What should I wear is a hard question for 21st Century lawyers. Business casual is now standard at most law firms, though court appearances require a coat and tie for men and the “equivalent” for women. And what about clients, litigants and witnesses?
Thelma Rice knew how to dress for court. On Aug. 1, 1939, The Florida Times-Union reported that the “former dance hall waitress” appeared at her arraignment for second-degree murder “wearing a new pink dress.” The paper described Rice as a 26-year-old “buxom” native of Alma, Ga. The state had charged Rice with shooting a 33-year-old bookkeeper, Earl Haskew, at a “drinking party” on the beach near Ft. Myers.
Sixty-three years later, after surviving mini-skirts and leisure suits and no longer shocked by working women in pantsuits, we find the rules confusing. For example:
What is Business Casual?
A poll of Northeast Florida lawyers concluded that “business casual” usually means khaki slacks and a collar shirt for men but has no definition whatsoever for women. Should some part of the woman’s outfit be khaki? Is it wrong to go sleeveless (men don’t)? Often it is tricky to distinguish between women wearing “business casual” and women “dressed up for court.” The bottom line is that to be taken seriously, women lawyers should avoid wearing anything that would draw an anatomical comment like that made about Thelma Rice.
What Should Women
Lawyers Wear to Court?
In the 1970s and early 1980s, when women lawyers began to populate the earth, they wore the skirted equivalent of male attire with floppy bow ties. Later, it was rumored that women could wear dresses to the office and court, and more recently, pantsuits. A few years ago, the most versatile clothing ever invented for women lawyers came on the scene — “twin sets.” One female attorney who began her Jacksonville practice in 1980 recently admitted that she now had eighteen of them after last weekend’s visit to the mall.
Does the Casual Lawyer
Have an Advantage?
A big firm lawyer spotted in a pinstriped suit in the Bank of America tower last week volunteered defensively to a peer smirking at him in the elevator that he was meeting with a new client that day. A dressed-up associate responded to the teasing by insisting that she had a hearing in federal court. In 2002, “dressing up” requires explanation, whereas “dressing down” is perfectly normal.
Business casual is now acceptable attire at away-from-courthouse “adversary” proceedings such as depositions and mediations. This is a particularly effective strategy for male lawyers with over 20 years of practice. Arguably, the casually dressed lawyer and his client convey nonchalant power while their more traditionally dressed adversaries appear concerned and inexperienced. Any reader who strongly disagrees with this observation or hopes that change has slowed for “legal fashion” should remember that the lawyer-Founding Fathers wore wigs and pigtails, shirts with ruffles and short tight pants. “The times they are a-changing,” said Bob Dylan in 1964.
What is the Lowest Acceptable
Standard of Dress at the Courthouse?
Dress code enforcement is practically impossible at the public high schools, and the same is true at the courthouse. This decline in concern about dress in public is not unique to the justice system. A member of the local bar expressed shock the other day when she stood in line for a driver’s license picture behind a man with a T-shirt bearing a marijuana leaf design and a woman in a lace bra top.
When our new courthouses are open, we should probably post a dress code that is a bit more formal than the one we have now. No more than two inches of bare skin showing around anyone’s middle. No plastic flip-flops. No unlaundered tank tops.
Dress Makes the Man (or Woman).
This saying is a paraphrase of Hamlet: “For the apparel oft proclaims the man.” Polonius to Laertes, Act I, Scene III. All kidding aside, Thelma Rice was right about one thing — the courthouse is not a dance hall. Clients and judges appreciate it when lawyers remember this. Avoid dropping by the courthouse to watch other lawyers’ trials in casual office dress. Force yourself to wear a real suit and classy accessories to the courthouse from time to time. Give the impression that the courthouse is important enough to merit this. Who knows, that attitude could wear off on everyone else there.
— Alexandra K. Hedrick is a partner at Hedrick Dewberry Regan & Durant P.A. She is a litigator and mediator in the areas of employment law and civil/commercial litigation.