Establishing Practice Areas

Something you will need to do early on is establish what type of lawyer you want to be in your new solo practice.  For some of you, this might be easy because you're experienced in certain areas of law and enjoy it.  For others of you, it may be more difficult.

When I opened my practice, I received advice to put my practice areas on my business card.  While this is probably a good idea for more established solo practitioners, but for me it wasn't the best idea.  Here's why.

When you start your practice, unless you plan to be a general attorney, you will need to decide what type of law to practice.  For me, I started with estate planning, divorce and criminal defense.  I had some experience in estate planning and divorce law and criminal defense was intriguing to me.  As I progressed in my practice, I found myself interested in employment law and opportunities began to present themselves in that practice area.  Today, two years later, I practice estate planning and divorce still but have dropped criminal defense and added employment law and business law.  You see, choosing practice areas at the beginning does not have to mean limiting yourself; it is simply a starting point.

So how do you choose those initial practice areas?  Ask yourself these questions and see what answers pop up:

1) Do I have experience in any area of law?
2) If so, have I enjoyed that area of law?
3) What types of law intrigue me?
4) What types of law do my mentors practice?  (Note: if you don't have a mentor, read this).
5) What areas of law have I taken a CLE about?
6) What CLEs are available for different practice areas?
7) Do I enjoy being in the courtroom or behind a desk?
8) Do I enjoy problem solving or preventing the problem?
9) What type of work/life balance do I want?

Once you answer those questions you can start narrowing down practice areas.  For example, if you hate the courtroom, you can probably cross off divorce and criminal defense from your list.  If you hate problem solving and like preventing the problem, maybe you'll enjoy estate planning or business law.

If you are still having a hard time narrowing it down, ask your mentors to allow you to shadow some cases so you get a good idea of what all is involved in that practice area.  And if you get into a practice area and hate it or struggle with it, then remove that practice area and move on.  Remember, this is your firm and you get the control; your firm can transform as much or little as you want.

If you are thinking about flying solo or have recently opened your own solo practice and would like to talk about the process, please contact us at (804) 447-0146 or clbaudean@baudeanlaw.com.