Residential Real Estate. Started practicing five years ago in NYC because it was a firm that was willing to pay me out of law school. I had little interest, but 5 years in the field has taught me a lot. I have periodically realized that my skill set is limited - never stepped inside a courtroom and don’t know the first thing about litigation. Are there any other residential r/e attorneys out there who feel trapped in their field?

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I feel the same about my skill set - somewhat limited (office, retail and specialty leasing, acquisitions and dispositions, a touch of JV work here and there). But I also have no interest in learning a new practice area or setting foot in a court room.

By the way, while there are certainly some intricacies and background knowledge that you need to have for each transactional practice area, contracts are contracts. If you know how to do one, you can learn how to do others.

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Having a "limited" skill set can be a plus - you have the opportunity to become a specialist and a real expert in your field. I've always done real estate, but have narrowed my practice over the years so that it's very specialized. Of course, having range is important, but from a marketability perspective, it's good to be an expert.

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I did oil and gas real estate for 8 years and felt the same way. Just have to jump into a new field and take your lumps. You'd be surprised how quickly all the civil litigation you learned in law school comes back to you once you start doing it.

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Not saying this is you, but there is one partner at my firm who answers everything with, "Well I'm not a litigator." You have a question? Somehow she'll answer with this.

I prefer transactional work by far. But my firm still insists I do a lot of litigation because I'm good at it, the work is there, and it makes me better at the transactional side to understand litigation risks.

But man I just want to sit down with a damn contract!

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