Duane P. Stone
Managing Attorney/President
Duane
Stone saw the world and returned home to plant his roots, because he loves the
people, culture and beauty of South Central Pennsylvania.
Duane
graduated from Big Spring High School located in Cumberland County,
Pennsylvania, but instead of going straight to college he decided he should see
the world, so he joined the United States Navy. He served primarily on the USS
Seattle (AOE-3), and participated in the Persian Gulf War (I), Bosnian Civil
War, Russian Coup and Caribbean Drug Interdiction Operations. He visited 13
countries, and received 13 medals and ribbons for his service. His primary duty
was as the Legal Clerk for the ship's six hundred person crew. He helped
conduct courts-martial and disciplinary proceedings, prepared estate plans, and
advised the ship's Captain on legal issues, including International Law. Duane
was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy as a Yeoman Third Class Petty
Officer.
Immediately
after being discharged Duane studied history and political science at
Elizabethtown College. While attending E-town, he served two years in the U.S.
Naval Reserves until honorably discharged. E-town College was more than the
pursuit of academic knowledge, it was an experience. He married his longtime
sweetheart; fought and defeated Hodgkin's disease (a type of cancer); and won
the "George Bloom Award" from the Finnegan Fellowship
Foundation. As a Finnegan Fellow, he,
worked for two summers in the Office of Policy Development for the Department
of Public Welfare, and helped "kicked off" the "Governor's
Disability Agenda." In 1997, he graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts
degree.
After
graduating Duane decided to pursue his goal of becoming an attorney. He chose
to go to the Syracuse University College of Law, where he received a Dean's
Scholar Scholarship. In his first year he was part of a select group that not
only learned the basics of U.S. law, but international law as well. While in
law school he decided he wanted to help people create and establish businesses,
and to protect their hard earned assets. In his first law school summer he
clerked for a local attorney working with Wills and Trusts. During his second
year Duane was selected, through a writing competition, to be on The Digest,
the Journal of the National Italian American Bar Association, as an Associate
Editor. The following year he became the
Assistant Managing Editor. In addition, Duane clerked full time for a firm that
specialized in civil litigation. During Duane's third year he became a judicial
extern for the Honorable Thomas J. McAvoy, Federal District Judge for the
Northern District of New York. While there he worked on habeus corpus
petitions, social security petitions, civil suits and election law.
After graduating
Duane moved home to South Central Pennsylvania, passed the Pennsylvania bar
exam and worked a few years for a local law firm where he gained valuable
practical experience in arbitration, business, corporate and non-profit law,
contract drafting, nursing home law, collections and estate planning. Duane
also began teaching Business Law for Elizabethtown College (where he still
teaches business and constitutional law courses). After practicing law at a firm, Duane decided
he needed practical business experience from the perspective of a major
corporation for use in advising future clients, so he became an in house
counsel for Synertech Health System Solutions, LLC and AMISYS, LLC. There Duane
learned the intricacies and balance between law and business. His tasks
included drafting and negotiating contracts with Fortune 500 companies and
local vendors, and giving advice on proposed business decisions and legal
liability.
In 2003,
Duane decided to open his law practice dedicated to assisting his clients in reaching
their business potential and in preserving the assets they have worked so hard
to obtain. His client base spans all of Central Pennsylvania including the
cities of Camp Hill, Carlisle, Shippensburg, East Shore, Harrisburg, Lancaster,
Lebanon, Lemoyne, Mechanicsburg, New Cumberland, West Shore, Hanover,
Gettysburg, and York, as well as individuals and corporations throughout
Adams County, Cumberland County, Dauphin County, Franklin County, Juniata County, Lancaster County, Lebanon
County, Mifflin County, Perry County, York County.
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