Some of the best advice I received in my first few months practicing law, and one of the best ways attorneys can protect themselves against becoming redundant, is to develop a niche area of expertise. This may seem like an impossible goal as a junior associate, and one that certainly cannot be achieved in the short-term. And of course, achieving expertise takes years of tremendous effort. However, being a go-to person in your firm or your company’s legal department on a certain topic is not something reserved for partners or senior attorneys—it can happen more quickly than you think, and is something that can manifest organically through an assignment or intentionally through a topic in which you are already interested and choose to delve deeper.

Becoming well-informed and knowledgeable about a unique topic provides an immediate and accretive value-add for your professional career and your firm or legal department. Further, you don’t need to become an industry leader to become the point person at your firm. For example, if you are an associate at a litigation boutique and through research for a brief you suddenly find yourself considerably more knowledgeable about certain SEC reporting requirements than similarly situated associates, you’re on your way to becoming the go-to person.