The March 19, 2010 issue of Law360 featured an article entitled “When It Pays To Say No To Legal Work.”

The article begins by noting that “[i]n a market where the demand for legal work has taken a hit, it can be tempting for an attorney – or an entire law firm – to branch into new practice areas or accept undesirable work.”

One of the issues with adding practice areas is that diversification may also cause a decline in referrals. As Pryor Cashman Managing Partner Ronald Shechtman told Law360. “Will a firm that typically refers to another firm continue doing so if they see that firm as a competitor?”

The article also notes that firms taking on new practice groups should be sure that there are cross-selling opportunities. Shechtman said that in recent years Pryor Cashman had successfully introduced family law and business immigration practices, both of which were “reasonable extensions” of what the firm already did. “They complemented our desire to be full-service to our client base, and they furthered our cross-selling and cross-marketing opportunities among our practice areas,” Shechtman said.

To read the entire article, please click here.