BUSINESS
CAREERS
FASHION
at the office
;
DRESS
CODES
Necessity or
needless policies?
✔Approved
BLOUSE
How to look stylish, and
appropriate, at the office
during the summertime
Story by donalee Moulton | Illustrations by Belinda Lopez
ll too often, when the sun comes out, the clothes come off.
For law firms, their lawyers and their clients, less can
mean more: more negative reactions, more concern about
the quality of the advice, and more overall discomfort.
“Everyone can be tempted to dress more casually
when the mercury rises,” said John Ohnjec, a lawyer and
division director with Robert Half Legal in Ottawa.
“This is true for a variety of professions and industries.
However, for those within the legal field, they must remember that
there is an even higher standard expected of their profession. Indi-
viduals need to represent their firm or corporation’s brand image
and ensure that they remain polished and professional.”
“In a professional services environment, you are trying to main-
tain a professional image,” said Mary Jackson, chief officer of legal
personnel and professional development with Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP in Toronto.
“On the other hand,” she noted, “there are times when casual
wear makes sense.”
The change of season brings with it both higher temperatures
and more relaxed attitudes. Lawyers need to be careful they don’t
get too comfortable with the lazy hazy crazy days of summer. “Sum-
mer does present challenges for both men and women,” said Pat
A
See Fashion Page 24
WHEN THE WEATHER gets warm,
the fashionistas in the firm get
reckless. Sometimes, office attire is
entirely inappropriate. In anticipation
of those times, many firms have a
dress policy.
It’s essential, said Pat Ross
Woodford, a former stylist in London,
England, who now lives in Beaver Bank,
N.S. “Firms should have a definite
dress code. This should be discussed
during interviews and held to the
highest standard.”
“With summer approaching, now is
a good time to remind employees of
your dress code,” noted John Ohnjec, a
lawyer and division director with Robert
Half Legal in Ottawa.
“Companies need to be diligent
about enforcing the dress code,” he
added. “If one employee gets away
with ignoring the dress code, two
things could happen: others will soon
follow or they’ll resent the employee
for breaking the rules and getting
away with it. It’s best to address the
issue immediately to avoid any
escalation either way.”
Mary Jackson, chief officer of
legal personnel and professional
development with Blake, Cassels &
Graydon LLP in Toronto doesn’t feel
that dress code policies are all that
helpful, but she agrees lawyers
who step outside acceptable
standards need to be dealt with.
“Rather than prescribe specific
clothing,” she said, “you need to
talk to people as individuals when
they make mistakes.”
DREAMSTIME.COM
Managing your online brand, reputation takes work
“Have you heard? They’re all
talking about you! Do you know
what they’re saying? Is it true?”
This flashback to high school
has been brought to you by the
Internet, which has obliged us to
again pay close attention to what
other people are saying about us.
Of course, in high school, we could
take the wise course of ignoring all
the chatter and just going about
our lives. On the Internet, how-
ever, it’s like the whole world is
lining the corridors, gathering in
groups and spreading gossip.
LAW 21
JORDAN
FURLONG
The value of your professional
name, whether personal or law
firm, is almost incalculable: the
mere mention of some lawyers’
names to an opposing party is
enough to force settlement talks.
The Internet spreads and ampli-
fies your name to a degree
unprecedented in history, but it
can also sully your name and
damage your reputation.
1. Start with a good defence.
Don’t write any message or
post any photo online that you
wouldn’t want to see on the
front page of the Globe &
Mail —that, quite literally, is
where some people’s indiscreet
content has ended up. Even
Facebook, supposedly a closed
system, is vulnerable to extrac-
tion programs that can pull out
your comments and publish
them on the open Net. What-
ever’s produced under your
name should be professional,
respectable, or at least
uncontroversial.
2. Know what’s being
said about you.
Put down this article, go to a
computer, and Google yourself,
with your name in quotation
marks. Did you like what you
found? Would a potential client
like it, or would it tell them
what you want them to know
about you? Your name might be
in fairly common use — imagine
all the unhappy Ashley Madisons out there—but to the
