The Mixed Martial Arts Law Niche

The people at LexBlog have a right to be proud of and highlight David Nelmark.  They blogged about his blog Mixed Martial Arts Law Blog.  After all, LexBlog designed and set up the blog for David Nelmark and his law firm, Belin McCormick.

Now, I do not have to be enthused by David Nelmark's Mixed Martial Arts Law Blog and his practice niche.  I do not have an economic affinity to either.  My blog is purely noncommercial.

The problem is that I am enthused by his blog and his practice niche.  It demonstrates better than most anything what is possible and what is doable in regard to law practice segmentation.  The more you can narrow your focus, the easier it is to find clients, remain top of the game in your legal practice, position yourself as the expert you have or can become in the area, and lower your overhead in relation to the money earned.  And when the law concerns an emerging area, that is even better.  It is like getting in on the ground floor.

As we ask in East Texas, do you want to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?  I have chosen the latter.  I understand that Mr. Nelmark works for a law firm that is more general in practice, but in this they have decided to excel.

Mixed martial arts, also referred to as MMA, is a full contact combat sport that allows for a wide variety of fighting techniques.  Striking and grappling is allowed, for example.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the main United States based mixed martial arts organization.  The UFC began in Denver, Colorado in 1993.  The UFC initially imposes few rules on the sport and took a no holds barred approach.  This led Senator John McCain to dub the sport "human cockfighting".  This, and other publicity, initially led the UFC into the underground and most pay-per-view providers would not provide the games.  Therefore, most of us who do not actively follow the sport, have not noticed it.

But, this is changing.  The UFC has imposed more rules, it is operating now under the mixed martial arts banner, and it is emerging with cable-TV deals, and is expanding into Canada as well.  For example, UFC games can now be seen on Spike, which is a cable channel owned by MTV Networks that is designed to attract a young male audience.

Also, with live gates at casino venues like the MGM Grand Garden Arena, pay-per-view deals are flourishing in this emerging sport, and the UFC has secured its first deal with Fox Sports Net.

As a result of the increasing popularity of the sport, the UFC was purchased by Zuffa, LLC., which is a sports promotion company.

The sport was included on the TV reality show American Casino.  Now those at Zuffa and Spike are working on The Ultimate Fighter, which is a reality TV show no unlike Survivor where contestants battle in mixed martial arts matches for a six-figure UFC contract.

Now, I understand that this type of sport might not be appealing to a lot of you.  But, it is a sport that is quickly becoming accepted.  And, where you have a sport and millions of dollars at play, you have legal issues.  This requires lawyers.  Lawyers that charge good fees.  Lawyers that understand the emerging sport.  And this, really, represents the foresightedness of David Nelmark's Mixed Martial Arts Law Blog.

Maybe others should follow this lead.

Comments

[Carolyn Elefant]

David Kaufman has been specializing in martial arts law at www.karatelaw.com for at least a decade. However, this niche is a sub-specialty part of his commercial and business litigation practice at www.businessbrawls.com.

[Julie A. Fleming]

Earlier this week, you posted a blog about being heard above the herd. This is how you do it. Instead of racing with the herd, trying to stay ahead, you take a few steps to the side and let them run past you while you enjoy the newfound silence and peace of an almost unoccupied field.

Of course, the problem with these small niches is that if too many lawyers get involved in them, there won't be enough jobs for everyone, whereas in larger fields there will always be plenty of clients.