Lillian Jo Sondgeroth

Lillian Jo Sondgeroth Donohue was a Nevada attorney, educator, and community advocate whose legal career spanned roughly five decades. Born in Carroll, Iowa, she moved with her parents to Las Vegas in 1955 and went on to build a life in Nevada defined by service to her clients and community. Admitted to the practice of law in the 1970s, she was recognized as one of the first 100 women to practice law in Nevada, and she maintained a general practice that included criminal and civil matters, estate planning, family law, and related work.

Dedicated to public service, she was honored as a Colleague of the Nevada Law Foundation in 2001 and received the Trinity Educational Foundation Humanitarian Award in 2000. Governor Kenny Guinn issued a proclamation declaring May 7, 2001, 'A Day in Honor of Lillian Sondgeroth' in recognition of her pro-bono work on behalf of missing and exploited children, a cause to which she devoted considerable energy through her work with the Missing and Exploited Children's Foundation to reunite families.

Her civic involvement extended across Nevada. She served on the Advisory Board for the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and on the Citizens Advisory Board for the High Desert Prison, and she was a lifetime member of the Emerald Society of Nevada, a police and fire organization. In 2014 she sought election as a judge of the Fifth Judicial District Court, having long aspired to serve on the bench. Throughout her career she summarized her guiding philosophy simply: 'Justice for all is my motto, and the rule of law.'