Jerome N. Sonosky, a lawyer who worked for the Washington law firm Hogan & Hartson for more than 25 years before retiring in 1995, died March 22 at Mount Vernon Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He was 82.
He had complications from Parkinson’s disease, said his daughter Ellen Carey.
As a young man, Mr. Sonosky worked in the Justice Department’s tax division and was a legislative assistant to Rep. John A. Blatnik (D-Minn.). While working for Blatnik, Mr. Sonosky contributed to legislation that led to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.
In 1961, Mr. Sonosky joined the old Department of Health, Education and Welfare and worked on legislation that regulated pharmaceuticals. Two years later, he began working in the office of Sen. Abraham Ribicoff (D-Conn.), and he later served as staff director and general counsel for a subcommittee within the Senate Committee on Government Operations.
While working for Ribicoff, Mr. Sonosky helped coordinate hearings on pesticides, auto safety and the federal government’s role in urban affairs.
Mr. Sonosky joined Hogan & Hartson in 1967, and his clients included Mercedes-Benz of North America. In retirement, he ran an antiques shop in Waldorf.
Jerome Nathan Sonosky was a native of Chisholm, Minn. He was a 1952 graduate of the University of Minnesota and a 1956 graduate of Georgetown University’s law school.
His wife of 50 years, the former Catherine Elaine Kelley, died in 2009. Their son John Sonosky died in 1968.
Survivors include four children, Paul Sonosky of Alexandria, Mary McCullough of Vienna, Ellen Carey of Stamford, Conn., and Colleen Sonosky of Alexandria; a sister; and two grandsons.
— T. Rees Shapiro