By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

For Bernard and Andrew Freedman, the decision came down to stability and growth.

The father-and-son legal team, the only remaining partners in the Norton/Radin/Hoover/Freedman law firm, are joining Syracuse-based Ferrara Fiorenza Larrison Barrett & Reitz PC. The merger of practices, which takes effect Jan. 1, unites two firms that focus their respective practices on education law - specifically, representing school districts.

The Freedmans say they reached out to Ben Ferrara, a partner at Ferrara Fiorenza, in the spring about a merger.

"We were looking to grow and also to find a firm with a compatible style," Andrew Freedman said.

The two firms had worked together in the past as co-counsel on multiple cases, and Bernard "Bernie" Freedman - who has practiced law for nearly five decades - and Ferrara have known each other for years. That level of familiarity, partners from both firms said, made the transition easier.

"We practice statewide and we already have some clients in this area, so we felt it would be great to have an expanded practice in Buffalo," Ferrara said of the merger. "We originally thought it would be good to have a joint venture, but we are both kind of small firms with specialized practices, so we thought, ‘Why complicate things?' "

In the end, the two firms decided that Ferrara Fiorenza would take over the Freedmans' Buffalo office, with Andrew and Bernie Freedman coming on as partners. Both will remain in Buffalo, with Andrew running the first satellite office for the Syracuse firm.

"We knew both firms would be sacrificing a little bit of their autonomy, but in return we think we are gaining more consistency and stability," Ferrara said.

Together, the firms will serve more than 150 school districts annually, though Ferrara says that number fluctuates year to year.

"We may represent 160 districts," he explains. "But some of them, especially the smaller ones, may not need our services every year. So we won't be billing 160 districts in a year."

Andrew Freedman says education law is a growing practice area.

"This practice has evolved and, I think, become more litigious," Freedman says. "Around this time, things used to quiet down. You could count on certain seasons, so to speak, being slower. But in the last five years, you don't have down time at all. We see the litigious side of things in school, and it has made the role of the school attorney more important."

Ferrara believes the fact that schools today play a role in social services for students is a factor in a rise in litigation.

"Especially in the smaller villages and towns, the school is where everything is going on," he says. "They also happen to be the deepest pockets around, so they are also the target of quite a bit of overtures for litigation or for favors."

Both the Freedmans and Ferrara say they will look to use their alliance to build their Western New York business, combining the size of the 20-attorney Ferrara firm with the local roots of the Freedmans.

"We were looking to add some depth to our practice," said Andrew Freedman, "and we think this is going to make our business here even stronger."