This is the second in a three-part series on fashion for women lawyers.

Women generally look to celebrities, style icons, and fashion magazines for images and looks they want to emulate. While I love Naomi Campbell, I cannot exactly walk into a deposition in a Versace sparkly dress, can I?

Well I could, but I’m sure it would be an unproductive session.  So what is the young lawyer to do?  Where are our fashion reference and idols?

Most would probably say TV lawyers, and in particular–> Ally McBeal. Ally got tons of attention for the short skirts she wore and her firm’s unisex bathroom, but trying to pull off that wardrobe outside of a television studio will just give a young lawyer an undesired reputation. Read the rest of this entry »

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I read John’s post, “Clothes Make the Man,” and chuckled. Here I was thinking that men had it so easy when it came to wardrobe choices, but in fact, creating and maintaining a professional wardrobe is daunting for both sexes.

My mother is a former fashion buyer and my father was just as comfortable in a suit as he was a jogging suit. I was lucky that I was forced to hit the suit racks and start building a professional wardrobe early on. In high school, I had to dress up for game days when I played field hockey, and in college, I joined a sorority and a co-ed business fraternity, both of which required business attire at chapter meetings.

Back in high school, BeBe was my go-to store for the two suits I had, a skirt suit and a pant suit.  Both were black.  By the time I graduated from college I had about 4 suits that I picked up from the young women departments at Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Bloomingdale’s, and one from J.Crew (this one suit would later start an obsession). One was red and the rest were still my favorite standby – “dark” black.  They held me over for the occasional meeting, moot court argument and interview during law school, but I didn’t really feel like they were my style – items that I was comfortable wearing everyday. They were my costumes when I played “professional Allie” instead of being clothes that I wore naturally and effortlessly. They were more utilitarian and costume-like because I only wore them on “special occasions.” I never thought, “What happens when those ‘special occasions’ become every day occurrences?”

For me, the shift happened after law school, when I got my clerkship.  Part of the exciting thing about having a clerkship was knowing I was going to be in court every day! That was also the most dreadful thing about it.  I was going to have to have different, or seemingly different, outfits on each day. I was leaving the comfortable country of Jean & Sneakers, and getting my passport stamped in Suitville. I quickly realized this wardrobe change was like a rite of passage for a young professional.  Whether we want to admit it or not, how you dress can set you apart from a crowd, put people at ease or make them uncomfortable.  It defines you at the office, and in the courtroom. Clothes can give us presence when we have none as young lawyers who may usually be sitting quietly next to a partner.

In Part II of this three-part series, learn how Allie perfected her new wardrobe on a budget.

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For a long while I have been really really proud of the fact that I have not run into any attorneys similar to the horribly rude versions we so often see on television and in films.

That was until I ran into a bunch of attorneys that I swear were actors in a movie secretly being filmed.

Lately I have been annoyed and disheartened by actions of attorneys hell bent on making the litigation process difficult for the sake of being difficult, or to run up fees (with all of the problems our industry has had recently the latter is no surprise me).  I refuse to believe that you have to be a bully to zealously advocate for your client.

What really gets me is when attorneys embrace this bravado and role of the stubborn, rude, obnoxious, and badgering person, and all civility goes out the window.

I have never believed that in order to be a great attorney one has to constantly flex their muscles on opposing counsel, or be resolute in an unwillingness to compromise. It is almost as if they were constantly beat up as children so they decided to grow up and become an attorney because that is perceived as a profession, other than boxing, where it is OK to attempt to beat your opponent to a bloody pulp.

I disagree and feel sorry for those that have no other interesting things about themselves to define them other than how rude they can be when practicing law or playing their role as the attorney they think they have to be to be taken seriously.

When I asked a partner at a large firm to cite a rule to me which he claimed required me to do something, he actually responded, “the rule is because I said so.”   He crossed his arms, leaned back in his chair, and said this in the voice of a 5-year-old.  I couldn’t respond. Not because I didn’t have a snappy comeback, but because I could not believe a grown man would ever utter such a thing with a straight face. I mean come on! Seriously. How old are you? You’re balding for goodness sake!!!

There will be plenty more poor attitudes and condescending behavior that will cross my path, and as they say, “you can’t choose your opposing counsel,” nor as a young associate can you choose what cases you will and will not take if they are assigned to you.

Nonetheless, I have never appreciated the Maryland State Bar so much in my short time as an attorney as I do now. The value of civility is more important to me and I take pride in embracing it and knowing that I can play hardball when needed, not because I am emulating some bizarre Boston Legal episode.

p.s. As you may have guessed, the subjects of this post are everything but Maryland attorneys.

