Careful what you ask for

When first started at the law firm, I was asked to fill out a form indicating the type of work I wanted to do.  I checked a few of the boxes and, in the "comments" area, wrote that I wanted to do the media-related transactional work that two of the partners (I'll call them EDG and CEE) specialized in.  The prospect of being able to work with them was one of my primary reasons for going to this firm, and this office of this firm, over the other firms that I looked at. 

Over the years since then, I essentially succeeded in doing what I set out to do.  I worked a lot with EDG and CEE, and I enjoyed the work and became one of the few associates at the firm who do that sort of work.  In the last few months, however, both EDG and CEE left the firm.  EDG left first and asked me to go with him to his new firm.  CEE just left last week, and I inherited quite a bit of her work. 

All of which leaves me in a strange place.  I'm doing the work that I came to the firm to do, but I'm doing it without any partners who really specialize in it supervising me.  It's both an opportunity (because I've created a niche for myself in a certain practice area) and a risk (because without any partners, this area likely won't be a growth focus for the firm).  It's also a primary driver of my intense workload:  I've had a lot of work dumped on my as CEE left the firm, at the same time as I've been trying to move into slightly different practice areas with partners who are still at the firm. 

All things considered, I'm still happy with where I am and what I'm doing (the workload will subside, and in the meantime, I'm learning a lot).  But I suspect that the next year or so will bring some changes for me at the firm (or outside, if I choose to leave).  It'll be interesting to see where things go.