Biglaw

Biglaw Firm's Fashionable New Perk

Jeans! Five days a week!

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Think you can’t be a high-powered attorney and wear jeans to work? Think again. Though the legal profession has a reputation for being staid, the business casual revolution has taken root in Biglaw. As proof that we are never going back to the world of mandatory suits five days a week, may I present the new business casual policy of Dechert. The firm announced yesterday their definition of business casual will now include jeans, which means (obviously depending on what meetings/appearances an attorney may have) Dechert employees can now wear jeans five days a week.

Praise Levi Strauss.

The firm was already a business causal workplace, but the jeans policy was unclear and inconsistent based on location. As Law.com reports, the firm hopes this move will make all their employees more comfortable:

Dechert’s chief talent officer, Alison Bernard, said the firm already had a business casual policy, but that has now been slightly relaxed to include jeans. Some offices within the firm had already allowed lawyers and staff to wear jeans on certain days or parts of the year, Bernard said, but there was a desire for a more uniform policy.

“This is just trying to make life easier for people, make people more comfortable, more innovative and letting our talent do their best work,” Bernard said.

Plus the firm is also giving all associates a garment bag to keep a change of business attire available in the office for the unexpected client meeting/court appearance/etc. Clever way of reminding them they need to be ready to shift into “real lawyer” mode at a moment’s notice.

Bernard also focused on the culture moves like this — as well as the firm’s updated parental leave policy and wellness initiative — creates:

“Compensation is always important, prestige is important, but the culture of a firm is one of the biggest drivers of career choice,” Bernard said. “I think these are major, major drivers of how people are choosing where they want to work.”

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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