Attorney
San Francisco, California, 94104
Sonya Smallets, a partner at Minnis & Smallets, has been representing employees who have been discriminated against, harassed, or wrongfully terminated by their employers for more than a dozen years.
Along with co-counsel, Sonya recently obtained a $475,000 jury verdict in a sexual harassment case, which is one of the highest emotional distress awards in an employment case in the Northern District of California in recent years.
Along with co-counsel, Sonya also obtained an arbitration award of more than $950,000 on behalf of a client who was terminated in retaliation for complaining of unpaid wages. Sonya is an active member of the Bay Area legal community. She is the Secretary and former Chair of the Executive Committee of the Alameda County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Section, a member of the California Employment Lawyers Association’s Legislative Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Plaintiffs’ Employment Lawyers Association.
Sonya also volunteers as a Supervising Attorney with the Workers’ Rights Clinic at Legal Aid at Work. Sonya graduated with honors from Swarthmore College and Berkeley Law. She then clerked for Judge Sidney Thomas of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California before working for Lawless & Lawless as an associate attorney.
Sonya was recently selected as one of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Northern California by Super Lawyers. In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, Sonya was chosen as a Super Lawyer. Sonya was selected as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2012, 2013, and 2014.
