TEL: 020 7734 9700
including 24 HOUR POLICE STATION ADVICE
WESTGATE HOUSE, 9 HOLBORN, LONDON EC1N 2LL
SONIA WEAVER
Senior Paralegal
Email: s.weaver@sgkllp.com
Secure email: sonia.weaver@sgksolicitors.cjsm.net
Direct dial: 0203 167 6466
Sonia is an experienced paralegal having joined the firm in 2000 and has been an accredited police station representative since 2001. Sonia runs her own general crime caseload, dealing with both private and legal aid matters, as well as providing key assistance to the Partners in the overall management of the firm.
Sonia has excellent focus and attention to detail, a thorough and determined approach to case preparation, sound judgement and is a tenacious and passionate defender of her clients’ rights. Clients find Sonia approachable and informative and she is particularly understanding of clients facing personal difficulties arising from their cases. Her high standard of client care has led to a loyal client base and many referrals from clients and other lawyers.
Sonia’s practice encompasses the full range of criminal offending. Her notable cases include securing acquittals in cases of murder, conspiracy to traffic persons for sexual exploitation, death by dangerous driving, high value frauds and money laundering, serious assaults, sexual assaults, rape, and the successful defence of an Olympic athlete charged with assault.; Sonia also has experience of dealing with complex drug supply cases involving multiple kilos of drugs, her analytical skills frequently reducing the scope of a case such that the defendant receives a sentence far less than originally anticipated.
“Thank you for everything you have done for us…the impact of your work and dedication to which you do daily has given us our lives back”.
“Thank you so much for your tireless efforts and meticulous attention to detail in this case…Whatever the outcome, you have been amazing”.
“A quick note to express my gratitude to you and your team. Words cannot explain how much yesterday’s outcome has meant to our family”.
“I really, really appreciate the hard work you all put in. Forever grateful”.
2023 Basildon Crown Court (Ongoing)
Representing two of three defendants, one being the alleged leader of an Organised Crime Group, charged with large scale drugs supply involving multiple kilos of class A drugs together with related firearms and Proceeds of Crime Act allegations.
2023 Guildford CC (Ongoing)
Representing a vulnerable female defendant charged with possessing class A drugs with intent to supply and conspiracy to handle stolen goods, the charges arising from a separate conspiracy to burgle where numerous high value cars have been stolen from driveways across south London.
2023 Inner London Crown Court (ongoing)
Representing one of 5 defendants charged with conspiracy to steal from cars located in car parks throughout central London, with property stolen to a value of nearly £200,000.
2023 Woolwich Crown Court
Acquittal secured for one of five defendants in Operation Sevenstones, an allegation of murder where the victim was stabbed over 32 times in an incident of inter-gang tit-for-tat attacks in south London. The case involved expert evidence on drill music with the defendant being a popular drill artist, together with painstaking assessment of CCTV and pathological evidence, the latter leading to an alternative theory as to the timing of the fatal wounds not raised in two previous trials.
2023 Isleworth Crown Court
No evidence offered by the Crown on multiple charges of perverting the course of justice and making threats to kill largely arising from recorded calls made from prison.
2022 Reading Crown Court
Achieved rare Conditional Discharge for class A drug supply where the charges were brought late, the defendant having served a sentence for similar offences committed both before and after the instant charges.
2021 Kingston Crown Court
Represented a female defendant of good character accused of s.18 wounding with intent after ‘glassing’ another female on a nightclub dancefloor causing permanent eye injury. Despite conviction, a sentence of only 3.5 years’ imprisonment was passed.
2021 Maidstone Crown Court
Successful mitigation resulted in a Suspended Sentence Order for a young man who pleaded guilty to multiple counts of class A drug supply due to his personal circumstances.
2020 Maidstone Crown Court
With Raymond Shaw, represented a man facing a retrial for allegedly raping his partner. He had been convicted at his original trial when represented by another firm, that conviction being overturned at the Court of Appeal following our submissions over serious issues with regard to his original representation. The jury took an hour to acquit him at his retrial.
2020 Swindon CC
Achieved a sentence of 2y10m for a defendant with previous convictions for significant conspiracy to supply class A drugs offences accused of further similar ‘county lines’ offences. Careful assessment of the evidence hugely reduced the nature and scope of the offences such that limited pleas were accepted by the CPS and the sentence passed was a fraction of that originally faced.
2020 Met Police v B
Represented a nurse accused of sexually assaulting her neighbour’s children. Investigation closed after the children admitted inventing the allegations, leaving significant trauma in their wake.
2020 Winchester CC
Represented a defendant who pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply class A drugs in a ‘county lines’ case. The CPS provided ‘expert’ witness evidence estimating the value of the conspiracy many times over what the evidence suggested. A thorough assessment of the evidence and detailed Basis of Plea reducing the value was accepted by the sentencing judge without the need either for a defence expert witness or contested Newton hearing.
