<Tr> <Th> Preceded by </Th> <Td> Alexandra Cabot (as ADA) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Succeeded by </Th> <Td> Alexandra Cabot (as ADA) David Haden (as EADA) </Td> </Tr> <P> Sonya Paxton is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Golden Globe, Emmy, and Academy Award winning actress and director Christine Lahti . </P> <P> Paxton works in the Manhattan District Attorney's office under the authority of Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston; Law & Order), as an Executive Assistant District Attorney . A member of the DA's office for over 25 years, she has a black - and - white view of the law, and makes sure all procedures are handled "by the book ." Having previously worked in the Appeals Bureau, she was the first prosecutor to get a capital conviction in New York when the then newly elected Governor George Pataki brought back the death penalty in 1995 . As opposed to other female executives, such as Elizabeth Donnelly, she was permitted to work as a Homicide ADA in the 1980s . </P>

Who plays sonya on law and order svu