With specialties in real estate, elder law and estate planning, the attorneys at Farrell, Martin and Barnell make it their mission to help the people of Baldwinsville plan ahead. That’s been the case since the firm’s inception in 1946. Between the addition of Sara Connell Brady as a partner last year and the firm’s upcoming 70th anniversary next year, the partners are easing the transition for the firm’s future without losing sight of its storied past.

“One of the things we’re noticing now is we’re representing the third generation of families [of our client base],” said partner Charlie Farrell, whose father Simeon J. Farrell joined what was then the Gale and Stone firm in 1952.

Norman J. Martin joined the firm in 1958. In 1964, the firm became Farrell, Martin and Barnell, the name by which it’s been known ever since.

In 1976 and 1980, respectively, Charlie Farrell and Paul Martin joined their fathers’ practice. Farrell said he’d known since high school that he wanted to work in the family firm.

“Local people like to deal with local people,” Martin said of serving the Baldwinsville community.

Farrell said that as his client base ages, he finds himself delving into estate planning for people he and his father represented for years. At a small firm such as Farrell, Martin and Barnell, attorneys not only counsel their clients on how to deal with a loved one’s estate, but how to deal with the loss itself.

“What’s nice with families is … we’ve got stories to tell, and it sort of breaks things up for the family. They’re hurting,” Farrell said.

“There’s a sense of familiarity,” Martin added. “It’s not just black-and-white, X-Y-and-Z.”

The arrival of Brady in 2014 has been a boon to many of Farrell, Martin and Barnell’s older clients. Brady specializes in elder law and Medicaid. This allows the firm to provide a greater range of legal options to Baldwinsville residents instead of referring them elsewhere.

“We don’t have to have people go to other firms to deal with nursing homes [or] Medicaid,” Farrell said.

Brady, who came to Farrell, Martin and Barnell from a small Skaneateles practice, said the transition into this B’ville institution was easy, especially for her family.

“I like being in the community where my kids are,” she said. “Baldwinsville’s got a nice feel to it. Being here, I have more of an appreciation for the small-town feel of it.”

Brady said she was drawn to elder law while working for a firm in Syracuse during her time at Syracuse University’s College of Law.

“I’m a numbers person — I liked that it was complicated, but I’m a people person too,” she said. “It’s a more personal type of law.”

With Farrell and Martin both nearing retirement age, they are looking to Brady to help continue delivering quality legal services to the Baldwinsville area.

“There’s a lot of stress in this business,” Martin said. “If you have partners who can cover for you, it helps.”

As the firm approaches its 70th anniversary, the partners are discussing adding some new faces to the lineup in the next few years. Whatever happens, the strong community connection will remain.

“My father said, ‘I hope you don’t change the name,’” Farrell recalled of his late father, who passed away in 2006. “It is a name that’s known.”

Farrell, Martin and Barnell is located at 44 Oswego St. in Baldwinsville. You can reach the firm at 635-3222.