Clothes make the attorney ? sometimes

Nanci Crotti, The Daily Record Newswire

In the hit TV show, “How to Get Away with Murder,” defense attorney/law professor Annalise Keating can’t help but show off her fabulous deltoids in court and in the classroom, in a sleeveless dress, no less.

Didn’t anyone tell her the rules of dressing like a lawyer, or were they too (justifiably) afraid?

Actual lawyers should never wear a dress to court, never mind a sleeveless one, according to some. Others abide by the rules of “business formal” dress, while mildly decrying the rules and urging individuality.

For male lawyers, individuality pretty much comes down to socks and ties. The choice of tie may even influence a judge, according to Michael Christian, who has run an image-consulting business called Manhattan Makeovers since 2007.

A former lawyer, Christian is a devotee of John T. Molloy, author of the 1975 book “Dress for Success”and“The Women’s Dress for Success Book” (1977). He recommends researching the judge before appearing in court. If the judge went to an Ivy League school, a male lawyer’s tie should have an Ivy League-ish pattern, such as a small diamond insignia with a tiny dot in the center. This pattern will give the lawyer a subconscious rapport with the judge, according to Christian.

“The key for practicing before judges (is), always err, if you have to, on the side of more conservative rather than less conservative,” Christian said. “That goes for women as well as guys.”

Christian claims to have continued the type of research that Molloy did, surveying people about their reactions to particular dressing styles. He and his staff share that knowledge with their clients.

“Attorneys are excellent clients, because they know that what they wear has an impact,” Christian said.

Men have fewer clothing options than women do, but at least they have independent shops dedicated to business attire, including custom-made suits and shirts. For instance, Hubert White men’s shop, founded in 1916, is located in the IDS Center.

Fourth-generation sales representative and first-generation social media director Matt White said the family store attracts many attorneys. His advice (strictly for men) to achieve that lawyerly, serious, even-keel appearance:

Don’t be too flamboyant. Stick with a sartorial, sophisticated look.

Knit ties may be “in” right now, but should never be “on” a lawyer.

Eschew loafers in favor of lace-up shoes.

To add color to a dark suit, use a pocket square in “a solid color or something that’s not going to pop too much.”

“You have to look like you put thought into it. There’s pattern, there’s an elegant tie,” White mused. “That’s probably the most challenging look you’re going for, to be elegant but not boring. That’s why we’re here.”

Most clients buy suits off the rack, and the store’s in-house tailors will alter them if necessary, White said.

Unless they hire an image consultant, female attorneys are on their own, shopping department stores and other shops that carry skirt suits, pants suits, slacks, blouses, jackets, shoes, and accessories.

A few observed that women lawyers in the Twin Cities tend to dress more conservatively than their outstate counterparts. What they wear also depends upon the situation: a court appearance; deposition; arbitration; mediation; or a meeting with clients. Casual Friday, in particular, can be fraught with apparel challenges for women lawyers.

Attorney Jessie Sogge, an associate at Jovanovich, Kadlec & Athmann in St. Cloud, said the women in her office keep a suit jacket there in case they need to dress up a pair of khakis on a Friday. A litigator, Sogge spends three or four days a week in court.

“I’m a firm believer in always wearing a suit and closed-toed shoes, just out of respect for the court,” she said. The same goes formediations, arbitrations, depositions, and any other meeting that involves other attorneys and clients.

“If it’s just a client meeting, it could be business casual-dress pants and either a colored shirt or a sweater. I still definitely wouldn’t push it to the khakis or jeans,” Sogge said.

Attorneys and staffers at Sogge’s firm who do wear jeans on casual Friday are “fined” $1, which goes into a kitty for charity, she added.

In addition to recommending that lawyers keep their hair neat, modern and modest, Sogge pays attention to fingernails, and so do juries, she said. Nail polish should be subdued, perhaps extending to light pinks or pastels in summer, she advised.

Pastel clothing, however, puts a woman attorney at risk for not being taken seriously, according to Christian.

“Pastels, when working with men, prompt challenges,” he said. Christian espouses the conservative feminine suit, tailored like a man’s suit but in a color that a man would not likely wear, such as plum or burgundy.

He acknowledges that some rail at his style points. Take, for example, a blog post titled, “Man Has Hilariously Dumb Advice For How Female Lawyers Should Dress,” written in response to Christian’s article “How to Dress for Power,” published in Legal Ink magazine under the pen name William Cane. Jezebel blogger Erin Gloria Ryan advises, “Everyone can quit writing stupid ‘How Female Lawyers Should Dress’ pieces, because we’ve found the best, most whackadoodle take possible.”

Whackadoodle (or perhaps, generational) or not, Christian’s style points still hit home with some, to a point.

“I tend to only wear my suits to court,” said Pamela Rochlin, a personal injury attorney at Rochlin Law in Edina and president of Minnesota Women Lawyers. “If I have a nice, colorful jacket and a pair of slacks, I will totally wear that to a deposition.”

Even the “only suits to court” rule should be bent, depending upon the jurisdiction, according to Rochlin.

“I sometimes feel if I wear my nicest suit in a greater-Minnesota courtroom, I might stand out as a city lawyer,” she said. “You just don’t necessarily want to come in looking slick at all.”

In one respect, Rochlin agrees with St. Paul business-fashion consultant Dawn Stebbing. Rules or no rules, they said, be yourself.

Stebbing said she tries to get to know her clients on the inside so she can recommend clothes that will reflect their individuality. Clothing choices reflect the wearer’s confidence, or the lack thereof, she said. They also make an impression on clients.

“I want somebody that I can trust to do the job,” Stebbing said. “Do clothes matter? Yes, they do.”