How a lawyer can change their specialist practice area

It is a common observation among middle-aged lawyers that the increasing need to specialise very early in a legal career has changed the face of the profession. Time spent in a more general or rounded practice has been much reduced, leading to a situation where lawyers are making key decisions about their future specialism much earlier.

But what happens when the supply of practitioners in their chosen area outstrips demand? And what if a lawyer has regrets about the choices they made at an early stage in their career? As career coach Tessa Armstrong, who specialises in coaching junior lawyers and associates, puts it: ‘In my experience of coaching junior solicitors, their choice of specialism is often one of the main factors affecting job satisfaction.’

She adds: ‘It is not uncommon for solicitors to have found themselves specialising in an area of law by default, rather than through careful thought about their career aspirations and personal strengths.’

A difficult economy has brought the issue to a head for a lot of lawyers. Many have found themselves made redundant, or may be seeking to negotiate the changed focus of the law firm they work for. Lawyers returning to practice after a career break face a similar set of challenges.

So demand for support in this area is high. As the Law Society’s Rita Oscar explains: ‘With the hit of the recession, the Law Society was conscious that the current climate was causing practitioners to seek to retrain in other practice areas.’ She adds: ‘We were receiving calls from solicitors who had faced redundancy because their area of practice had been hit by the recession; individuals who were on a career break and now found that they had to return for financial reasons; and sole practitioners who were looking to expand their areas of work.’

In response, the Law Society developed a one-day introductory training session to help solicitors considering a career move. A pilot of the training session offering an introduction to wills, probate and trusts was held in London in June 2009; the event reached its full capacity of 67 delegates with a waiting list of 85. The event was repeated in London in September 2009, and in 2010 in Leeds. The first event to be held this year will be an introduction to employment law.

At £100, the price of such courses is kept deliberately keen, allowing lawyers to follow a key piece of advice when considering a change – that they do plenty of homework.

Rachael North, director at recruitment consultant Laurence Simons, confirms that appetite to make a change among lawyers: ‘The recession has been extremely tough for many, and there is a definite appetite for "change" in the legal market.’ And as Armstrong notes: ‘In circumstances when solicitors want to change specialisms, it is really important to discuss their reasons for wanting to leave their current role to ensure that changing specialisms is the right thing for them to do.’

Chrissie Lightfoot, author of The Naked Lawyer, concurs: ‘Simply ask yourself the following questions and answer truthfully. Am I truly interested in this area of the law? Am I truly passionate about it? Do I really care, about the type of client I will be serving? Will I love what I do now and for the foreseeable future? Is it a job, a career or a lifestyle? If your answer is not "lifestyle", think again.’

Making a change in a difficult market, though, is not straightforward. As North’s fellow director Portia White explains: ‘Even though people want to change specialism, it is extremely difficult. This market is highly competitive.’

Opportunities to change can feel even more limited for a highly experienced practitioner, where they may combine an unwillingness to accept a temporary drop in their pay, with being that much further on from any experience they had of a more general practice. Some also feel there is some prejudice against an ‘old dog’ learning new tricks.

Lightfoot cautions that despite these very real challenges some of the barriers may be down to a natural reticence experienced by lawyers contemplating a change. ‘They’re probably thinking "what if I fail?". Or, even if they have the confidence, may be asking the question: "where do I start?"’

Both mental blocks can be overcome, she advises, but only if the individual can ‘let go of their ego and/or self-doubt’.

For any who move to a senior in-house legal position from private practice, it is accepted that there will be things they do not know. Very few in private practice will have an insight into the in-house legal department’s broad ‘ownership’ of risk management.

More junior lawyers may also have opportunities here. As one recruitment consultant tells the Gazette: ‘The candidate most in demand is typically the 10-year qualified solicitor with a very commercial outlook. If they also specialise in an in-demand area like banking and finance or telecoms, then they can, even now, take the pick of positions.’

That means that businesses that are either not big brands, or are unable to confirm an offer quickly, miss out on such candidates, he says. They therefore can accept that the job spec they drew up for the position may be one they need to depart from, accepting that they will attract better candidates if they take some responsibility for building up gaps in expertise.

‘You’ve already proven that you are a technically competent lawyer, regardless of the area of law,’ Lightfoot says. A key part of changing practice, therefore, is to ‘capitalise on your human capital and social capital’.

With particular reference to the in-house sector, North points out that some lawyers will be in a stronger position to change direction than others: ‘For example, technology lawyers can move a little more freely within the broader TMT sector. Or lawyers with IP skills may be able to move a little more easily around the fast moving consumer goods and retail sectors.’

Staying putWhile some lawyers will change to an utterly different specialism, if they are moving practice area, but remaining in the same firm, it is likely to be a move to a related area. This will still involve significant graft. Moving, for example, from general litigation to pensions or construction disputes, can be incredibly hard work.

As one partner at a top-20 City firm, who moved in to pensions disputes, tells the Gazette: ‘There are commercial litigators who believe they can pretty much litigate anything. But pensions is a highly specialised area of law, and knowledge of pensions law, and the priorities of the parties involved, shapes your strategy and the advice you give to your client.’

He recommends the move, which he made after becoming a salaried partner, but cautions: ‘You need to approach the change with a degree of humility – especially if you come from one of the large practices that have made more "noise" in the firm than the area you propose to move in to.’

Areas where project teams are needed are ideal places to build up commercial and specialist knowledge while in post. The tendency among some large firms to organise themselves by the industry sector they serve, as well as by practice teams, provides opportunities here.

In smaller firms though, or areas of the law where teams are not the norm, surely one of the most daunting tasks for a practitioner must be the need to build a new practice from scratch. This is, of course, more about marketing than requalifying.

Lightfoot notes that being systematic and committed is essential: ‘They need to "reach out and relate" – ROAR – to new potential clients, and build an "interest group" fast – network offline and online.’ Building a new practice, she notes ‘requires giving, giving and then giving some more to your potential clients’, by ‘finding new contacts, connections, and even new business for them’. This will be a new experience of the way lawyers work, Lightfoot notes, helping lawyers who take it seriously to ‘work their personal brand by becoming the "go to" lawyer’. She advises using social media in building presence and contacts.

North stresses the importance of looking to your ‘network’ through the entire process: ‘Establish and "nourish" your network. You may not get a foot in the door if you don’t have directly relevant experience and are an unknown quantity. However, if you have developed appropriate contacts, it can make a huge difference.’

Is a change of specialism worth so much heavy lifting? Armstrong concludes that it is: ‘If it is considered the right decision, it is certainly far better for the solicitor to change specialism rather than remain demotivated in their current role.’

The College of Law has developed a two-day retraining course in association with the Junior Lawyers Division aimed at enabling qualified solicitors practising in other areas to cope with the immediate demands of commercial practice.