by Jackie Nunnery
The new year marked an end of an era at Dunton, Simmons & Dunton in White Stone as Ammon Dunton Jr. officially retired from the law firm after nearly 60 years. Dunton joined his father, Ammon Dunton Sr., at the firm in 1967 after serving in the U.S. Army, getting his law degree at University of Virginia, and a short stint at Wall Street firm Shearman & Sterling (now A&O Shearman) in New York City.
While practicing in trust and estate law, Dunton also managed to find time to lead many area businesses, serving as chairman on the boards of Bank of Lancaster and Northern Neck Insurance Company among others. He also served as president of the Northern Neck Bar Association, vice-president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Virginia State Bar Association Committee on Issues of State and National Importance.
While Dunton’s legal and business career has been both long and illustrious—he appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1977 in defense of a Virginia statute that prohibited nonresidents from fishing for menhaden in Virginia waters—it is the work done outside this of which he is most proud.
“I wanted to use my talents to benefit the community,” Dunton said, “because it was needed here.” That commitment helped steer organizations like….
