New and events of the Philadelphia Bar Asso.
Issue link: https://thephiladelphialawyer.epubxp.com/i/574228
28 the philadelphia lawyer Fall 2015 When I served as a law clerk in the early 1980s to a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge, I was forbidden to walk out of chambers without wearing my suit jacket and tie, despite the frequent breakdown of City Hall's air conditioning system. When I worked for an in-house insurance firm, I was required to wear a suit and tie, even if my day was to be spent in solitude behind a desk. Yes, "dressing up" has become something of a bygone practice. We now have "dress down Friday," "casual days" and $5 donations to various charities in exchange for "jeans day." While I appreciate the charitable aspect of these initiatives, I am afraid this overall attempt at morale boosting has encroached into legal events, especially at civil depositions, where some of my colleagues have taken this relaxed dress code to the extreme. Decorum, generally, at depositions is not what it used to be. YouTube is full of clips of lawyers behaving badly. We have all seen lawyers become distracted or even bored at depositions I n a very funny scene from Larry David's HBO comedy series "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Ed Asner walks into his new lawyer's offce to discuss his vast estate when the lawyer greets him, warmly, wearing jeans and a polo shirt. Asner's character is taken aback by the lawyer's outft, asking if he is going to a "Halloween party." The lawyer attempts to put Asner at ease, advising him that it is "casual Friday." Asner responds by telling the lawyer that he looks like a "f—cowboy." The lawyer's efforts to put the prospective client at ease, assuring him that his estate would not be handled "casually," fall on deaf ears, and Asner, outraged, leaves in a huff, large retainer in hand. APPEARANCES DO MATTER B y D a v i d S . Wo l f