What Is Appropriate Law Firm Attire Nowadays?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned having seen a sign outside a local courtroom listing the attire the judge felt was inappropriate. One would expect that the list was for lay-people unaccustomed to the formality of appearing before the court. But an article from the WSJ (and a blog post) today suggest that such a list may have to be circulated among incoming first year associates.

Much like the blog poster at WSJ LawBlog, and many of you I suspect, I wore a suit every day for the first few years of practice. On occasion, I wore nice wool or wool blend khakis (not cotton ones from Old Navy) and a blue blazer or sport coat. The Dot-Com Explosion changed all that. Soon it was business casual Friday, then business casual all the time as 20- and 30-somethings with 6 and 7 zero venture capital funds started running companies while in their jeans. At the same time, we witnessed the rise of the celebrity culture, the return of $200 designer jeans and the relaxation of formalities and common courtesies brought on by the “instant on”, 24/7, MySpace, Facebook culture. The result now appears to be that younger lawyers wear what they want, when they want.

I wear a suit or a slacks/sport coat/tie combo to mediate cases. I couldn’t imagine showing up in jeans. I wouldn’t even wear jeans to the office on days when wearing jeans to work was encouraged (whether for charity or so-called “moving/spring clean” days). At least most of the younger lawyers I see on the days I mediate are wearing a suit or similar dress. I guess I truly am getting old.

(Of course, right now, I am wearing cycling shorts and t-shirt because I’m in my home office and plan to ride the stationary bike in a minute – but that’s different, I don’t have clients dropping over or partners to impress).