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published August 02, 2013
Andrew Dreier
Having a niche skill set that is in demand is one route to success. The most common form of this is being expert in an area of law that comes into wide demand. For example, during the first year of the war in Iraq, only a few attorneys had written on or handled significant cases under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which protects soldiers from being foreclosed upon while they are deployed, and the United Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA), which insured reservists could return to their civilian jobs after a mobilization and suffer no penalties in terms of salary or position. Once the large scale mobilization of reservists began, these niche attorneys suddenly had extremely busy, national practices.
A less obvious aspect of this principle is that an attorney can gain success by developing a practical (as opposed to legal) skill set that other attorneys lack. I worked with one attorney who leveraged his prior experience as a civil engineer to build a practice in construction litigation, and I personally applied my experience as a Marine Corps planner in Iraq and Afghanistan to build a nearly undefeated record as a trial attorney. Most attorneys develop strategy in an ad hoc fashion, with no understanding of the proven theories and methods of out-thinking, out-maneuvering and dominating adversaries. By understanding and applying the principles of strategy in a profession where they are virtually unknown I have won thirty of thirty-three contested trials. It also provided me a topic for my LL.M. thesis, which in turn allowed me to benefit through sales of my book, Strategy, Planning and Litigating to Win, and by advising and training other attorneys in this niche subject area.
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