Many law firms fall into the trap of offering their services as legal generalists. They deal with all sorts of cases, acting as the Jack of all legal trades. While this might promise to bring in more income, it also means your firm gets lost in all the noise. If you want to remain relevant in the law field, you’ll have to define your target market and your preferred niche. This helps you establish yourself as a leader in your chosen field while driving even greater customer acquisition. On that note, this article looks at different legal specialties and how you can choose the best one per your interests.
Table of Contents
Most common types of lawyers.
To help you understand which legal career is right, we’ll first take a look at the most common types of lawyers.
- Criminal Defence Lawyer: This is a lawyer who deals directly with people accused of criminal activity. Acting as their advocate within the justice system, a criminal justice lawyer is a victim advocate who ensures that the freedoms of all accused persons and their basic rights are upheld at all times. If you choose to venture into a criminal justice career, you might offer a private attorney or public defender services. If your cases go to court, you’ll spend a lot more time appearing in court than most lawyers, and if you love real-world experience, this field experience will be rewarding. You can gain certification as a criminal justice lawyer from many state bar associations or you can pursue a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. A criminal justice degree will help you understand the basics of law enforcement and other aspects of the criminal justice system.
- Corporate Lawyer: A corporate or business lawyer is a legal officer with the power to handle all the legal matters of their chosen businesses. Some of the legal aspects of business transactions include the formation and dissolution of the business, protection of assets, mergers, and acquisitions. As a corporate attorney, you might spend less time in the courtroom and more time behind your desk, conducting legal research, negotiating contracts, or writing and revising legal documents.
- Immigration Lawyer: Immigration lawyers offer the needed guidance to anyone seeking citizenship in a specific country for life, work, or school. They deal with families, individuals, and institutions such as refugee camps and asylum camps. For experience, you’ll have to work in various settings, from government agencies to firms that specialize in immigration law to non-profit organizations.
Tips to choose a legal niche.
If you’re wondering how to pick the best niche for your firm, you can consider these tips and get started right away.
1. Think about what you like doing.
The first tip to finding a legal career niche you’ll be successful at is to think long and deep about the kind of legal work you enjoy. Finding a niche isn’t only about the monetary gains; it also entails the personal rewards of seeing clients satisfied.
2. Try to remain focused.
When selecting a specialization, it is great to focus on a specific industry, the size of revenue you wish to receive and the kind of services you’ll want to offer. Focusing on your niche and your preferred revenue size and service provision ensures that you get to do the work you want to do within your niche. It further improves your specialization, which is great to reduce stress.
3. Check the trends.
What are the new trends coming up you’d like to jump on? Which services are your preferred clients looking for in the legal market? These questions will help you get an idea of all the new, emerging opportunities and the services that have their needs declining.
All in all, a typical law degree equips you with basic skills such as problem-solving, mediating, communication, amongst others, to help you fulfill your role in the profession. You can choose between physical classes and online course materials. Some schools offer scholarships and low tuition rates; thus, you’re assured of affordability.
