Sophie East

Sophie is a litigation partner with particular expertise in commercial disputes, banking and finance litigation, class actions and companies and securities law.

​​​​​​​Sophie regularly advises clients facing regulatory investigations and proceedings, including by the Commerce Commission, the FMA, NZX and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand/​NZICA.

Sophie has acted as defence counsel in several high profile class action proceedings. She co-authors the New Zealand chapter of the Class Actions Global Guide, published by Thompson Reuters.

Sophie holds a Master of Laws from Harvard Law School and worked for four years as an Associate in the international arbitration team at White & Case in New York. She has extensive international arbitration experience including acting for international organisations, military and defence contractors, and sovereign states.​

Sophie is a leading lawyer for dispute resolution in The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022, with clients describing her as "calm and directive" and that "she has the ability to look outside the square when problem solving". In previous editions clients described her as a “safe pair of hands". Sophie is also ranked as a leading litigation lawyer in Chambers Asia Pacific 2021. Clients noted that Sophie has a "fantastic reputation" and is a "well-known individual in the market".

In both 2020 and 2021, Sophie was named in Benchmark Asia-Pacific's Top 100 Women in Litigation which recognises leading female litigators who have participated in some of the "most impactful litigation matters in recent history". Sophie was named runner up for New Zealand Litigation Lawyer of the Year at the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards 2021.​ Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2021 also ranks Sophie as a leading "Litigation Star".​

Sophie also featured in the 2016 NZ Lawyer ​Hot List​.