A Realistic Approach to Changing Practice Areas

Whatever the reason, there are various factors that make a transition to a different practice area more or less feasible as a career option, and hopefully by reading about and considering these factors in detail, you will come to a more informed decision about the next step in your career.

Factor One - Is Your Desired Practice Area Related At All To Your Current Practice Area?


If you are looking to switch to an entirely different practice area, e.g., from litigation to real estate transactions, it is going to be an extremely tough sell to future prospective employers. As I have discussed in a previous article, you should always consider your job search from the perspective of a prospective employer and what they are going to be looking for in a potential hire - the bottom line is value.

You may be a good attorney. In fact, you may be an excellent attorney, and a top-notch litigator. But if you do not have the requisite experience, knowledge, and skill set for a particular practice area, it is hard to see from a hiring perspective why you would be a more valuable addition than an attorney who has already been practicing in that area for a number of years.

There are a lot of good attorneys out there, but to use a simple sports analogy, there are a lot of good professional athletes out there, and if you are looking to add a pitcher to your major league baseball team, even the top tennis pro is unlikely to be an appealing prospect if you are in charge of hiring for the position and your bottom line concern is for the success of the team.

The closer your target practice area is to your current and past experience, the better chance you will have. A real estate attorney might make a natural transition into a leisure and resorts practice, because there are many common underlying elements. Depending on the particulars of her experience, a tax attorney might be able to market herself into a trusts and estate planning position. I think you get the point.

If you are looking to make a move into a different practice area, it is an extremely helpful exercise to catalog your credentials and experience that relate to your target practice area, and to see how actually substantive they are, thinking of things from a hiring-side perspective. You might be a great attorney, but do you bring enough value, and can you handle matters in that practice area right now, or very shortly in the future with minimal training? If not, it is going to be a hard sell.
Factor Two - How Senior Are You?

Very much related to the first factor is how senior of an attorney you are. Most major firms, and many mid-sized and smaller firms, tend to stick to a fairly rigid hierarchy of hiring and promotion by class year, even firms who have adopted a "merit-based" compensation system rather than a lock-step system. For a wide variety of reasons, some practical, some internally political, the more senior you are, the less of a chance you are going to have at making a practice area transition.

For example, if you are a sixth-year litigator with only litigation experience, it doesn't matter that you have second-chaired three federal jury trials and conducted over one hundred depositions. Your resume and experience is simply not going to get you an interview for a technology transactions position. A firm looking to hire is hiring because they need experience and capability in a particular practice area, and if you do not have that experience, it is not an attractive value proposition.

You might say that you are willing to be flexible on entry-level class year, and apply as a sixth-year litigator to an entry-level real estate position, but again, this is not going to look very attractive to firms. While you might think that the firm is getting a great deal because they will have an experienced attorney at a lesser cost, firms just do not see it this way. They will wonder why you did not have the foresight to pick the practice area you liked within the first few years of your career. They will wonder whether you will simply give up on this new practice area in a few years, just as you became disillusioned with your current one. And clients will wonder about the practice abilities of a Class of 2006 attorney who is being billed out at entry-level rates.

If you are very junior in your career, and are not enjoying your practice area (and see more senior attorneys in your practice area doing things that would not excite you once you get to do them), you should speak to your partners as soon as possible about getting different kinds of assignments and transitioning into another practice or, failing that, to lateral to a different firm within your first 2-3 years. After that, it gets much harder.

Factor Three - What Market and Firms Are You Targeting?

The above two factors are going to be the most true for big firms in big markets, where they will have dozens, if not hundreds, of highly-qualified applicants for any potential position. However, if you are targeting a smaller market where you have extensive personal ties (e.g., you are looking to move back to a smaller or medium-sized town where your family lives), you may have a somewhat easier time marketing yourself for different practice areas as long as your overall credentials are generally strong.

A lot of law firms in smaller and mid-sized markets are generalists - because of the smaller population and smaller economy, in order to sustain a viable law firm practice, many firms and attorneys in smaller and mid-sized markets handle a wider variety of work, such as a blend of transactional and litigation work for the same corporate client.

With the caveat that you need to be cautious that you are prepared and qualified to handle particular matters so that you do not run afoul of attorney ethics rules, you can often pick up different types of work in these markets, and lateral in to a firm based on the strength of your credentials and personal ties to the area rather than practice-specific experience. Of course, what will help you the most in this situation, and will be very helpful in the larger markets as well, is the next factor…

Factor Four - Do You Have Portable Business?

The entire lateral job search calculus changes immensely once you have portable business, that is, clients and matters that you can guarantee you will bring with you in a lateral move to a new firm.

For one, portable business changes the value proposition tremendously, and generally in direct proportion to the annual billable amount. If you can sustain yourself, that is bring in enough billable business to cover the cost of your own salary and some overhead, almost any firm will be willing to take a look at you as a lateral candidate unless the type of work and your client base simply does not fit at all with their firm profile or business model.

