Office Dress Code *DELETED*

Sounds reasonable to me. That is what I dress code is and I work for government which a lot of times dress very more relaxed that the private sector.
 
Tell them they're going to work, not Chili's. Deal with it. I would also imagine that you meet with clients occasionally, and it's not exactly confidence-inspiring to be greeted by someone who looks like they're dressed to take their dog for a walk.
 
In my first job out of college in Austin, the concept of "casual Fridays" was being taken a bit too far by some employees.

The company sent out a memo that included the line, "You should dress like you are going to work, not like you are about to mow your lawn."
 
Ya know, at the risk of sounding like an ***, there's a different between a partner who sometimes works from home, is in and out of the office, etc, who sometimes wears jeans, and an office staffer who may see clients or other attorneys on a daily basis.

Your office and support staff fronts the office. They need to look professional, period.

The partners can get away with stuff that others can't. As long as your employees understand that, you should be ok.
 
You need to get your other partner on board with this. Take him to lunch and bill a client for it and discuss it with him. Tell him why you feel this way, what image it portrays, etc. Let him know it is important and just good business. It does not have to be a rigid policy but more than the one that does not exist now. This way if somebody goes a bit lax, it won't be too much.

If he gets on board and does not make an issue, esp. in front of the employees they will follow suit without incident or audible gripe. But if he balks they will sense this and he becomes the favorite, their guy and you are the guy who should drive an Acura/BMW or Audi and pop your collar.

You are a lawyer, persuade him and then bill a client for it.
 
Perhaps you should pick up a copy of E.L. Kersten's "The Art of Demotivation". It's written very tongue-in-cheek, but it contains much truth.
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I don't think you are out of line with your opinion on the matter. Especially on days you know a client/potential client may be in the office.

A nice compromise may be cotton khakis/skirts and collared shirts. Most mortgage banks I have worked/contracted for use this code and it works good. A few times a year they would ask for more professional attire for certain visitors (i.e investors, stock holders, etc.).
 
I agree with smurfette, sometimes a partner can get away with things that front office staff cannot. I think it's totally reasonable to ask your staff to not wear jeans and t-shirts. I think jeans can be ok in some office environments because worn with the right shoes and blouse they look nice but in an attorney's office there is a different standard.
 
I feel your pain 7-iron- I had this very same problem at my company- I grew and didn't have procedures in place b/c I trusted everyone to act professionally and then they did not.

I finally (after like 4.5 years) instituted a dress code b/c it went from people wearing nice jeans and a nice top to looking like they were headed to a metal concert.

As for me, the better I dress the more serious I take work- so I think it helped me some.

At any rate- I'm so glad I sold my business and don't have to worry about this crap anymore.

As to SA chick and Smurfette- I agree with them in principle but found that didn't work. My office always took their cues from me and the sloppier I got the sloppier they got.

The problem was this- I used my head about it and dressed down when I knew I wasn't going anywhere and that I had absolutely no clients coming in. They'd see me dressed down one day and then they'd dress down the next when we might have 4 client meetings or something like that. I'd be wearing slacks and a dress shirt and they'd look like they were heading to the beach.
 
You could be writing my story. Law firm in Austin with 2 lawyers and 3 staff members.

Approximately 10-12 years ago, we had three attorneys and staff. One partner and I both wore suits daily. The other partner wore khakhis/dress pants and dress shirts. The legal assistants dressed fairly nicely. The suit wearing partner left.

I don't really think about it much until a few years ago, but then I was sitting in a staff meeting in a suit, and I realized that my office manager is wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and another legal asst is in jeans. I have no idea when or how our dress code slid to that. I don't mind it too much (most of my work is personal injury litigation so most of my clients are also informal). But, if it's important to you, talk to your partner about it now and get something set. Don't let it continue to slide, particularly if it's something that bothers you.
 
