Stiff Suit or Business Casual?
I recently went to a bar association “trivia night” function at a local tavern. Getting dressed in the morning, I debated my choice of clothes: formal suit or business casual. I opted for business casual, given that our firm was doing trivia night. As I dressed, however, I realized that I had Court that afternoon. I immediately changed into a suit, the unspoken dress code for attorneys in Court.
The Stiff Mind Set of the Legal Profession
Arriving at trivia night with our firm, I looked around and realized that my choice of a stiff suit was the norm, not the exception. Indeed, a substantial majority of the attorneys wore suits. Stiff suits. For trivia night in a bar! It was a stark reminder of how many lawyers still cling to formality and stiff suits, while the rest of the world and most of our clients have moved to business casual or even beach casual.
The Client in Today’s Changing World
In today’s environment, the world is changing fast and furious, with its attendant abundance of social media, fast news, and fast computers. The suits have failed to keep up. Instead, the suits cling to outdated, stiff-suited ways of interaction with their clients and the information presented. Yet, clients come to us with real-world problems involving estate and trust disputes, personal injury and business disputes. They are hard-working people who no longer wear suits in their own jobs and seek attorneys who not only know the law but can act as a counselor at law as well. They need an attorney who can understand their thoughts and concerns and, frankly, fears, without the off-putting “distance” of a stiff suit and similarly stiff personality.
The Difference with SPENCE | BRIERLEY
The attorneys at SPENCE | BRIERLEY went business casual years ago. We dedicated our careers not only to succeeding at trial for our clients but also to understanding and acknowledging our clients on their often emotional journey to a case conclusion. We are attorneys. We are adept at knowing the law and aggressively enforcing our clients’ rights under it. However, we are also people. We are also parents and siblings and children. We are like you and make no pretension that a stiff suit makes us better attorneys. Rather, we feel that, except in court, we are better attorneys when business casual. To clients, stiff suits only reinforce an attorney’s arrogance, their “I know better than you” impression.
On the other hand, the attorneys at SPENCE | BRIERLEY seek a collaborative approach where the client is an important stake-holder whose concerns are fully addressed. We believe that our collaborative approach not only makes clients more comfortable, it often leads to better results for the client.
The Outcomes
Of course, don’t take our word that our difference makes us better attorneys. SPENCE | BRIERLEY’s considerable number of 5-star reviews on Google speaks more about our approach than this article could ever convey. Coupling our serious legal abilities with a less-formal approach to the law allows our clients to accomplish more with us. Other firms whose phones are ringing less and less these days should pay heed. Individuals looking for competent, effective legal counsel should too as they look for counsel. Do you want a stiff suit or do you want better?