Sonia Larbi Aïssa

  • Year of Call 2021

Introduction

Sonia comes to the Bar after working as a paralegal in two leading London law firms, one specialising in criminal defence and one specialising in public and private children law. Sonia worked on cases involving cash detention and forfeiture proceedings, multi-million pound confiscation orders after POCA convictions, complex Crown Court matters including PWITS, robbery and murder, and niche regulatory proceedings including taxi license appeals and HMRC AML decision appeals. 

Sonia also assisted with a busy caseload of public and private children proceedings acting for CAFCASS Guardians. Sonia worked on cases involving issues of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, parental alienation, deprivation of liberty orders, competent children clients and FDAC proceedings. 

During the first half of pupillage, Sonia gained experience in a wide area of Chambers' practice, including financial remedy proceedings, leave to remove from the jurisdiction proceedings in the Family Court, Environmental Protection Act prosecutions in the Magistrates Court and multi-million pound money laundering and human trafficking prosecutions in the Crown Court.

Sonia is keen to promote access to justice for all clients and is committed to a Legal Aid practice in both the criminal courts and for family matters.

 

Education

BPTC with LLM – BPP Law School: 2019-2020 (Very Competent)

Senior Status LLB – SOAS, University of London: 2017-2019 

Bachelor of Arts, Economics and International Development – McGill University, Canada: 2013-2017

Awards & Prizes

Ann Goddard Pupillage Scholarship, Gray’s Inn 2023

BPP Advocacy Scholarship 2019

Languages

French

Memberships

The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn

Young Fraud Lawyers Association 

Family Law Bar Association 

Criminal Bar Association 

Women in Criminal Law

Unite

 

Crime

R v S [2023] Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court

Secured an acquittal for a defendant charged with ABH on the basis the force she used was lawful self-defence. Defendant was found guilty of using force to obtain entry into a property.

 

R v B [2023] Ealing Magistrates’ Court 

Case of careless driving dismissed after successfully arguing abuse of process due to the court’s failure to secure Nepalese interpreters for three aborted trial dates. 

 

R v M [2023] Croydon Magistrates’ Court

Secured the acquittal of a defendant charged with sexual assault and assault of an emergency worker. Defendant was accused of groping a police officer’s backside and scratching his ear during an arrest for an unrelated matter.

 

R v M [2023] Snaresbrook Crown Court

Successfully resisted the imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence of six months imprisonment for a third offence of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and successfully resisted the activation of a suspended sentence. Defendant received a non-custodial sentence.

 

R v A [2023] Reading Crown Court

Successfully persuaded sentencing judge to step outside sentencing guidelines for PWITS Class A and B for a 21 year-old first-time offender and reduce the starting point of 3.5 years to 3 years. Defendant received maximum credit for early guilty plea and was sentenced to two years custody suspended for two years as judge found a realistic prospect of rehabilitation. 

 

CE v R [2023] Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Single Judge)

Obtained permission to appeal against sentence on the basis the sentencing judge erred in not obtaining a pre-sentence report and that the custodial term should have been suspended. Appellant pleaded guilty to ABH on a basis and was sentenced to 14 months custody, not suspended.

Child Arrangement

L-M v C [2023] 

Secured the return of an 11-year-old child who had been withheld from the mother by the father for seven months in contravention of an existing Child Arrangements Order. Decision turned on the conclusion of the section 7 report and the father’s inability to promote contact between the child and their three siblings.

 

U v M [2023]

Secured the return of a four-year-old child withheld from the mother by the father for two months in contravention of an existing Child Arrangements Order.

 

M v G [2023] 

Represented the Respondent in a three-day fact-finding hearing. Successfully resisted findings of sexual touching of four-year-old child by father, physical chastisement of child by father and that father instructed child to assault mother by stabbing her.