Ready, Set, Specialize?

1.800. 973. 1177

CAREER COUNSELOR’S CORNER

Ready, Set, Specialize?

[Cary Griffith] Should you specialize your legal practice? We offer some pros and cons to narrowing your practice to one particular field of the law and some tips on how best to go about it.

Lawyers trying to decide whether to special-

For instance, “do I want to spend all my time

cialize have literally hundreds of areas from

ize face a challenging dilemma. For starters,

working on DWI cases, or should I accept

which to choose. And within specialization,

deciding to specialize implies narrowing your

anything that comes through the door?” But

the trend is toward finer and finer segmenta-

point of interest to a potentially fatal degree.

dig a little deeper and the question becomes

tions of the practice.

The annals of burnt out attorneys are rife

more complex. For many, the question

with stories of those who became experts,

involves potential financial gain and standard

Over the last 25 years plenty of lawyers have

then became pigeon-holed, then bored, tired,

of living. For others, it is a matter of personal

specialized in medical malpractice, securi-

and finally saw no other way out than to leave

preference. And for still others, the decision

ties law, bankruptcy, or criminal defense.

the practice.

to specialize is influenced by the community

But today an increasing number of lawyers

in which they practice, or the legal organiza-

are starting to drill down into those subject

tion of which they’re a part.

areas, offering their clients know-how and

And yet many agree with Mike Wilens, President of West Group, one of the largest legal

particular expertise in OBGYN malpractice,

publishers in the world. When asked what

In large part, all of the preceding dictates

Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, consumer

he thought about the lawyer of the future,

how a lawyer will respond to the question:

debt restructuring, or white collar criminal

he said, “if you don’t have a unique value

to specialize, or not to specialize? In some

defense-to name only a few.

proposition, you’ll be in a dog fight. General

instances, the answer will be quick and con-

practitioners get their lunch eaten by spe-

scious; in others, the myriad vagaries of time

In part these increased specializations are

cialists. General practitioners are in trouble.”

and the marketplace will lead the attorney-

a result of the need to differentiate yourself

possibly over a number of years-to a thriving

in the legal marketplace. To reiterate Mike

particularized practice. And still others may

Wilens, “general practitioners get their lunch

resist the temptation or push toward special-

eaten by specialists.” However, company

ization altogether.

needs and, in response, the legal market-

And yet others disagree.

“My practice has always been a general trial

place are also leading many attorneys into an

practice,” comments Brian O’Neill, one of The Case for Specialization

increasingly specialized practice.

from copyright cases to criminal cases to

When asked what advice he would give to

“I thought I was going to have an interesting

patent cases to environmental cases to busi-

young lawyers, Montana Supreme Court Jus-

career in products liability and mass tort,”

ness cases. I do both plaintiff’s and defen-

tice James C. Nelson said, “if I had it to do

comments Jan Conlin, a partner with Robins,

dant’s work-about half and half. And I have

over again, I’d …. specialize. It’s hard to do in

Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi. But in 1990 her firm

resisted the move to specialize.”

a small rural state, but the law is becoming

received a large patent infringement case

so complex that in most areas, you’d be well

and she was recruited to work on it.

America’s leading trial attorneys. “I’m not a specialist in anything. I try any kind of case

Most analysts think O’Neill is in a growing

served to pick an area you enjoy and learn

minority of lawyers with general legal prac-

everything you can about it and specialize in

Ms. Conlin explains that in recent years many

tices. But he is not alone.

it.”

companies have gone from looking at their

What’s Involved

Many lawyers agree with Nelson’s perspec-

standpoint to saying that if I have technol-

tive. Over the last 50 years, the world’s

ogy in that portfolio that I could license or

On the surface, deciding to specialize your

increased complexity has spawned increased

otherwise seek recovery on, that’s something

law practice involves a very simple question.

legal specialization. Lawyers deciding to spe-

I need to do because that’s an important

patent portfolios “purely from a defensive

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1. 800. 973.1177

CAREER COUNSELOR’S CORNER

munity. However, having noted that caveat, for

isNexis, “we redesigned our approach to the

twenty years he practiced law in a small rural

small firm practitioner. Now we’re offering

Many companies make significant research

Montana community that to at least some

more tailored online products for these at-

and development investments in technology,

degree required the he specialize in-among

torneys…. tailored for their practice special-

but find they can’t commercialize everything

other things-the laws governing oil and gas

ties and/or for their jurisdictions.”

resulting from their efforts. These companies

production.

return for our shareholders.”

look at their non-commercialized portfolios

Practical Considerations

and ask, says Ms. Conlin, ‘can I derive rev-

Again, in addition to the nature of your legal

enues from licensing that technology?’

organization, community needs can also affect

Lawyers trying to decide to specialize, or in

the focus and degree to which you specialize.

what area of the law to specialize in, face several different issues. Some of those issues

Companies like these hire attorneys like Ms. Conlin to assist them with that process, which

Associations, Educators, Vendors Respond

include: the needs of clients and the market, financial concerns, and personal interest.

is one of the reasons she has specialized in the practice of IP litigation.

