BigLaw Suit Requirement?

[WhiteyEMSR]

Big firms generally require suit and tie dress every day. Do they have to be dark suits? Are my grey, tan and brown suits now useless? What's the norm here? Thanks.

[J D]

Your first sentence may be incorrect; here, in Boston, most firms have adopted a business casual dress code policy.  In other places, I think they might be more strict, but I'm not sure.

[thegreat]

Some firms are suit-and-tie shops; while other firms would rather you wear collar shirts and slacks, so it just depends. The obvious caveat is everything changes at the beckon of the client. Generally when a suit is required darker colors work better. Charcoal grey can pass.  

[jacy85]

Are you a man or a woman?  Women generally get a little more play, but generally, darker is better.

And I'd check before rushing out to buy 5 new suits; as JD said, many large firms are business casual now (Atlanta is another city that's largely business casual)

[WhiteyEMSR]

City, Chicago. Not sure if that makes a difference.

[Strong]

City, Chicago. Not sure if that makes a difference.

Just watch out for Abe Froman, the sausage king of Chicago.

[John Galt]

I worked at a large firm where suits by everyone were worn pretty much everyday and grey, tan, brown, and olive were fairly common, at least in the summer.

[Budlaw]

Big firms generally require suit and tie dress every day. Do they have to be dark suits? Are my grey, tan and brown suits now useless? What's the norm here? Thanks.

Just ask whoever your recruiting or summer associate coordinator is at Jones Day to find out what the dress code will be next summer.

That being said, I'd go with a polyester liesure suit. Make sure you wear a giant gold medallion too. You want to fit in, so be sure not to forget the medallion.

[Felsen]

The grey and brown suits might work if they are a dark color.  For grey, the recommended suit color for lawyers is charcoal grey.  For brown, you just have to be careful.  You don't want to become known as the guy in the poop suit.  Depending on the people who see you in it, that might be an unavoidable title no matter what color of brown your suit is. 

[corky]

Charcoal or navy are good.  I haven't seen a lot of black suits, though.  Tan or brown strike me as wrong.