Practice Management

I am always interested in what other lawyers do, and I am always on the look out for interesting niches.  You know the ones?  Those that they do not discuss much in law school.  That is why I found interesting the launch by LexBlog of the Art Law Blog of Fox Rothchild.  Oh, the law firm is one those Big Law firms with hundreds of lawyers, but they also have a good number of niche specific blogs.  It would appear that this Big Law firm is looking to succeed as being a combination of small niche practices, and that is probably best.

To those that worried what might become of all of those art appreciation majors in college, the answer might very well be art law.  At least one of the attorneys, Marie C. Dooley, worked for art auction galleries before going to law school.

What does an art lawyer do exactly?  Well, it appears they deal with theft and stolen art issues, repatriation claims, due diligence, investigations, theft prevention, educational presentations, and intellectual property issues.  My thought really is that where there is big money changing hands there is a need for lawyers and there are disagreements.

A recent post on the Art Law Blog deals with "blockage discounts" in art.  I learned that this is a legal principle for adjusting the fair market value of art when there is a significant volume of art by the same artist at issue.

And, there are apparently books on the subject, now that I look.  The Art Law Handbook by Roy S Kaufman,  Art Law in a Nutshell by Christy O. King, and Art Law:  Cases and Materials by Leonard D. Duboff.  Most are books for laypeople, artist, and art investors, but where there are popular books there is a service being sought.

I do not know much about art beyond a strange appreciation for dogs playing poker.  The point for me, however, is that, yes, you could develop this niche in a big firm environment, but it is also true that you could develop such a niche as a boutique law firm, a virtual law firm, or even as a home office practice.  It gives you some idea of what might be available out there for you.