One Essex Court has ‘an enviable reputation in banking and finance disputes, with unmatched strength in depth and a broad roster of very accomplished silks and juniors’. The group’s workload includes traditional banking and finance matters, consumer credit issues, PPI cases and retail banking work. Members are adept at handling domestic and international instructions for retail and investment banks, private clients, corporate entities, hedge funds and financial institutions. Laurence Rabinowitz KC is ‘a genuine star’, with expertise in appearing for and against banks in a wide range of contentious matters, and Sonia Tolaney KC is ‘brilliant on her feet in court’. Emma Jones is a key contact for derivatives transactions. Niranjan Venkatesan KC took silk in March 2025.
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Profile
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.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- ‘Sonia is a superstar of the Bar. A strategic thinker who is trusted by the judiciary.’