Legal Marketing & PR

Narrow Your Practice Niche To Broader Your Reach

By Tom Kane

Lawyers with a real niche practice are pretty much aware that it is easier to have clients, prospects and referrals understand what they do. Generalists have a harder time standing out from the crowd, when it comes to being recognized as different from every other lawyer in their area. I've written before about how a solo or small firm can have a general practice in a small market, but in larger marketplaces (i.e. big metropolitan areas) it is a lot more difficult to stand out.

In either case, a narrow niche is still better, if there is enough work out there for your niche in the first place. Trey Ryder has an article in his recent newsletter that advocates for a narrow niche as well. We both agree that 'the more narrow your niche – and the more effective your marketing program – the more your practice will soar.'

He cites the case of a lawyer who represented a city against the manufacturer of faulty plastic pipes used in a water utility system. After he was successful, 'another city came to him. Then another and another.' Presumably, he focused on letting other cities know about his practice, and now 'attracts clients from all over the country.'

So, even those in smaller markets can have a broader regional, even national, practice with a recognized and specialized niche.

Full post as published by Legal Marketing Blog on March 30, 2010 (boomark / email).