Jonathan W. Cuneo of Washington, D.C. died peacefully on July 26 at his home on Martha’s Vineyard, surrounded by family and friends. He was 70.

He was born in New York City. His Canadian-born mother worked for the British Security Office during World War II and his American father worked as a lawyer, newspaperman, U.S. intelligence officer, aide to Fiorello LaGuardia and, for a period of time, also played in the NFL.

He attended Columbia University, where he earned a bachelor of arts degree. He went on to attend Cornell Law School and earned his juris doctor. After completing his degrees, he clerked for a federal judge and then entered into government service.

His entire work life was focused on consumer protection and anti-trust litigation, ensuring that the average person could not be overpowered and silenced by wealthy and powerful corporations.

He began his career by serving as assistant counsel and then counsel to the Subcommittee on Monopolies and Commercial Law in the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. In 1986, he went on to serve as general counsel and legislative representative to the committee to support antitrust laws. In 1988 he co-founded the National Association of Securities and Commercial Law Attorneys, serving as its general counsel from its founding until 2004.

Jonathan was the sole founder of his own practice which is still operating today as Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca, LLP. The firm specializes in anti-trust and consumer protection litigation and is widely recognized as one of the most respected practices in the Washington, D.C. area.

He had a long list of victories in litigation, representing defrauded investors in the Enron scandal and recovering the largest amount of money ever recovered in securities litigation — more than seven billion dollars.

He also pursued the first litigation against the Joe Camel cigarette ad campaign. It resulted in the uncovering of cigarette company documents acknowledging that the company was, in fact, targeting children. Those documents would later be used by the U.S. Attorney General when the federal government began litigation.

His firm also represented Hungarian Holocaust survivors seeking restitution from the U.S. government because of the actions of U.S. Army soldiers who looted a Hungarian train during World War II. The result of this case was a $25.5 million dollar settlement as well as an apology from the Bush administration for the soldiers’ behavior. The firm also litigated cases against Worldcom, Metromail and the Prudential insurance Ccompany, to name a few of many.

Jonathan received numerous awards and recognition for his work. He also authored pieces that appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Georgetown Law Journal and the Yale Human Rights and Development Law Journal.

He served on numerous nonprofit boards including American Antitrust Institute and the Violence Policy Center.

He enjoyed athletics and, for 15 years, boxed recreationally. He was a collegiate and club competitive heavyweight oarsman and a club rugby player.

Jonathan is survived by his loving wife of 29 years, Mara Liasson, their son Eli Cuneo and daughter Mia Rose Cuneo; his sister Sandra Cuneo; his first wife Lisa Burgett and their daughter Lucy Sharon Burgett Cuneo; and two grandchildren.

He will be deeply missed but his undeniably positive impact on the legal system will remain forever.