PARIS — John Jenness Jr.’s law firm will see a changing of the guard Monday.

On Friday, he retired after 42 years in the business.

The Market Square building, which Jenness owns, was built in 1860 and has housed a law firm ever since.

Jenness said recently that George Wilson opened the practice and brought on his nephew, Walter Gray, which started the tradition of the “nephew” succeeding the uncle in the business. The practice became known as Wilson and Gray, which is written above the safe door next to the collection of law books, some of which date to 1860.

After Wilson’s death, Gray brought on someone he called his nephew, Gordon Stewart, who was a trial lawyer and state representative.

Jenness is Stewart’s nephew and took over for him.

Even though Greg Braun isn’t Jenness’ nephew, he’s the young attorney Jenness trusts to take care of his clients and the next best person to help carry on the 155-year-old tradition of the law firm.

“They’re going to be well cared for,” Braun promised.

Jenness is nearly 67 and has practiced law in Oxford Hills for the past 38 years. He began his career more than four decades ago, practicing in New York City for four years after passing the bar.

Jenness recalled when he heard his uncle was selling his practice he jumped on the opportunity to live and work in Northern New England.

The timing was perfect. It was 1976 and Jenness said he became frustrated with the administration at the Legal Aid Society and New York City itself.

“We used to strike for our clients’ rights,” he said, noting he worked roughly 6,000 cases in four years, often times gathering 30 new cases a week.

There wasn’t a sense of culture shock when Jenness moved from the big city to rural Western Maine, because he attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., for his undergraduate studies. But he did lack some legal skills that a small town lawyer needs.

“When I first walked in here, I had no civil practice at all. I had spent four years doing criminal law,” Jenness said. “I was getting a lot of court appointments and stuff, but I was getting people coming in to see me about wills and things like that because they knew Gordon.”

But he quickly learned that his clients’ needs were as varied as each one of them.

“In a small town, you’ve got to do a little bit of everything,” he said, from trial litigation to estate planning to family issues to bankruptcy to criminal law.

It’s one thing Braun said he likes most about practicing law.

“The enjoyable thing about being a small-town lawyer is you don’t have a choice, you have to be a jack-of-all-trades,” he said.

In the nearly four decades Jenness has worked in Oxford Hills, he’s found himself representing a person, then working on the will for their son, then doing will and/or estate planning for the grandson. It’s a tradition Braun plans to carry on.

“We try to create good relationships with our clients,” he said. “If I can’t help you with something, we’re going to recommend someone who can.”

He’s had an office in Bridgton for three years since he and his wife moved to Maine from North Carolina in 2010.

The Otisfield resident will officially take over the practice Monday, while keeping his law office in Bridgton.

Sandra Barrieau will stay on as paralegal, the phone number will remain the same, and the wills will stay in the Market Square office.

Braun and Jenness knew each other from the courts and through the Oxford County Trial Lawyers Association after Braun was invited to be a member.

“It sort of naturally happened. I knew he was retiring and … looking for someone to take over his practice and take care of his clients,” Braun said.

Jenness counted down the days to his retirement, starting with 1,000.

“I would have retired two years ago (if it wasn’t for) George Bush and his economy,” he said.

First on the list of things to do is travel to Seattle at the end of the month to visit his son, daughter-in-law and grandson.

“I was told by him when I go, I don’t have to return,” Jenness said, laughing.

He’s been to New Foundland, where he lived when he was a toddler, New Zealand, Ireland and Scotland, among others places. And even though he plans to travel, he will return to South Paris to open up his photography gallery, Sunset Hollow Gallery, in his old law firm building.

“It’s giving me the opportunity to get back in touch with my camera,” he said.

Jenness has been taking photographs since 1978.

“We joke that he’s going to be next door and how hard it will be to keep him out of the office,” Brauhn said, laughing.

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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct names.