In response to the trend toward greater specialization in the practice of law, legal associ-

Obviously two of the most important consid-

Other organizational needs can also influence

ations, legal education providers, and vendors

erations are your clients and their needs. The

an attorney’s practice path. When Ms. Conlin

have answered in kind. Over the last 20 years

simple fact is, unless businesses or people

was starting to practice law, her firm “didn’t

the ABA has taken an increased interest in the

are producing products, or have service needs

have an in-depth IP practice bench,” and so

specialized practice of law. Not only are there

in a particular area, the marketplace won’t be

she was recruited to assist. But if you’re a

an increasing number of special law practice

able to support your specialization. You may

corporate attorney, your degree of specializa-

groups, but those groups are taking a deeper

be truly interested in entomology, but unless

tion is largely dictated by the needs of the

interest in establishing specialized practice

you know people with legal needs involving the

business, and the size of your staff.

credentials and training their members. For

scientific study of insects, the market won’t

example, in 1993 the ABA adopted a set of

support a legal practice in the area.

“As a general counsel, a business is a busi-

Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) practice

ness,” comments Kris Bruer, Vice President

standards and began accrediting certification

One of the biggest reasons to specialize is

and General Counsel for Telex Communica-

organizations meeting them. In 1995, the ABA

income. Generally speaking, most people who

tions, Inc.. Even though the nature of Telex’s

authorized the National Elder Law Foundation

specialize will earn more and have higher an-

business is highly specialized and technologi-

(NELF) to grant certification in elder law to at-

nual salaries than their more general practice

cally specific, the day-to-day legal needs of

torneys meeting NELF’s requirements. Since

colleagues. That is certainly not always the

the company involve “HR issues, financial SEC

that time, many attorneys have obtained their

case, but the more know-how and value you

reporting issues, real estate issues, and any

CELA certification.

can provide a client-providing you’re prac-

Responding to the needs of increased spe-

more you should be able to charge for that

Ms. Bruer is General Counsel in an organiza-

cialization, national and local CLE providers

knowledge.

tion with a small legal staff. Some corporate

have created an increasing variety of highly

law departments employ over 200 in-house

specialized courses. These national and local

And finally there’s the not inconsequential

attorneys. Large companies like these

courses feature experts from myriad practice

consideration of personal interest. While

typically have specialists dealing with very

areas that instruct their attendees in the

some attorneys can become interested in just

particularized areas of the law. So in some in-

subtle vagaries of any one of a number of

about anything, most of us don’t share that

stances, the size of the law office-regardless

legal specialties.

gift. Hopefully, all of us have spent our young

ticing in an area of law that’s needed-the

number of other general corporate issues.”

lives developing interests in a variety of dif-

of whether it’s a private firm or a corporate law office-can influence the degree to which

Vendors, too, have responded to the increased

ferent topics, continuing-as we grow older-to

attorneys specialize.

specialization of the legal market by offering

differentiate and focus in on those interests.

legal tools specifically tailored to particular The community in which you practice can also

needs. West Group produces Westlaw and a

Regarding the selection of a legal specializa-

influence specialization. Montana Supreme

variety of other products, many tailored to

tion, it is a good idea to cultivate patience.

Court Justice James Nelson noted that spe-

particular legal specialists. And “in late 2002,”

According to Jack Levin, Senior Partner at

cializing can be difficult in a small rural com-

comments Lou Andreozzi, President of Lex-

Kirkland & Ellis, and the author of Mergers,

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CAREER COUNSELOR’S CORNER

Acquisitions, and Buyouts, “By [the 70s] I

area, chances are the needs of the law firm

was out of law school 9 years, but I felt that

will dictate specialization.

I hadn’t yet found a spot that I was enjoying.

Tax was intellectually stimulating, but there

To specialize or not to specialize your law

wasn’t enough active involvement in” negotiat-

practice is a simple question. But the answer

ing and some of the other aspects of mergers

can involve a variety of complicated issues.

and acquisitions work. That’s when Levin “be-

Community, finances, organizational issues,

gan representing large companies. I went out

degree of expertise, the needs of the market-

and began to negotiate transactions.” And it

place and your clients can all influence your

was then Levin finally found his niche, an area

decision.

of practice he’s continued in to this day.

Most legal analysts agree that lawyers will Never underestimate the importance of work-

continue to focus their practices, but not

ing in a subject area in which you believe you

always. In the end, an attorney’s personal

can remain interested, particularly over years

preferences may be one of the largest consid-

of practice.

erations in determining how specialized his or her practice becomes.

The Case Against Specialization For most attorneys, the largest reason not to specialize is personal. Many attorneys consider legal specialization too limiting. If, for example, you are contemplating practicing probate law, and you look into the future and see, twenty years hence, a legal practice with few digressions from probate, it may leave you with an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach. Others might look down that road and feel comforted. In the final analysis, the decision to specialize your practice is a very personal one.

Two other aspects of deciding not to specialize have already been noted, but are worth repeating: community, and organization. If you find yourself in a small rural community, the ability to specialize may be difficult. Because the practice needs of most small towns are very general, most small town attorneys lean toward generalization.

The kind of organization in which you work also affects your ability to specialize. If, for example, you’re general counsel of a small company, you’ll likely have few alternatives to being a generalist. The dictates of the job will require your opinion on a variety of legal issues. If, on the other hand, you’re an associate in a mega-law firm in a large metropolitan

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