To Specialize or To Not Specialize: A Challenging Decision for Young Lawyers

Many young lawyers benefit from a generalized legal practice early on in their career. Along with exploring whether they like solicitor or litigation work (or a combination of both), young lawyers and law students who acquire generalized legal training can carry it forward for the rest of their careers. These skills, such as legal drafting and editing, are invaluable regardless of whether a lawyer ultimately decides to practice in the private sector, public sector, in-house, or explore alternatives to legal practice.

On the other hand, some young lawyers decide to specialize early on in their career. I am part of this latter group of young lawyers, having been a summer student, articling student, and now associate with a boutique firm that specializes in international trade law. It was a decision that has worked well for me. While every lawyer is in the best position to determine the type of training that will benefit her most in the early stages of her career, as well as the type of practice that will bring her the most career satisfaction, here are a few reasons why a young lawyer may decide to specialize early on:

Developing Technical Skills Early on in the Subject Area

In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for specialized technical legal skills in the market.[1] The applications of these technical skills to a specific case, which can vary significantly between practice areas, can often provide the most added values for clients. For example, in my practice, we represent clients on trade remedies files (e.g. dumping and subsidy investigations) where we make submissions before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and the Canada Border Services Agency. In preparing for these submissions, the lawyers at my firm make use of particular financial and economic skills to analyze prices and the cost of items that are traded domestically and across international borders. These are the types of skills, which I have been fortunate enough to continue learning in my practice, that young lawyers can start acquiring very early on in their career should they choose to specialize.

Developing an Understanding of Clients' Specific Interests and Needs

Lawyers often work for clients who have very specialized interests, whether these clients are individuals, corporations, the Crown, or other government entities. These interests vary based on a number of factors, not the least of which is the particular area of law in which they require the lawyer’s assistance. For example, the same corporation may hire a real estate lawyer to work on a property closing, and at the same time hire another labour and employment lawyer to settle a dispute with one of its employees. The corporation’s needs and interests will likely not be the same in both contexts.

Accordingly, while some general practitioners will be able to provide services in both real estate and employment law, others may opt to hire lawyers specialized in either of these particular areas. By doing so, clients may be able to save on costs and receive more effective and efficient legal advice. While the facts of each case vary, lawyers who have previously worked on a number of cases in a given area will know what type of information that they need to gather during the initial client-interview stage. These lawyers may also be better at managing client expectations as they can usually provide a more accurate estimate of the length of time it takes for a case to be heard in court, for example.

Receiving Training by the Best Lawyers in the Field

The best lawyers in both public and private practices are often senior practitioners who have extensive experience working in their field. They know the ins-and-outs of a practice area, and they can identify the legal issues and offer recommendations with ease based on instincts that they have developed through years of know-how. Young lawyers who decide to specialize early on in their legal careers may benefit from the direct mentorship of these senior practitioners. In my experience, they often welcome sharing their knowledge with keen young lawyers showing an interest in their field. At the same time, the mentorship from these senior practitioners is instrumental for young lawyers to not only develop, but also thrive in their legal practice.