Legal News

Firm to Female Lawyers: Wear High Heels, Embrace Your Femininity

By Dan Slater

It’s not often that we can hit on law firm attire — partly because, well, there’s not too much to say. Perhaps that’s the very reason Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is trying to “smarten up” its lawyers. The company, according to the Daily Mail, has hired image consultants to draw up some sartorial guidelines.

Here’s a few points of their advice, according to the Daily Mail:

• Women at the firm have been advised to wear high heels with skirts rather than trousers to “embrace their femininity.”
• Male employees under 5″ 9″ are advised against wearing double-breasted suits in favor of a leaner single-breasted style.
• Brown shoes and button-down shirts are frowned upon as “too casual”.

A spokesman told the Daily Mail: “It’s basically a session on how to project a professional image within the workplace. “It’s advice rather than a list of do’s and don’ts,” he added.

Any other reason women were advised to wear high heels? Lucinda Slater (no relation), a lawyer-turned-image-consultant and founder of Best Foot Forward, told the Daily Mail: “It helps them stand better and gives them height.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 23, 2008 (boomark / email).