Soon the niche becomes an exclusive practice area for the associate. A dramatic shift in supply and demand has also helped to promote specialization. Twenty-five years ago, good trial lawyers were in short supply. The supply of litigators increased dramatically to meet the increased demand. Today, the available supply of litigators has exploded.
Specialization offers a road to distinction.
As the number of litigators has expanded, economic pressures have forced clients to reassess their demand for litigation services. The result has been an increasing supply of litigators and decreasing client demand. Today, clients hire a specific lawyer or team for a specific problem. As a result of these changes in the marketplace, litigators have become more competitive. A third factor that has fed the drive to specialize is the emergence of more technical areas of law requiring specialization.