Sonya Pfeiffer

Television Journalist 

Sonya Pfeiffer is a former award-winning television journalist who is now a practicing civil rights and criminal defense attorney. As a journalist, she worked internationally in Paris and Tel Aviv and covered major international stories including the Yitzhak Rabin assassination and the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords. She worked nationally in Omaha, Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Boston and New York. Pfeiffer has also directed and produced documentary films including the award-winning short “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Social Justice.” 

Pfeiffer attended law school at UNC-Chapel Hill and now practices criminal defense and civil rights in Charlotte, NC, at Rudolf Widenhouse. A skilled communicator, Pfeiffer has successfully counseled numerous clients through both jury trials and complicated plea negotiations. She has been named to SuperLawyers in Criminal Defense, presents continuing legal education courses across the U.S. and is a Trial Advocacy teacher at the University of Toronto. Pfeiffer is also of counsel to Brauti Thorning, in Toronto, and is in the process of becoming called to the bar in Ontario. 

Pfeiffer sits on the board of the U.S.-based National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, and the Mecklenburg County Bar Foundation. In addition to her trial work, Pfeiffer regularly moderates discussions and panels on a variety of topics; through her background in journalism, filmmaking and law, Pfeiffer brings a unique perspective to conversations related to the legal system and the public perception of the system. She and her law partner and husband, David Rudolf, also co- host the Webby Award-winning podcast on Audible, Abuse of Power, which focuses on the misuse of authority within the criminal legal system. 



Pfeiffer is also the owner and director of Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art in Charlotte, NC, where she leads the gallery’s strategic planning and programming. Pfeiffer represents artists who create challenging, thought-driven work that addresses relevant issues in our global society, and creates programs designed to stimulate dialogue through art. The gallery has been honored as Best Art Gallery by Charlotte Magazine and Most Relevant Art Gallery and Best Gallery to Buy Art by Elevate Lifestyle.