Sonia Birdee > Garden Court North Chambers > Manchester, England > Barrister Profile

Sonia Birdee

01618176377 sbirdee@gcnchambers.co.uk View profile View profile

Work Department

• Discrimination law
• Public Law
• Housing
• Civil actions against the Police and public authorities
• Community care and mental health

Position

Sonia Birdee is a specialist in challenging discrimination arising in the context of housing and claimant led actions. She has acted to safeguard the rights of tenants and those seeking housing across the full spectrum of housing law for over 15 years.

Sonia acts for claimants in discrimination actions across most aspects of the Equality Act 2010.

She acts in judicial review proceedings and proceedings raising public law and human rights issues.  She acts for claimants in claims against the police.

Sonia undertakes publicly funded work and CFA work and was appointed to the Equality Human Rights Commission panel of preferred counsel in 2019.

Career

She represents tenants and homeless applicants across the full range of housing law.  She has particular experience representing Gypsies and Travellers.

Sonia has a multi-disciplinary practice which also covers community care and discrimination, areas which commonly overlap with housing law.  She is regularly instructed by the Official Solicitor.

Sonia represents claimants who have experienced discrimination in breach of the Equality Act 2010 and her practice includes all of the protected characteristics and all duties, save for employment, within that Act.

Sonia represents applicants in judicial review proceedings most commonly in community care.  She has extensive experience of dealing more broadly with public law arguments in a housing law context.

Sonia is instructed to represent claimants in all aspects of claims against the police. In trials, she is able to draw on her experience as a criminal defence advocate when she developed an expertise in cross examination of police officers.

Memberships

• Discrimination Law Association
• Association of women barristers
• Association of Asian Women Lawyers
• Bar Human Rights Committee
• Liberty
• Justice

Education

Sonia read jurisprudence at Wadham College, Oxford and completed the bar vocational course at the University of the West of England.

BVC (Very competent);
BA (Hons) Jurisprudence.