Sonya is a Senior Associate in our Bristol Corporate law team.
With over 15 years' experience advising ambitious businesses on a wide range of corporate and investment matters, Sonya specialises in working with high-growth companies in the technology and life sciences sectors, from early-stage start-ups and scale-ups (including University spin-outs) through to well-established companies, and is recognised for her clear, commercial advice tailored to the fast-paced needs of innovative businesses.
Sonya has particular expertise in private equity, angel and venture capital investments, from early-stage seed funding (including SEIS and EIS) through to Series A and B investment rounds. She regularly advises clients on how best to prepare their businesses for equity investment or exit, supporting them on strategic structuring decisions and investor readiness.
She also advises on a broad range of corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, shareholder arrangements, and share buy-backs. Her experience spans the full company lifecycle, from formation and early funding through to exit.
Sonya acts as a trusted adviser to clients across the UK and provides Lawyer-in-Residence services to SETsquared Bristol, SETsquared Bath, and Science Creates, where she supports founders and leadership teams on all aspects of their growth journey.
She enjoys working closely with clients to understand their different needs and requirements and delivers clear, practical and personalised advice.
Sonya is based in our Bristol office but can support you nationally.
Sonya May is a rising superstar. Brilliant lawyer who is a joy to work with. She is patient, knowledgeable and responsive.
What others say
"Nathan and Sonya, we want to thank you both for making the sale of our business so easy for Sam and myself. It was a long seven months and we can't tell you how much we appreciate the late nights and weekends you committed to making it all happen…Your obvious knowledge instilled confidence in us both, and we felt completely comfortable in fully trusting in your expertise. You absolutely had our backs throughout the whole process and were willing to go the extra mile where you felt it necessary. As part of the wider sales process, all the people we had experiences with in VWV were as professional as you were and just as committed to getting required tasks completed on time. We are so pleased VWV were recommended to us and we will have no hesitation in using and recommending VWV in the future. Thank you!" - Clive & Samantha Woods, former owners of Advance Insurance Agencies.
"The VWV team provided outstanding support throughout the entire M&A process. They also navigated and successfully achieved a share capital reduction through the Courts. A special mention should go to Nathan Guest and Sonya May for guiding us so skillfully through each stage of the journey. The VWV approach ensures their clients fully informed at every stage, yet all the heavy lifting is done quietly, competently and professionally behind the scenes. Thank you for the excellent service throughout, it was an absolute pleasure working with you." - Russ Ticehurst, Co-Founder of Serbus Limited.
"We had a deal to complete from a challenging standing start. Nathan and Sonya quickly established a relationship of trust as they ably helped navigate us to a very successful completion. In doing so, they showed excellent market knowledge, uncommon and valuable commercial appreciation in nuancing their legal advice to fit our situation, a very productive ability for fair challenge, and market leading core legal skills as good as the best. We continue to get their wider assistance and have already strongly recommended them to other companies." - Astral Systems
What you might like to know
Outside of work, Sonya can usually be found standing on the side of a muddy football pitch cheering on her two young sons. When not pitch-side, Sonya enjoys sport, travelling and music.
Other teams Sonya works with
In addition to the Corporate team, Sonya also works closely with our Commercial, Data Protection, Intellectual Property, Tax, Employment and Real Estate teams.
