LawyersUSA

In our role as practice advisors, we take a broad view of marketing and believe that everything about your personal presentation either adds to or detracts from your marketing efforts.

For Shawn, this is rooted in years of training as a former Imagineer for Disney. Visit any Disney property in the world and you will be greeted by cheerful, clean-scrubbed and well-groomed employees.

Management doesn't tolerate deviations. For many years, a female executive nicknamed Greta Groom patrolled the property seeking out those who failed to comply with Disney's grooming guidelines. It was her job to educate the wayward souls for whom bathing was an option not exercised regularly. She worked with female employees whose hair colors were not among those found in nature and male employees who preferred to alter their skin tone with tattoos rather than a tan.

The greatest grooming challenges came with the opening of EuroDisney in France. The clash of cultures that took place behind the scenes is legendary within the company. As the new employees began their training, it became clear the highly individualistic French didn't willingly embrace the idea of service with a permanent smile, let alone the all-too-American idea of squeaky-clean hygiene. But even with these cultural differences, Disney prevailed.

For lawyers, the question is whether it makes sense to take your image this seriously.

The answer lies in a recurring dream Walt Disney had prior to the opening of Disneyland in the mid-fifties. In his dream surly, cigar-smoking carnival types tried to entice guests into the shops on Main Street. These carnival "barkers" were the antithesis of how Walt wanted his future employees to dress and act. He was breaking new ground – even though theme parks are a familiar concept today, fairs and carnivals were more the norm when the Disney empire was born. Walt was horrified that his new multi-million dollar entertainment complex would be mistaken for an elaborate carnival. In his mind, fly-by-night carnivals sat on the bottom tier of the entertainment hierarchy.

Driven by his fears, he instituted strict grooming and behavioral guidelines for all his employees.

This is where you and your firm enter the picture. Every day you don a costume of some sort to play your role as an attorney against the backdrop of your firm. Your team members are your supporting players. Whether leave your home clad in a new blue suit, a skirt and jacket or old khaki pants, you pick out something, put it on and present yourself to the world. Your staff members do much the same. Some of you make a conscious effort to put together something suited to your professional role. And some of you don't give it much thought.

We believe a little thought is in order. Your clothing and style of grooming make up your image and telegraph a message that clients, colleagues and others can clearly read. If you look clean, well-groomed and dressed appropriately for your law firm and who they serve, clients will believe you to be intelligent and trustworthy. If you aren't appropriately put together, clients will, rightly or wrongly, regard you as less capable and won't be as inclined to enlist your help with their problems.

A consistent image

Most of the good marketers we meet seem to instinctively know this. They've had enough professional experience and typically possess enough self-awareness to present themselves well. In direct contrast, their young associates and team members often display startlingly poor judgment.

Like Walt Disney, experienced rainmakers want a team that conveys an image consistent with the brand they are building. Given that most law firms try to brand themselves as credible, professional and trustworthy institutions, clients are baffled by receptionists who sport new tattoos, paralegals who show too much cleavage and associates who dress like unmade beds. Things that would make Greta Groom spin in her grave.

Due to the sensitive nature of this problem, attorneys from all over the country have turned to us for advice on how to instruct their young associates and staff members on how to dress and act in a professional manner.

You can't expect all of your team members – especially the younger ones – to possess grooming and dress standards suitable for a law office. They don't have years of professional experience to draw upon and don't place a lot of value in the old idea of "dressing for success." Therefore, it's important to clearly convey to them that their personal appearance speaks volumes about who they are: Professionals.

Judgment isn't the only issue for many staffers and young employees. There is also the issue of money. It's difficult for them to afford proper business attire, so we frequently advise partners to pay bonuses to team members in the form of gift certificates to quality retailers to assist with upgrading their wardrobe. (This has the added benefit of avoiding any "fee-splitting" concerns for bonuses given to non-attorney staff.)

Personal Shoppers in department stores can be very helpful in assembling a business wardrobe that is flexible, looks professional, but isn't overly expensive.

A good rule of thumb is to dress slightly better than your clients. Each team member can adopt their own style within these parameters, but at all times they must make sure they are presentable when dealing with clients. Only firms that operate in extreme locales such as Key West or those that deal with clients in the entertainment industry might feel free to adopt a more relaxed attitude.

Maintaining morale

Any time a firm introduces a change there will be resistance among the team members. So involve them in the process. Some firms present the idea of up-grading their team's look with the added attraction of a "Casual Friday." This is works especially well for firms that block off Fridays as "production days" and avoid scheduling client appointments. This is a nice carrot-and-stick combination which makes both the partners and team members happy.

It's okay to bring the team in on the process as long as firm management doesn't let it stray too far from its original intent. Once the guidelines are refined, they can be included in your policies and procedures manual, handed to new recruits as part of their orientation, and posted somewhere in a back office.

The firm dress code should also included are rules for clients who must appear in court, as personal appearance can make a huge difference in how they are perceived. Feel free to create a handout for clients to take home.

Remember: You may not be a paid performer, but every day you are onstage playing the role of someone who can be trusted to handle problems and complex matters. Make sure you and all the supporting players dress the part. Borrow a page from Walt Disney's book on grooming and you may find that running a Mickey Mouse operation isn't such a bad thing after all.

Shawn McNalis is a former Imagineer with Walt Disney Co., Shawn credits her 15-year career with Disney for her creative, collaborative approach to advising attorneys. In partnership with Mark Powers for 12 years, Shawn is a senior practice advisor, curriculum developer, speaker and trainer for Atticus. Shawn co-authored "The Making of a Rainmaker" and numerous articles for a variety of legal publications.