The best case scenario, and one that will make it more likely that you can start gaining significant experience in another practice area, is if you have a client who has legal work that your current firm is incapable of servicing. For instance, if you do litigation work for a business client, and you are working for a firm that does only litigation, that client will have to look elsewhere for their transactional needs. But if you lateral to a firm that has a strong transactional practice, you can cross-market your new transactional group to the client, and begin to take part in that type of work by being on the team that handles the transactional matters.

Conclusions

Hopefully this article has provided some helpful information in how to think about the realistic prospects of a lateral job search if you are looking to switch practice areas. It is of course important what type of work you want to do going forward, since it is your life and your career. But in order to do that kind of work, you need to have clients or find firms who are willing to pay you to do that kind of work, and thus it becomes a matter of selling yourself and your value, making sure that you are taking a realistic approach.

As always, if you are looking to transition into a new position, or think you might have the background and experience to transition into a new practice area moving forward in your career, do not hesitate to get in touch with a BCG recruiter.


About Harrison Barnes

No legal recruiter in the United States has placed more attorneys at top law firms across every practice area than Harrison Barnes. His unmatched expertise, industry connections, and proven placement strategies have made him the most influential legal career advisor for attorneys seeking success in Big Law, elite boutiques, mid-sized firms, small firms, firms in the largest and smallest markets, and in over 350 separate practice areas.

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Most legal recruiters focus only on placing attorneys in large markets or specific practice areas, but Harrison places attorneys at all levels, in all practice areas, and in all locations-from the most prestigious firms in New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., to small and mid-sized firms in rural markets. Every week, he successfully places attorneys not only in high-demand practice areas like corporate and litigation but also in niche and less commonly recruited areas such as:

• Immigration Law
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This breadth of placements is unheard of in the legal recruiting industry and is a testament to his extraordinary ability to connect attorneys with the right firms, regardless of market size or practice area.

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With over 25 years of experience, Harrison has successfully placed attorneys at over 1,000 law firms, including:

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Unmatched Commitment to Attorney Success - The Story of BCG Attorney Search

Harrison Barnes is not just the most effective legal recruiter in the country, he is also the founder of BCG Attorney Search, a recruiting powerhouse that has helped thousands of attorneys transform their careers. His vision for BCG goes beyond just job placement; it is built on a mission to provide attorneys with opportunities they would never have access to otherwise. Unlike traditional recruiting firms, BCG Attorney Search operates as a career partner, not just a placement service. The firm's unparalleled resources, including a team of over 150 employees, enable it to offer customized job searches, direct outreach to firms, and market intelligence that no other legal recruiting service provides. Attorneys working with Harrison and BCG gain access to hidden opportunities, real-time insights on firm hiring trends, and guidance from a team that truly understands the legal market. You can read more about how BCG Attorney Search revolutionizes legal recruiting here: The Story of BCG Attorney Search and What We Do for You.

The Most Trusted Career Advisor for Attorneys

Harrison's legal career insights are the most widely followed in the profession.

• His articles on BCG Search alone are read by over 150,000 attorneys per month, making his guidance the most sought-after in the legal field. Read his latest insights here.
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With an unmatched track record of success, a vast team of over 150 dedicated employees, and a reach into every market and practice area, Harrison Barnes is the recruiter who makes career transformations happen and has the talent and resources behind him to make this happen.

A Relentless Commitment to Attorney Success

Unlike most recruiters who work with only a narrow subset of attorneys, Harrison Barnes works with lawyers at all stages of their careers, from junior associates to senior partners, in every practice area imaginable. His placements are not limited to only those with "elite" credentials-he has helped thousands of attorneys, including those who thought it was impossible to move firms, find their next great opportunity.

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A Legal Recruiter Who Changes Lives

Harrison believes that every attorney-no matter their background, law school, or previous experience-has the potential to find success in the right law firm environment. Many attorneys come to him feeling stuck in their careers, underpaid, or unsure of their next steps. Through his unique ability to identify the right opportunities, he helps attorneys transform their careers in ways they never thought possible.

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For attorneys who think their options are limited, Harrison Barnes has proven time and time again that opportunities exist-often in places they never expected.

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If you want to explore new career opportunities, Harrison Barnes and BCG Attorney Search are your best resources. Whether you are looking for a BigLaw position, a boutique firm, or a move to a better work environment, Harrison's expertise will help you take control of your future.

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Harrison's reach, experience, and proven results make him the best legal recruiter in the industry. Don't settle for an average recruiter-work with the one who has changed the careers of thousands of attorneys and can do the same for you.

About BCG Attorney Search

BCG Attorney Search matches attorneys and law firms with unparalleled expertise and drive, while achieving results. Known globally for its success in locating and placing attorneys in law firms of all sizes, BCG Attorney Search has placed thousands of attorneys in law firms in thousands of different law firms around the country. Unlike other legal placement firms, BCG Attorney Search brings massive resources of over 150 employees to its placement efforts locating positions and opportunities its competitors simply cannot. Every legal recruiter at BCG Attorney Search is a former successful attorney who attended a top law school, worked in top law firms and brought massive drive and commitment to their work. BCG Attorney Search legal recruiters take your legal career seriously and understand attorneys. For more information, please visit www.BCGSearch.com.