Selling someone an ownership share in your business or paying to own someone else's is essentially what taking a partner is. Doing these things without a strong sense of the what/ how/ why the business operates and where authority rests is a BIG business blunder. The bigger problem here is not dress code; it is lack of planning. I hope the "out" in your partnership agreement is well-thought-out in case this manifests in other ways in the future (or the dress code becomes more problematic). I recommend (1) sitting down with your partner, explaining how and how strongly you feel, and asking for his support, and (2) setting an appointment with your partner for a bigger time slot to hammer out a system for settling other issues that affect the enterprise.
 
We deal with Fortune 500 companies and with customers from the C-level down to the front line management level. 95% of our interactions are on the phone - the other 5% are either in our training facility (separate part of the building where they don't see us) or at the client site. In our office, anything goes... I'm wearing shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops. My clients can't see me so it doesn't matter. Next week, when I meet with someone from ExxonMobil, I'll be wearing a suit. When I go to Baker Hughes, I'll be in pants and a buttondown. Until then, it doesn't matter what I'm wearing as long as I take care of my crap and make my numbers. That's how our CEO sees it, too... and today he happens to be wearing shorts and a polo. It makes for a motivated environment and it really doesn't matter if no one sees us but us. If a client is coming in the office, we send out an e-mail and dress accordingly and/or keep our doors closed. I haven't regularly worn a suit to work since 1994 and I am so thankful for that!!!!!!!

If wearing a suit or dressing up is what it takes for someone to take work seriously, then maybe you should get someone else.
 
For you, for the office, I recommend this formal look "from Dolce & Gabbana's spring/summer 2009 men's collection."

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Or, better yet, these "Shorts by Versace for spring/summer 2009."

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You'll look fabulous!
 
I work at a very laid back church. Our worship on Sundays is 'come as you are.' We have people wearing shorts and t shirts and no one even notices.

Now because I am the pastor, I feel that I need to look someone professional. If I am in the office behind a closed door studying for a sermon or Bible Study, jeans aren't a bad thing.
If I need to go to the hospital to see someone (and this can happen at a moments notice) then I need to at least look like I belong there.

That being said, I still have a very hard time not wearing dress slacks to work. Every once in a while I will wear jeans, but usualy with a button up. Normally, I wear dress slacks with a dressy pull over T. The kind of uncollared shirt you might wear with a sport coat.
 
i don't have a dress code at work so i wear whatever i want. i usually wear jeans, but have also worn shorts. i come from the austin and dot-com culture that says people in suits don't have any technical skills. as such, suits are for people trying to sell you something or managers trying to impress other managers.

if women can wear skirts, why can't guys wear shorts?
 
random,

what I think he is trying to say is that a good dress code is hard to find, sometimes you think you have a good dress code and then you catch the early flight home from San Diego and a couple of nude people jump out of your bathroom blindfolded like a ******* magic show ready to double team your girlfriend.
 
my company is old school, we still wear suits everyday and my lawyer better look like he belongs in court. yall must be a plaintiff's firm.
 
You know, this brings up another point. Where I work, apparently it has become acceptable for women to wear shorts to work. These "City Shorts" don't even pass the knee. Now I am all about admiring the female form in all it's glory, but this is Austin-*******-Texas in August! If women can wear that ****, why can't I wear khaki shorts?Even better, maybe I should start wearing my black utili-kilt.

Honestly, if I hadn't earned the respect of my boss and the exec. director, I'd wear shorts and just pray someone would say something just so I could point out the women wearing the same thing. Then I'd immediately point out that "I didn't even wear flip flops like them".

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My take on dress code is that the dress should fit the image the company is trying to project. Whether it s jeans, Business Casual, or Professional, like it or not, the way you dress sends a message. Your plumber doesn’t look right in a 3-piece suit, and your lawyer doesn’t look right in jeans.

And that is every day. You never really know when you may have clients or other stakeholders who need to meet on Friday. So a dress down on Friday is inappropriate. Also, it’s been my experience that having a casual Friday tends to result in a drop in productivity. I think it lends an atmosphere of Friday not being a normal working day. For these reasons, if you are going to have a casual Friday, have a casual Monday through Thursday as well.
 
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