National Clothesline

It may not be a crime to dress casually in the workplace, but some law firms in New Jersey are trying to cut down on repeat fashion offenders.

Leslie Coscarelli of the New Jersey Star Ledger recently reported new evidence of a trend developing in the state’s professional legal arena: dress codes are popping up statewide in an attempt to curtail employees from dressing down.

According to the article, “Firms Lay Down the Law: No Casual Attire,” some observers attribute the change to the country’s more somber approach to business since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Others are quick to note that comfortable attire was a staple of the dot-com boom, which has dropped off the radar in recent years. Now with national unemployment rate in the six percent range, employers have fewer jobs to fill and more potential employees to fill them, so many people are dressing up even as the economy trickles down.

Accountemps, the world’s largest temporary staffing service, conducted a revealing study in 2000 that sought responses from executives from the nation’s 1,000 largest companies.

When asked, “How would you describe the appearance of most employees on casual dress day?”, 39 percent believed that employees appeared too casual.

The statistics confirmed what many people had been thinking for quite some time: casual wear in the workplace had become too casual. In fact, many employees didn't even know what fashions the word “casual” even encompassed.

Wolf & Samson, a law firm in West Orange, recently raised the bar on its company’s dress policy in February, calling for a more polished and professional appearance from its lawyers during the work week.

The change transpired in conjunction with the company’s move of its headquarters to a more upscale location.

To ease the burden on its legal staff, Wolf & Samson worked out a deal with Brooks Brothers and Jones New York so that their employees could receive a 20 percent discount on the purchase of new business-appropriate clothes.

The firm will still allow less formal dress on “Casual Fridays,” but it hopes to convey a more serious-minded attitude the majority of the time.

Peter Nussbaum, a partner at Wolf & Samson, told the Star Ledger: “The dot-com thing is sort of over. That whole image of people dressed down and getting it done didn’t work.

“I just think that there is a more professional feeling (wearing a suit). The message is that this is a professional establishment and we’re providing important services that should be treated as such... I feel like a lawyer again.”

Another law firm which just adopted a more stringent dress code was the Florham Park office of Greenberg Traurig. The company discovered that many of its big business clients — such as Hitachi Data Systems and Toshiba — expected their lawyers to project a more positive image.

Phillip Sellinger, a managing shareholder of Greenberg’s New Jersey office, was also interviewed for the article.

“If this is going to make clients feel more comfortable, then, for us it is the right thing to do,” he said. “Our job is to give our best service. It is not to make fashion statements that may make some of us feel more comfortable, but are not in keeping with the serious business of the practice of law.”

Other large law firms in New Jersey have also discussed upgrading their dress codes, including McCarter & English in Newark and Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer in Woodbridge.

While not all companies have followed suit — mandating their employees to dress in suits — there is a general sense in the state that lawyers are dressing up more frequently even when they are not required to do so.

The Princeton office of Reed Smith still allows business casual dress, but Steven Picco, a managing partner for the firm, noted that many lawyers in the office have switched back to sharper attire.

“(Lawyers) just can’t get away from the starched collars,” he said. “The neck skin just cries out for a chafing.”

Though Picco prefers to wear comfortable clothes around the office, he always keeps a suit hanging on the door in case he needs to meet a client unexpectedly.

Suzanne Frank, an executive assistant at the Florham Park office of Greenberg Traurig, added that she preferred a stricter dress code because it makes her life simpler. “It’s fine with me,” she said. “It’s more difficult to find stuff that fits the other category.”

Perhaps the best evidence of the changing fashion trend can be found in clothing companies such as Jos. A. Bank in Morristown, NJ.

Since last fall, the company has experienced a notable influx in its sales of suits and other formal office wear.

Brian Merrill, the company’s store manager, told the Star Ledger: “The pendulum is swinging back. People were getting lax in what they were wearing.”