The look of a lawyer
January 31, 2008
Back when dot-coms were booming, our Big Law compatriot showed up at the ball game still in his business suit, prompting no small amount of ribbing from the rest of us.
“Thought your firm went all-casual, all the time,” we said.
“Lawyers,” he groused, “should look like lawyers.”
Today’s Wall Street Journal underscores his point.
“In lawyering, half the battle is the posturing…,” Christina Binkley writes in the Style section. “Legal associates who aren’t sartorially prepared may not be invited along to a new-client pitch or to take a leading role in court, regardless of the office’s stated ‘business casual’ dress code.”
Her sources provide horror stories of associates in Ugg boots or unpolished shoes, practitioners who take their professional-dress cues from Hollywood and one hapless litigator who had to e-mail a firm-wide plea for a size 32-belt when he was unexpectedly called to court.
But they also include younger lawyers who think sartorial skills matter “not at all” to advancement and that it’s hip to be, well, hip.
So what’s the dress code like in your office? Should lawyers in fact “look like lawyers” or does this alienate prospective clients?
Not to influence your vote, but it didn’t seem to hurt the ball-game guy. He’s now managing partner at that firm.
BARBARA GRZINCIC, Managing Editor/Law
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Lawyers should wear suits. Especially young lawyers. I think business casual dress codes hurt young associates more than anyone. Older, more experienced lawyers don’t need the gravitas that proper business attire brings. And let’s face it, it is hard enough for 55-year old partner to take a 25-year old associate seriously as colleague. It is a lot easier if he dresses like a grownup.
As a (young) new lawyer, I agree that its important to look professional, but take full advantage of the business casual policy at my place of employment. I do, of course, wear a suit on court days and keep one in the closet just in case something pops up. However, its a struggle for many of us just starting out to pay student loans, rent, and grocery bills on entry-level salaries, so new clothes, alterations, and dry cleaning are what gets cut. Tuition has risen disproportionate quickly to government and small/medium firm salaries and this is just one consequence of that. Of course, if I worked at Piper or Venable, who both have apparently raised first-years to $160k, I would have no problem wearing a suit every day, even on the weekends, when I’m sure I would be expected to work.
I think that suits are very important for young attorneys, especially in small firms. One challenge you have is to prevent the older partners from always thinking of you as the young guy.
I have a story similar to the firm-wide plea for a belt. When a summer at my old (large, DC) firm, a friend was very casual - naps under the desk, replaced the missing side piece of his glasses with a flexible straw - and he wore flip flops to work. We also had a way of sending out all-firm emails looking for something. The subject read “ISO,” meaning “in search of.” Usually it was “ISO: Research on personal jurisdiction in the First Circuit.”
One day we all received an email from this guy that read “ISO: shoes”
The body informed us that he had worn flip flops that day, forgot his work shoes, and had a meeting with a partner.
Your attire, just like your smile and your handshake, are all about Outfluence. Outfluence is an awareness of the silent messages that you are constantly sending in every human interaction, and the effect your silent messages have on others. From the moment of contact, we assess and judge each other. Control that moment by your appearance, your words, and your actions and you can control the interaction. But do it sincerely. That’s the key.
It’s important to dress professionally and according to your culture. A lot of clients expect lawyers to wear suits. If you’re in a more casual environment that doesn’t “require” suits(like LA), the dress should still be professional.