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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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