Sonya received her law degree from Columbia University, and was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and was a Pro Bono Honoree. Sonya received her business degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan Flagler Business School, and earned seventeen undergraduate scholarships.

Before founding Tien Law Firm, Sonya practiced law at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP with a focus on complex litigation, securities, mergers and acquisitions, corporate compliance, and white collar defense and investigations. Her clients have included, Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Goldman Sachs Asia, Barclays, Oppenheimer, Tishman Speyer, Catalent, and CBRE. She has been recognized as a Rising Star by Super Lawyers and her articles have been published in the Wall Street Lawyer and Practising Law Institute.