10 Apr The Path to Specialisation
You may be familiar with the 2019 David Epstein book entitled “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialised World”. The author makes a general argument against focusing too narrowly early on in one’s career. With this in mind, I would like to reflect on early career specialisation and how this relates to the legal profession in particular.
The well-known (and often quoted) 10,000 hour rule states that intense dedicated practice at one thing makes you perfect – at that one thing. But what if breadth, early in one’s legal career, serves you better than depth? In his book Epstein acknowledges that there are certain specialisations, like golf and violin playing, where it does make sense to go hard at it as early as possible. But these careers are outliers, rooted in repetitive patterns with well-defined solutions.
Another study showed that while early-career specialisers did manage to earn more in the years immediately after graduation, those that started later made up for their colleague’s head start by finding work that better suited their skills and personalities. By learning about the advantages of delayed specialisation you can change the way you see both your own career path and the profession as a whole. This awareness has relevance at many stages in a lawyer’s career – from graduates fresh out of law school trying to find their way, through to mid-career Associates in need of a change.
These days many young lawyers are reluctant to specialise early on – for fear of being pigeon-holed in an area that proves latter to hold little appeal to their older self. Thinking about choosing a specialization can also prove to be thorny, especially if you had your heart set on being a generalist. But by gaining a specialisation both you and your employer will gain distinct advantages. The increased rates of referral, resulting from specialisation, will inevitably lead to strengthened renumeration. Specialisation will also give you (and those under you) an area to focus on, which will in turn improve your chances of success when handling cases.
Identifying which area of the law to specialise in may take a considerable time however. If the goal is to boost your renumeration then it will remain essential to keep an eye on those areas of the legal profession which could experience high future demand. Any potential specialties should also dovetail in with those areas where you have a natural talent or interest. At the beginning of this identification process you will also need to develop the skills required to spot trends, as well as being forward thinking about economic cycles. But be careful not to just start digging deeper into your own trench. Occasionally, try standing up to look over into the next trench. The solution to your career path may just happen to reside there.
In summary, it will prove beneficial to start broad and embrace diverse experiences and perspectives early on in your legal career. When, and if, you decide to specialise you will be the better specialist for it. We are all familiar with those two famous sports personalities – Roger Federer and Tiger Woods. From early childhood Federer participated in may sports before settling on tennis at an older age. Woods haunted the fairways and putting greens from early childhood. Perhaps, as a lawyer, you could benefit from being a bit more like Roger Federer and a bit less like Tiger Woods.