A recent study concludes that

A recent study concludes that products that

Years ago, when I was in the food industry, supermarkets were just getting meaningful computer printouts. The problem was that they abdicated their responsibility to know what the consumer wanted; they relied on statistical information. Today, this study confirmed what I knew in years gone by.

Law firms experience a similar scenario. Some firms prefer to practice in only one area, a boutique practice. This works in some cases and carries with it certain dangers. Expertise increases if you can specialize. But, you risk competitive pressures from other such boutiques as well as from larger practices that provide the same practice area expertise.

Some large firms, such as Skadden Arps, market their expertise in a given area. Yet, because they are so well known in a given area, they are perceived to be very capable in other areas. The result is that they are truly large, general practice law firms, provide a full service offering to their clients. Their clients, then, stay with the firm. Whether large or small, law firms with full service are able to obtain a larger market share of their clients legal needs.

The choice, then, appears to be a smaller, specialty firm obtaining larger fees for the specialty (and hopefully higher profits) or a more general practice (no practice is truly general) offering more assistance to clients (generally with lower price point but larger volume, providing high profits as well).

For more information on pricing, see Attorney & Law Firm Guide to The Business of Law (ABA)

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