancery, insolvency, company law, civil fraud and claims in relation to art and cultural heritage.

Recent significant cases include:

• Morjaria v Mirza (ChD): Acting for the defendants in an 8-week trial in the High Court, in relation to a joint venture for the purchase and development of London commercial property. The matter raised issues of fraud, misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, and unjust enrichment.

• Acting on behalf of a claimant individual against a multi-national company in a three-day arbitration jurisdiction hearing.

• London Capital & Finance Plc (in administration) and others v Michael Andrew Thomson and others [2024] EWHC 2894 (Ch) – Acting for one of the defendants in a claim brought by the joint administrators of London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) and the joint administrators of London Oil & Gas Limited (LOG) in their claim against the former CEO of LCF and various other defendants. The claim involved issues of fraudulent trading, knowing receipt, breach of fiduciary duty, equitable proprietary claims, dishonest assistance, worldwide freezing orders and proprietary freezing order.  We settled the case on behalf of our client before the commencement of the trial.

• Hookey and another v Alistair Bailey and Art Equity Limited – Successfully acting for claimants in an international art fraud claim against London based defendants. CANDEY represented two Australian clients who had bought art through the defendants in 2012. Following the purchases it was understood that the defendants, acting as agents, would store the art. It is the claimants’ case that when they requested delivery of an Edward Burra watercolour, previously sold at auction by Christie’s New York, the first defendant embarked on a series of contradictory statements and delay tactics, before he eventually went to ground. The High Court granted an urgent freezing injunction at a without notice hearing and subsequently granted its continuation. Before the continuation hearing the defendants admitted liability for 75% of the claimed sum. The freezing injunction was continued and the claim is ongoing for the balance, interest and costs.

• Glover v Barker [2020] EWCA Civ 1112 – Acting for the appellant, Ms Glover, we successfully overturned the decision of the High Court that she, the litigation friend of two child Defendants who were unsuccessful in challenging the terms of an underlying trust dispute, was liable to pay the Claimant’s costs. This decision creates important precedent addressing the costs consequences for the litigation friends of children and protected parties who are defendants to proceedings.

• Langford v The Secretary of State for Defence [2019] EWCA Civ 1271 – Acting for the appellant, Ms Langford, we successfully argued that an exclusionary rule in public sector pension scheme unjustifiably discriminated against the her, in breach of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

• Speciality Magnetics Limited v Aglient Technologies UK Limited [2019] EHWC 1781 (Comm) –Acting for the claimant in the matter and successfully responding to an application by the defendant that the claim should be stayed pursuant to s.9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 on the basis of a so-called arbitration clause in the underlying agreement.

• Acting on behalf of a Russian company in a multi-jurisdictional arbitration dispute in respect of the disputed ownership of a significant Russian bank.

• Finnan v. Finnan –Acting for the petition in a High Court Section 994 unfair prejudice petition involving substantial property assets. The case settled on the third day of trial.
  

Sonia was awarded Lawyer of the Week in The Times Newspaper on 25 July 2019 and has higher rights of audience.

Email: sbamford@candey.com