2019 Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court
Represented a non-UK national accused of sexually assaulting a fellow passenger on a plane flying into the UK.
2019 Southwark Crown Court
Secured a rare Suspended Sentence Order for a client who admitted perverting the course of justice by providing another driver’s details when stopped by the police for a minor driving offence, that other person having faced trial as a result.
2018 Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court
The defendant in this matter, an elderly man of good character, had previously been represented by another firm who had advised him to plead guilty to an Identity Documents Act offence. The case was transferred to this firm prior to sentencing where that advice was found to be flawed and an application to re-open plea was made and granted. The CPS thereafter offered no evidence against the defendant who came very close to being sentenced for an offence which did not exist in law, the previous solicitor, the police, CPS and District Judge all overlooking a key fact.
2018 Isleworth Crown Court
Represented a 79 year old woman of good character charged with arson with intent to endanger life after she deliberately set fire to a block of flats in the early hours following a dispute with her landlord.
2018 Kingston Crown Court
Client acquitted of s.18 GBH at trial, receiving a suspended sentence for the the less serious s.20 offence of unlawful wounding to which he had earlier pleaded guilty following a fight in which a fellow student’s jaw was broken.
2018 Maidstone Crown Court
Successfully persuaded the sentencing judge not to impose a “3rd strike” 7 year minimum sentence for serious drug trafficking offences due to the personal circumstances of the defendant.
2018 Met Police v M
Represented a mother under police investigation for the suspected “baby shaking syndrome” death of her son.
2018 Isleworth Crown Court
With Philip Hill, represented a man accused of stalking TV presenter Christine Lampard.
2018 Swindon Crown Court
With Paul Graham, represented two of a number of defendants accused of a large scale “county lines” drug supply conspiracy, including the man said to be the overall leader of the conspiracy.
2017 Southwark Crown Court
Represented a young woman accused of perjury and perverting the course of justice by making multiple false allegations of rape and sexual assault in a case attracting widespread national (and international) attention.
2016 Kingston Crown Court
Successful defence of a step-father accused of GBH and child cruelty to his 18 month old step-daughter following a complex and lengthy investigation by the police and Family Court. This followed an acquittal several monthly previously at the same court of assault allegations against the child’s mother in which she had accused the defendant of causing the miscarriage of their unborn child, defence requests for her medical records showing that she had, in fact, had an elective abortion.
2015 Wood Green Crown Court
Represented two brothers accused of wounding with intent following an alleged reprisal attack in a family feud where the complainant was stabbed on a busy street in broad daylight. Guilty pleas to alternative offences and exceptional personal mitigation on behalf of one of the brothers resulted in one significantly reduced custodial sentence and one suspended sentence.
2015 Woolwich Crown Court
Successful defence on the basis of consent of a young man of good character accused of raping his ex-girlfriend.
2015 Wood Green Crown Court
Represented a juvenile defendant accused of s.18 wounding with intent where two men had allegedly rushed into a house from behind her and assaulted the occupants with weapons causing serious injuries. Client acquitted following a successful submission of ‘no case to answer’ on the basis there was no evidence of a joint enterprise with the two unknown assailants.
2014 Southwark Crown Court
Represented the first of nine defendants in a large scale conspiracy to launder money and supply multiple kilos of class A and B drugs with an estimated street value of over £1.6 million.
2014 Southwark Crown Court
Represented a prolific commercial burglar and successfully persuaded the court to impose a non-custodial sentence despite 26 previous similar offences.
2013 Newcastle Crown Court
Represented the fourth of four defendants in what was believed to be the largest single seizure of cocaine in the North East. Despite being joined to the case several months after the first three defendants which resulted in a much shorter period to prepare, swift case preparation and realistic advice resulted in this defendant being the only one to receive full credit for his guilty pleas. In subsequent confiscation proceedings the alleged £11 million benefit figure was successfully reduced to £400,000.
2013 Maidstone Crown Court
Represented a defendant serving a life sentence for murder who was accused of absconding from lawful custody by walking out of an open prison. Minimal custodial sentence passed, despite similar previous offences, due to mitigating circumstances.
2013 Luton Crown Court
Represented one of seven defendants charged with conspiracy to defraud in what the Crown Prosecution Service described as a “sophisticated inheritance scam” worth over £300,000. Successfully reduced the charges to reflect the defendant’s limited involvement.
2012 Southwark Crown Court
Successful defence of a mother accused of child cruelty by feeding her diabetic child sugar, causing emergency admission to hospital, when it became evident that the mother was being blamed for the actions of the child himself.
2012 Central Criminal Court
Represented a defendant charged with conspiracy to defraud by use of ‘transaction reversal fraud’ at ATMs, initially valued at over £500,000 over a one year period. Successful reduction of offences to those committed over one evening with a value under £3,000.
