BY DON KEENAN
At the conclusion of my talks around the country newly minted and older lawyers alike will often come up to me and ask, “How should I dress to be off code as a lawyer?” When I hear this I think that my teaching and preaching about lawyer authenticity (being off code as a lawyer) was insufficient and my message not clear. To me, the answer is self-evident.
As a puppy lawyer I went to a weekend seminar entitled “HOW TO WIN” where there was a speech coach, theatre person and wardrobe consultant. The message, of course, was you can win with proper voice technique and theater technique (both of which are very helpful) but having proper courtroom attire was also essential.
I remember it clearly: Never dress above the jury, never wear brown in front of African American jurors (to this day I never understood that one), don’t wear anything except white shirts or what’s expected. Don’t wear fancy cuff links; they will surely produce a loss.
At that time I had one really nice semi-expensive suit and a couple off‑the‑rack low cost suits. I had reached the point where I was able to buy my second suit and before the seminar I had set my sights on a really fine upscale suit. The wardrobe expert at the seminar, however, threw me a curve. The case I was trying a case in the country and it was set for the following week.
In order to get an edge at trial, off to JC Penney I went where I purchased the cheapest two polyester suits I could find. The trial went down and resulted in a good verdict which I was sure was due to my new way of dressing. Thank you, JC Penny and thank you, Mr. Wardrobe expert.
After the verdict, the foreperson approached me in the hallway congratulating me on the verdict and said, “Son, you’ll be a good lawyer one day, but we all hope you’ll get some good suits with some of the money you’ll get on the case.” The he said, “If you’re gonna be a successful trial lawyer, you gotta dress like one.”
Now if you want to look like a banker or an undertaker, go ahead, just make sure its “you.” I encourage you to find what the “you” is, then dress accordingly.
Those that know me understand that I’m partial to English tailored suits. I also happen to appreciate a handmade Turnbull & Asser shirt with white collars, white double cuffs and a colored or textured body. With my suit I like to wear a matching tie and pocket square and often wear matching suspenders, white tipped of course. Last but not least, I always wear coordinated double-sided cuff links. Even though that first clothing consultant warned against dressing the very way I choose to dress, I’m absolutely certain that I haven’t lost any cases because of it.
Contrary to my courtroom dress, as many of you know who have visited me in the office in Atlanta or New York, my office attire is usually a USMC, or a Seaside T-shirt or sweatshirt with cargo shorts or jeans. However, I always keep a suit nearby just in case I have “official” business to do.
Think about it for a minute: Did Gerry Spence wear a suit and tie when he tried cases in Manhattan or Chicago? Of course not, he wore his buckskin and his fringed jacket. That’s who he is. He would not be authentic in a suit and tie. Early in my career I had the opportunity to try four cases with Mel Belli, the father of demonstrative evidence and one of the early writers on our art in his groundbreaking “Modern Trials.” Mel tried cases all over the country in tailored English suits with red silk lining and a flamboyant pocket square. I saw him relate to jurors everywhere, from big cities like New Orleans and San Francisco to small, rural towns in Kansas and Georgia. If he tried to dress any other way then he wouldn’t have been authentic.
Now, this is not to say run out and buy a buckskin jacket or get your suits made in England with red silk lining, unless of course, that’s you. Whatever the “you” is, be you.
I’ve tried a couple cases in northern Arkansas and it seems the lawyers there all wear sports coats rather than suits. I asked Sach Oliver, who I co-counseled a trial last year, whether or not he even had a suit because I had never seen him wear one. He said he did but he felt more comfortable in his tried and true sports jackets. His dress obviously has not had an adverse effect on his work because at 29 he’s already gotten a number of great verdicts.
Trial lawyers would purchase purple shoes with yellow tips if they thought it would give them the slightest edge. Resist this temptation, unless, of course, you are a purple shoe/yellow tip type guy or girl and dressing that way is authentic to your core.
This blog has had a persistent drum beat of how critically important it is for the trial lawyer to be “off code.” The No. 2 target for the black hats is to make us appear inauthentic at best, and a lying, greedy, ambulance-chasing, arrogant bully at worst. It takes a total package to be authentic and any part, no matter how small, will cast a subconscious doubt in the jury’s mind as to your authenticity.
Therefore, by all that’s holy, however you normally dress — in clothes that project who really you are — and do so in the courtroom. If you dress like someone you’re not, the jury will certainly pick up on it. Don’t be a phony: Dress for your own skin and not someone else’s.
Before we end let me mention my way of dress at ADR/mediation. Please remember when I say “my way,” I never mean, “It’s my way or the highway.” If I know the defense is playing games, unfocused and not serious, or if I have individually been ordered to mediation, then I wear my office attire: USMC or Seaside shirt or sweatshirt, cargo pants or shorts. This sends the obvious message I intend to send. On the other hand, if I sense the black hats are serious, it’s my courtroom attire and just like in the courtroom my jacket never comes off, my tie stays tied and my collar stays buttoned — even if the ADR goes to the wee hours of the morning.
BOTTOM-LINE: Remember at the end of the case — you have to be authentic, your client has to be authentic, your experts have to be authentic, and the case has to be authentic. Otherwise, you’ll wind up on the funeral pyre of defense verdicts.
Note:
A lot of this article addresses your own self-perception. I have been working on a post on the subject of self-perception and the danger it poses in the courtroom. Counselors and psychiatrists tell us there are three levels of self-perception. The first is how we truly perceive ourselves, the authentic self. The second level is when we either subconsciously or consciously think of how other people perceive us. Then the third level kicks in, which is how a person alters their true authentic self to conform to what they think other people perceive them to be. This last level is toxic and destroys the authentic self. How you dress speaks volumes about your self-perception. Dress to your true authentic self.
