Focusing on a Hyper-Niche Area Helped Me Build a Robust Practice

The biggest thing that lawyers do not understand is that no one wants to hire them. People like buying new cars, swimming in the Pacific Ocean, or hiking the Sierra Nevadas. But no one wakes up in the morning excited to call a lawyer—it’s an expense, a burden, and it induces anxiety.

What people do want, however, is to solve a problem. They want their problems to end. They want to resolve disputes and to end the chaos in their lives. If they could solve that without a lawyer, they would. But having a lawyer is often required to achieve their goal.

As society changes, people find themselves stuck in messy co-ownership disputes—unmarried couples who break up but still own property together, siblings who inherit a home and disagree about what to do with it, or friends who invest jointly in a vacation rental but later fall out.

These situations are surprisingly common and often emotionally charged, and may result in hiring real estate attorneys.

Many real estate attorneys, however, in a logical attempt to expand their business, have tried to be something for everyone. They believe that people are looking to hire a lawyer instead of looking for a solution to a specific problem. Recognizing that people want solutions—not lawyers—we crafted a law firm from these clients’ perspectives.

Focusing on not just an area of the law in California such as real estate—but a specific problem—can help attorneys become incredibly valuable to their clients. It can also put a firm on the fast track to becoming the go-to practice in an important specialty, reaping the benefits of both being first-class and a first mover.

In my case, while working as a partner at another firm, I discovered that partition actions were an overlooked but growing legal need. I realized this was the perfect hyper-niche.

A partition action is a legal tool that allows unmarried co-owners of a property to fairly and equitably get out of real estate relationships that no longer work. And demand is growing.

More people are co-owning homes outside of traditional marriage—unmarried couples, siblings, and friends. As you might expect, these situations don’t always go as planned. Unlike with married couples, there’s no set procedure to divide these assets.

Many law firms overlook partition actions in favor of broader real estate or probate litigation, leaving a gap in the market. That gap is where I saw an opportunity.

Specializing in partition law gives our firm several distinct advantages. First, we developed efficiency and expertise, as handling more partition cases led to refined strategies and better client outcomes.

Second, our brand authority in this field rose, as being the top name in a hyper-niche area made client acquisition easier. And third, we established true market differentiation, standing out from generalist firms which helped attract high-quality clients.

The internet changed the world—this is an obvious statement but one that is under-considered. Like many lawyers, I grew up with technology, as well as with the analog aspects of our society, such as card catalogs, Rolodexes, and phone books.

All those search methods were time-consuming and not always accurate. The internet, including through search engines such as Google and Bing, and now ChatGPT, have turned searching from a slog into a breeze. It’s easier to find answers to a specific problem.

Many clients don’t know what a partition action is—until they need one. We established a blog and began posting content to ensure people could understand their problems better. This helped us build trust and credibility. Being highly visible in Google searches for key terms ensured that ours was the first firm people found.

For lawyers looking to build visibility in their own practice, I’d recommend a few things.

First, identify a specific problem to solve. The world is a huge place, but many clients likely will need a lawyer only once or twice in their life. Focusing on unique events was a game-changer.

Second, harness technology. That means being present in the channels where your future clients are and being on top of the search terms, such as “partition.” For me, that includes real estate and local news, as well as in newsletters and other media coverage.

Third, focus on trends and data. Societal trends indicate that partition actions will only become more common in the coming years. Seeing these trends, my firm helps good people escape bad real estate situations in California, because that was who needed help.

The legal industry is shifting toward hyper-specialization for sustainable growth. That’s especially true in consumer-facing areas such as partition law, where people need one expert rather than a huge team.

Lawyers should rethink their approach to firm growth. Focusing on an underserved legal niche—coupled with smart digital marketing—can lead to long-term success.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Author Information

Eli Underwood founded Underwood Law and focuses on partition actions, partnership disputes, and real estate law.

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