I know a lawyer who, after decades of building a successful practice, started a new (for him) practice area. I don’t know if he wants to replace his current practice area with the new one or he plans to continue doing both, but as someone who has contemplated this question more than once over the years, I know it’s not an easy decision and here are some of my thoughts.
First, the pros:
- A new practice gives you the opportunity to bring on new clients and/or cases you might otherwise have never have attracted, and additional revenue you might never have realized
- A new/secondary practice area gives you the opportunity to cross-sell your new services to your existing and former clients
- You have something new to offer to prospective clients who can’t or won’t hire you for your primary services
- You might bundle one service with another service and increase your average “sale’
- In certain markets and for certain clients, offering new, additional services might make you the better choice of lawyer or firm for them
- You might be able to stop doing, or do less of, something you don’t enjoy, aren’t especially good at, or that’s too competitive. Do less litigation (or eliminate it), for example, and replace it with something less stressful, time-consuming, or expensive.
- A new practice area might be “fun”; you get to meet new people, use new marketing strategies, speak or write about different topics
All of which means a new practice area might allow you to increase your income, reduce your expenses, and get more satisfaction in your practice.
But then, there are the cons:
- The learning curve; remember what it was like starting your practice? You will have to do a lot of that all over again. Plus, continuing education, certification, risk management, ethical considerations, and other things you have to think about
- You need new marketing materials, websites, strategies, testimonials, and new referral sources
- You might need to find a new target market; you might lose referrals from lawyers who now see you now as direct competition
- You’re the new kid on the block; why should anyone choose you instead of a more established firm?
- You might have to use marketing strategies you don’t want to use, e.g., advertising, social media, public speaking, internet marketing, blogging, writing
- Your new practice area might be saturated, dying, being crippled by ai, or more difficult than you anticipated. You might have to hire and supervise new staff, rent a bigger office, or otherwise increase your overhead
- It could create confusion in your market. They knew you as doing X, now you do Y?
- You need a lot of time to learn everything and do everything, new on top of everything you already do
Bottom line, adding a new practice area might be perfect for you, bringing you additional income and professional satisfaction. Or, it might be a colossal mistake.
If you’re considering doing this, test the idea first, in a different market, with a separate website and marketing strategies, and by speaking privately with a few existing clients to see if they would hire you.
Until you know that this is something you could be successful doing and worth the effort, don’t do anything radical or announce anything across the board to your clients and contacts. When you’re ready to do it, however, announce it to everyone.
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