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Why Lawyers Choose Specific Practice Areas

Posted By Irene C. Olszewski, Esq. on January 24, 2013

phone messagesI receive numerous calls every day from people with legal issues who are looking for a lawyer to advise them and possibly represent them in court.  There’s nothing unusual about that.  This is a law office, after all.

Sometimes, callers have a difficult time understanding (and accepting) that I don’t practice in every area of law that exists.  Sometimes, they get downright angry at me (or my assistant).

Lawyers choose specific practice areas to work in for a reason.  There are simply too many areas of the law for any one lawyer to be a master at every one of them.  Clients are best served when a lawyer focuses his or her time on a few specific areas of the law and becomes proficient in those areas.

It’s a lot like the practice of medicine.  There are some general practice physicians who will refer you to a doctor practicing in a specific area of medicine if the situation warrants it.  You wouldn’t go to a podiatrist to diagnose your cardiac problem, you’d go to a cardiologist.

It’s the same with law.  If you want a divorce, you call a family law attorney, not an employment law attorney.  If you have a criminal matter, you certainly wouldn’t call a divorce lawyer to handle it.

If you call an attorney who has worked with you before on a legal matter, he or she will either be able to accept your new case or he/she will refer you to another attorney if it is in an area of law which they do not practice.

I may represent someone in a divorce and then draft a Will for them at another time.  If they call me a year or so later wanting to file a lawsuit against their employer, I explain that I don’t practice employment law and advise them to speak with a lawyer that handles that area of law specifically.

I’ve been accused of not wanting to help someone when I’ve explained that I don’t handle the category of law their case fits under.  That is simply untrue.  If I don’t practice in a specific area of law, I would not be helping the client if I accepted their case and pretended to know what I was doing.  I am properly helping them by advising them to seek an attorney who does practice in the required area of law.

If you call a lawyer’s office because you are looking for legal advice or representation, please be sure you have taken a moment beforehand to determine what areas of law that lawyer and or law firm actually practice.  It’s in your best interest.

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Disclaimer: The information, comments and links posted on the blog do not constitute legal advice. I will not respond to any specific legal questions in the comments section of this blog. Read my entire disclaimer.

copyright 2013 Irene C. Olszewski, Esq.

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Irene C. Olszewski, Esq.

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