“Manni & Son” could be the name of a new law firm in Oak Harbor.

In fact, the firm’s name remains Cohen, Manni & Theune, but there’s a new lawyer in the office, and he’s the son of one of the firm’s founders, Kenneth A. Manni.

Nathan M. Manni, 25, joined the firm just this week, after being sworn in to the Island County Bar Association by Superior Court Judge Alan Hancock last Friday.

“We could be the first father/son team in Island County,” said Kenneth Manni, emphasizing the “could.” He doesn’t know Island County history thoroughly enough to make the unqualified claim, but nobody he’s talked to has come up with another one. There’s a mother/daughter lawyer team in Coupeville with Joan McPherson and Molly McPherson, but no father/son attorneys at law, past or present, to his knowledge.

Nathan, the eldest of Kenneth and Eleanor Theresa Manni’s five children, graduated from Oak Harbor High School and Whitman College, then obtained his legal education at Ave Maria School of Law in Ann Arbor, Mich., graduating on the Dean’s Honor Roll. That’s also where he found his wife, Melissa, working in the school’s admissions office. But he never entertained thoughts of starting his career anywhere but Oak Harbor.

“I grew up here, and the high priority for my wife and I was to be near family,” he said. “Dad told me to choose a lifestyle first and build a family and work around that.”

It’s been a hectic three years for Nathan Manni, during which time he finished law school, married, passed the bar exam, and became the father of a son, Joseph, who is now 10-weeks-old. Not to mention buying a house in his home town and starting his career.

Kenneth Manni said the firm focuses on civil litigation, wills, trusts, and probate, but also does some criminal work. “Nathan will see and work with people over time, in a variety of different ways,” he said. “We’re not so specialized, and that makes it interesting.”

Nathan said he’s drawn to a small town legal practice, as opposed to working for some corporate law firm in a big city. “The human element fascinates me,” he said. “Their pains and their joys. I had my first appointment Monday — estate planning.”

Nathan’s parents, Kenneth and Eleanor Theresa, are natives of Connecticut. As Benedictian Obalats, they first journeyed west to work with a group of nuns on Shaw Island in the San Juans. They loved the area and settled in Oak Harbor. Kenneth was sworn into the Island County Bar Association in 1979 by Judge Howard Patrick.

Twenty-five years later, Kenneth Manni has a new partner in his own son. Who knows, if he can wait another 25 years, young Joseph might make it Island County’s first grandfather/father/son lawyer team.