Fashion, In-House Counsel

Baggy Jeans Are OK For Moms And Dads, Not Attorneys

When you are tasked with being the final voice of reason in the room, it’s not too much to ask that you wear pants.

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jeans denim pantsThe other week while getting dressed for work on Friday morning, I got lazy. I had neglected to pick up my dry cleaning the prior evening and I did not want to dust off my iron, so I took advantage of my office’s Casual Friday dress code. (For my Biglaw colleagues, “Casual Friday” is a wonderful day when you can wear jeans, some sort of open-collared shirt, or perhaps even a professional sports jersey if your team is playing that weekend.)

Immediately upon entering work, I began to receive comments from members of my team and fellow attorneys. None of them were necessarily negative, as I was still well within the dress code, but they immediately recognized that I was dressed different than normal, which is when I knew I had made a fatal error.

I had never been a regular participant in Casual Friday. In fact, none of the attorneys in our office generally participated. On Casual Friday, dressing as Jake from State Farm is about as wild as we get.

It’s not that my colleagues or I are inherently anti-casual days; however, when working in-house it is common to get pulled into meetings at the last minute. Meetings that may be attended by our corporate executives, our patients, or outside or opposing BigLaw counsel. And when you’re advising your executives, or acting as a representative of your company to outside individuals, looking the part is important.

In addition to getting pulled into impromptu meetings, our non-lawyer colleagues turn to us for advice and counsel on difficult and complex issues. And our opinions can often carry the day and can be the final word in complex arguments. Asking that we look the part is a pretty minor request.

Over the summer, I nearly violated this unspoken rule when I took advantage of a Casual Friday by wearing attire best suited for the golf course, as I had planned to sneak out a couple of minutes early to hit the links. Obvious lawyer stereotype jokes aside, before I could leave for the day, an opposing counsel unexpectedly dropped by to discuss an ongoing case. While we had a nice and professional discussion, I could not help being at a slight disadvantage in my Titleist polo compared to his standard-issue navy suit.

The unspoken heightened dress code applies to aspiring attorneys spending an internship with us as well. We had a recent intern show up for his first day with us in shorts, and even worse, they were cargos. Truthfully this is a scenario I had not contemplated having to deal with, but after he got settled in, I had to drop by his work station to ask him to leave to put on pants. Not exactly the first words you want to hear from an attorney with hiring authority on your first day.

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Despite my sending him home to change, he miraculously returned to his station within five minutes with pants on. When I expressed my surprise at how fast he had been able to return, he informed me he had brought pants in the car in case his shorts were not sufficient.

Word of advice to all law students debating the appropriate attire for their first day on the job: always opt for pants. Now I not only questioned his business sense on his first day, I questioned his common sense.

In today’s tech-driven economy, where some of the richest and most powerful CEOs wear flip-flops and hoodies (I’m looking at you, Zuckerberg), it’s easy to assume this new dress code transcends all walks of business. However, when our profession is often tasked with being the final voice of reason in the room, it’s not too much to ask that we wear pants.

Stephen R. Williams is in-house counsel with a multi-facility hospital network in the Midwest. His column focuses on a little talked about area of the in-house life, management. You can reach Stephen at stephenwilliamsjd@gmail.com.

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