Sonya Pfeiffer vigorously represents her clients at all stages of litigation. She specializes in complex, high conflict matters and frequently handles well publicized cases that draw media attention.Pfeiffer has practiced law in the United States since 2007. She began her career as a public defender, then transitioned to a large corporate law firm where she handled white collar criminal matters, civil litigation and pro bono death penalty work. Pfeiffer is now a partner at Pfeiffer Rudolf, where she focuses on wrongful convictions and police misconduct. Pfeiffer is also an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker. She spent more than a decade as a reporter in the United States and in Europe before earning her law degree, with a focus on investigative reporting. She covered major international stories while based in Paris, France, including the Yitzhak Rabin assassination in Tel Aviv and the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in Paris. She co-hosts Abuse of Power, a Webby Award-winning podcast that spotlights injustices in the criminal legal system. She is also the owner of Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art, a North Carolina based gallery with a focus on socially-engaged artists. In addition to strategic planning at the gallery, Pfeiffer works a number of arts-related organizations, advising artists and providing creative counseling. She also regularly moderates panels and roundtables related to law, art, and current events.Pfeiffer is a board member of US-based National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and US-based North Carolina Advocates for Justice. She is a member of the American Bar Association and serves on several Bar committees at the local and state level in North Carolina. She is also a member of the Bar in Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts, and is licensed to practice in all federal districts in North Carolina and before the Supreme Court of the United States. She was called to the bar in Ontario in 2022.

Bar AdmissionOntario 2022North Carolina, Massachusetts, and District of Columbia 2007Areas of ExpertiseCriminal LawHigh Stakes/High Conflict Civil LitigationFamily Law

As a trial ad instructor at U of T, experienced attorneys train law students hands-on advocacy techniques, practice and tactics in both civil and criminal trials. Students are immersed in the essentials of direct examination and cross examination, chambers advocacy, examinations for discovery, impeachment of witnesses, occurrence witness testimony, expert witnesses, the use of exhibits, closing arguments and addresses