Sonia Tolaney KC > Chambers of Lord Grabiner KC > London, England > Barrister Profile
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One Essex Court
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Sonia Tolaney KC
Position
Specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration, in particular domestic and international banking (including all aspects of credit and security), domestic and international commercial fraud and asset tracing, corporate and personal insolvency, professional negligence and insurance and reinsurance. Some notable cases include: Deutsche Bank AG v Provincia di Brescia (Comm) (2022); Deutsche Bank v Busto di Arsizio [2021] EWHC 2706 (Comm); Qatar Airways v Airbus (2022); Lehman Brothers Holdings Plc and LB Holdings Intermediate 2 Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 1523; Vale v Steinmetz [2021] EWCA Civ 1087; WEX v Travelport [2020] EWHC 2670 (Comm); Sabbagh v Khoury [2019] EWHC 3004 (Comm); LLB Verwaltung (Switzerland) AG v Group Seven & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 614; Deutsche Bank v Unitech [2019] EWHC 969 (Comm); ECU v HSBC [2018] EWHC 3045 (Comm); Privatbank v Kolomoisky [2018] EWHC 3308 (Ch); Deutsche Bank v Savona [2018] EWCA Civ 1740; Greenwood v Goodwin – RBS Rights Litigation [2017]; Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (In Administration) v. Deutsche Bank & Bank of New York Mellon [2016]; Rosneft v. HM Treasury [2015] EWHC 248; Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander v. UBS [2014] EWHC 2540 (Comm); Deutsche Bank v. Sebastian Holdings [2014] EWCA Civ 1100; HSH Nordbank AG v. Intesa Sanpaolo SpA [2014] EWHC 142; Berezovsky v. Abramovich [2012] EWHC 2463 (Comm); Centrica v. Accenture [2010] EWCA Civ 912; UBS AG v. HSH Nordbank AG [2009] EWCA Civ 585 (CA); British Energy Power & Energy Trading Ltd v. Credit Suisse [2007] 2 Lloyds’s Rep 427; and Morgan Grenfell v. Arrows Autosports Limited [2004] All ER (D) 76.
Career
Called 1995; KC 2011. Appointed Deputy High Court Judge (QBD), authorised to sit in the Commercial Court (2016). Appointed as the Attorney General to the Duchy of Lancaster (2021). Elected a Bencher of Middle Temple (2013). Elected Chair of the Commercial Bar Association (2019-2021).
Education
Oxford University (Jurisprudence MA). Academic awards include: Sheelagh Griffiths Award (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Jurisprudence); Parker Scholarship (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, Jurisprudence); and Asbury Scholar of the Middle Temple.
Lawyer Rankings
London Bar > Commercial litigation
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Sonia Tolaney KC –One Essex Court ‘Sonia is simply the best. She is pitch perfect with her written and oral advocacy, ruthlessly efficient, and puts clients at ease. If a case is complicated and has significant reputational repercussions, she’s who clients want.’
‘A fantastic commercial set with superstars at all levels‘, One Essex Court is ‘a first port of call for any difficult dispute‘. In Virgin Aviation TM Limited & Anr v. Alaska Airlines Inc, Daniel Toledano KC acted for Virgin Enterprises (Virgin) in post-merger, declaratory proceedings over $160m royalty payments pursuant to a trade mark licensing agreement, with Virgin arguing that it is entitled to royalties even if the Virgin brand at issue is no longer in use. In Allianz Global Investors GmbH & others v G4S Limited, Laurence Rabinowitz KC, leading Simon Colton KC and Emma Jones, defended security services company G4S against shareholder claims for over £100m, which arose out of alleged untrue and misleading statements in G4S’s published information. Within the set’s enviable senior junior pool, Nehali Shah, led by Sonia Tolaney KC, is representing Deutsche Bank in a large claim, brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (on behalf failed US banks), against several banks and the British Bankers’ Association for alleged manipulation of the USD LIBOR interest rate.
London Bar > Insolvency
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 3Sonia Tolaney KC – One Essex Court ‘Sonia is one of the top advocates at the Commercial Bar. Brilliant but also down to earth. Her stellar advocacy and demeanour inspire confidence in clients. The best of the best.’
London Bar > Banking and finance (including consumer credit)
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1Sonia Tolaney KC –One Essex Court ‘Sonia is stupendously bright and works stunningly hard, but she manages to combine it with a sense of fun which brightens the team dynamic. Unlike some silks she is never aloof and if she thinks a junior’s draft needs reworking she will get it into a state which will convince the judge without ever undermining the junior. She has fabulous judgement.’
One Essex Court is known for its ‘consistently high performing barristers‘ who have cemented their position as a preeminent set in banking and finance, with regular instructions received from all the major bank panel law firms. Some of the set’s recent highlights includes Philipp v Barclays, which dealt with the possible extension of Quincecare duties owed by banks to corporate clients to retail customers, which saw members such as Sonia Tolaney KC and James Ruddell acting for UK Finance in a Supreme Court appeal. Laurence Rabinowitz KC is regularly instructed in relation to commercial litigation and high profile disputes in overseas courts, while Lord David Wolfson KC has acted for a number of high profile banks like PrivatBank over the past year. Henry Forbes Smith KC and Marcos Dracos KC were both appointed as silk in 2023. Nathaniel Bird joined the team in October 2023.
London Bar > Fraud: civil
(Leading Silks)Ranked: Tier 1‘One of the standout London commercial sets‘, One Essex Court fields ‘a great collection of top-end silks‘. The set’s members handle a sizeable number of cases that involve civil fraud elements, as well as allegations of bribery, conspiracy, deceit, misrepresentation, unlawful means, corruption or dishonesty. In one of the largest and most complex cases to come before the Commercial Court, Laurence Rabinowitz KC and Jamie Goldsmith KC represent SKAT, the Danish tax authority, in a high-profile £1.5bn claim against over 100 defendants, which concerns an alleged international conspiracy to deceive the Danish tax authority through “cum-ex” strategies. Sonia Tolaney KC‘s recent highlights include acting for Vale, a Brazilian multinational mining conglomerate, in a $2bn mining rights-related claim for fraudulent misrepresentation and conspiracy to defraud. Henry Forbes Smith KC, who is routinely instructed in major fraud disputes, is at silk level since March 2023; and rising star Alyssa Stansbury is currently part of the counsel team for a high-profile Ukrainian businessman, in PrivatBank v Kolomoisky, Bogolyubov & Ors, which concerns the allegation that approximately $2bn was misappropriated from Ukrainian bank PrivatBank. Nathaniel Bird joined the team in October 2023.
London Bar > Competition
One Essex Court has continued to develop the strength of its competition offering in-hand with the explosive growth the area has experienced in recent times, handling a steady stream of significant mandates proceeding through the CAT, as well as the High Court. Conall Patton KC successfully defeated a claim brought against Ede & Ravenscroft alleging abuse of dominant position, the case raised a novel defence which concerned “greenwashing” claims of the claimant which was held to be a fraudulent misrepresentation. Sonia Tolaney KC defended Mastercard against various UK retailers in a two-month trial before the CAT in January 2023, while Derek Spitz is representing the class representative in collective proceedings against BT; the first ‘opt-out’ action trial due to take place in early 2024.