3 Niche Audiences of Clients to Pursue
You've taken our advice and expanded your practice to niche areas, but what are the corners of these practice areas? You can take your niche practice the next level by becoming specialized in a highly esoteric type of action inside a highly esoteric field of law.
Sounds like a Russian nesting doll, but it could be just the thing you need to set yourself apart from all the personal injury lawyers and DUI defense firms. Here are some ideas for niche audiences you can pursue.
In Elder Law
As more and more Baby Boomers age, elder law is becoming a hotter and hotter practice area. You might think estate planning is a necessity for this field, and you'd be right -- but there's more to be done than just writing a will.
Elder law can encompass things like conservatorship (deciding when and to whom to give legal authority over the client's affairs), as well as special needs trusts and inheritance issues for clients with disabilities or those on some type of government support.
In Workers Comp
Two niche practices inside of workers compensation are railroad and construction injuries. Construction is a difficult field due to the layers of contractors and subcontractors involved, along with the myriad insurance companies covering a given project. Couple that with the potential for an incapacitating injury or death at a work site and you've got a practice area ripe for specialization.
OK, construction makes sense, but railroads? It's true: Railroads are governed by federal law, and the Federal Employers Liability Act gives railroads some rights that you wouldn't ordinarily find in a normal workers compensation case. As a result, injured railroad employees will need some specialized in FELA and not just state workers compensation laws.
In Family Law
About two-thirds of divorces are initiated by women, according to the National Marriage Project. This results in many family law firms and divorce lawyers being wife-centric. But at the same time, a new focus, somewhat driven by the Fathers' Rights movement (for better or worse), has opened up: husband-centric divorce counsel.
Also consider that adoptions are becoming more intricate, and technology exists to allow surrogacy, implanting of eggs and sperm, freezing eggs, and creating a scenario in which there might be three parents instead of two. All of this will create legal dilemmas that need to be addressed by an expert in the field.
You could be that expert. That's where we're going with this.
Related Resources:
- 5 Ways to Find the Right Niche and Target Market for Your Small Business (Small Business Administration)
- Trailblazing: How to Start a Niche Practice (Washington State Bar Association)
- The Pros and Cons of Niche Practice (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Gun Trusts: Valuable Estate Planning Tool or Doomed Loophole? (FindLaw's Strategist)