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In a recent wireSide chat interview with immigration attorney Steve Maggi, he mentioned the value of specialization in law practice.  Specialization in practice can be especially beneficial for entrepreneurial lawyers who work in SMLs (small to mid-sized law practices). Between the rapidly changing landscape of the legal industry, and the rise of entrepreneurship, attorneys have a tremendous opportunity to dominate a niche practice area. This applies to both senior and newer attorneys entering the field. Attorneys can specialize in a specific practice area or by client type (i.e. counsel to start-up businesses).  The ABA Journal published a great article on the pros and cons of building a niche practice.  Specialization allows you to become the go-to counsel for certain types of matters, and top of mind for referrals that fit the bill.  Examples of areas of specialization or niche include:

Hospitality Law

Wine Law

Medical Marijuana Law

Fashion Law

Environmental Law

E-Discovery

On-Line Gaming

In our latest wireLawyer video, Social Media and the Law: Panacea or Pandora's Box, we talked with matrimonial attorney Jacqueline Newman and immigration attorney Steve Maggi about how social media can threaten the litigation process. Watch the video where they give examples of social media gone rogue, how it's impacted the litigation process, and tips for your clients. 

How do small and mid-size law firms thrive in an economy where clients lean towards do it yourself technology versus traditional legal services? This situation challenges SML lawyers to become more creative in how they position services and manage firm operational efficiency. Often, lawyers see technological advances as our foe, when it actually forces us to innovate, and better serve clients. 

SMLs should outsource when possible. By outsourcing, you free up core staff to work on projects that significantly improve the value of service provided to clients. Additionally, you won’t have to pass on unnecessary costs to the client (of course, leading to more satisfied, repeat clients).

Many websites now crowdsource services such as clerical, technology and project support. Utilize them for work that doesn’t need to be managed by in-house, full-time staff. Here are a few websites for outsourcing:

Odesk 

Elance 

Task Rabbit 

Lastly, connect with other SML attorneys. Work together to vet prospects from these websites, share feedback and collaborate on your service provider list. In turn, you will build a stronger, more efficient, and client-centric law practice.

Small is the New Big: wireLawyer CEO Matthew Tollin presents a talk on crowd-sourcing the practice of law. He asks, "Can solo and small firms band together through technology to be bigger than Big Law?" SMLs (small to mid law practices) currently account for 80% of attorneys, 55/60% of revenue and over 90% of legal matters. However, for too long, technology creators, marketers and small firms themselves treat SMLs like little big firms.

We need new business models. The practice of the law has never been competitive and has always been collaborative (whether through big firm conference rooms or bar associations or email listservs). There are collaborative technologies out there that allow little firms to be more efficient and profitable.