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There aren’t enough hours in the day. I have constantly said that to myself, and have had it said to me.  I would think that with two blackberry phones, a Filofax, an online calendar, a secretary, and desk and wall calendars, that I would have a better grasp on time management. Alas, I still do not.

I have found that this is one of my biggest faults/continuing lessons in life.  While I have made improvements, I have found that it is still hard to figure out how to prioritize assignments, estimate how long they will actually take and then execute a schedule to get it all done. This is in addition to the things I want to do in my personal life- like have one.

I am trying to develop the habit of making sure all calendars are synchronized, otherwise they will be useless when trying to schedule things. Nothing is worse than knowing that you have a task or event that should be on your calendar, but it is not there when you go to schedule something else.

Time management is more than what is on the calendar, but actually putting into motion the plan to take care of and do those items. It is one of the hardest things to adjust to as a young lawyer with billable hours.

Planning to make sure you hit all of your deadlines, but still have enough work to stay busy and bill at a consistent hourly pace is like some elusive animal, and I’m on a major hunt.

I think with the Holiday slow down it will be a bit easier to inventory my “life projects,” both work and personal, and try to make subtle changes in how I prioritize what I want to do.  At this point it is all work and no play or healthy exercise. Not a good combination.

I plan to scour the web for interesting tips and ideas, and see if any are helpful in my quest to become a more efficient person, not just as an associate.

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When I graduated from law school and passed the Maryland Bar, Santa (better known as my parents) gave me The Practice Manual for the Maryland Lawyer for Christmas. As I opened the large box containing two large binders I realized that I had finally crossed over into adulthood. The telltale sign: I was elated to receive a work-related present.

Every year since, I continue to work on my ongoing project of getting my personal law library of books, manuals, and treatises to use at work together.  As the 2009 holidays draw near,  I am on the search for my latest acquisition and or request for the holidays.

I know many of us have access to a law library at our firms but for those who do not, building a working library can be a daunting task for a young lawyer. Even if you do have access to a law library at your office, it does not hurt to have your own copy of the “classics” like the Maryland Rules. Chasing down a rule book can be a pain when working on something time sensitive such as a motion or injunction and there is a need to reference a specific rule. When I clerked, the Honorable Ronald B. Rubin of the Montgomery County Circuit Court consistently stated the Maryland Rules and the Maryland Rules Commentary as invaluable resources and that every lawyer, young and seasoned, should bring the Rules with them each time they go to court.

The Micpel website has become one of my most visited bookmarks and an important source of great books like Anatomy of a Trial by Paul Mark Sandler and Murphy & Grimm’s Comparative Guide to the Maryland and Federal Rules of Evidence. The Maryland Law Encyclopedia, the Bluebook or ALWD citations manuals, and the Defense Counsel Training Manual by the International Association of Defense Counsel were named as some of the top books to have and use by the Maryland lawyers in my office. Of course, the books that will help you in your specific practice will vary by area. The point is to find those books and start building the foundation for a great library early.

If you participate in Secret Santa or some other holiday gift giving exchange, or will be treating yourself this holiday, don’t hesitate to ask for or purchase something for your law library. It will aid your practice of law for years to come and will be a worthy investment in your career and value as an attorney. I’ll be putting The Attorney-Client Privilege and the Work Product Doctrine: A Practitioner’s Guide by Thomas E. Spahn on my wishlist.

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Lawyers are some of the most sedentary professionals.  So much so that more than one partner in my office has been known to sit so completely still while dictating briefs, for such a long time, that the lights in their offices have gone out. The automatic sensors did not detect anyone in the room.

In an effort to ward off a future sedentary lifestyle, and the weight gain I have termed the “armchair 15″, I sought advice from a more active partner.  His response: “Get out of the office!”

He said as a young lawyer you can get trapped in your office acting like a lab rat constantly circling the halls of your office suite.  I never thought of myself as a lab rat, but had to admit that what he said was true.  There were certainly days when I wrestled with bouts of cubicle/windowless office insanity or when I realized that I may have left my office once or twice the entire day.

Working in an enclosed office environment can at times be depressing, stifle one’s creativity, and weaken one’s social skills.  He said young lawyers need to take every opportunity to get out of the office and go visit clients  and “press the flesh.”  I think it has been some of the best advice I have received.

Young lawyers need to let the client put a face to a name and hear the lovely or handsome telephone voice you have probably perfected by now.

Whether a solo practitioner or an associate at a firm, the younger lawyers are doing most of the work on cases for the client. Letting the client meet you and get to know you reassures them that a competent attorney is handling their matter, and it also helps the attorney practice the sometimes forgotten interpersonal skill of how to meet and greet.

That skill will serve you well in your long career as an attorney and is an essential part to obtaining new clients, not to mention the obvious health benefits of getting out of your chair and getting some fresh air.

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