Is “sexy” the edge you need in a recession?
The current economic slump has a lot of legal professionals reassessing their skill set, repackaging themselves, and even considering non-legal employment. With record number of applicants, employers are in a position to pick the “cream of the crop” when it comes to candidates. But what is the cream of the crop in the legal profession? What are the qualities that give a candidate that competitive edge? In a marketplace where every employment guru is schlepping their theory, dare I ask: Is “sexy” the competitive edge you need?
All things held equal—experience, client base, law school ranking—being good looking will stand out at the interview and in the print ad. Legal professionals may aspire to be above judging one another on appearances, but most would accept that, like it or not, it happens.
The ABA recently printed an article musing over the personal cost-cutting measures attorneys will take in a recession. The article’s headline asked if laid-off attorneys would forgo their manicures. The article quoted an employment consultant who urged attorneys not to forgo their manicures, claiming that it would only make the laid-off attorney feel worse. I found the conclusion solid, but the reasoning odd. Perhaps that consultant was too shy to put it bluntly: “OK, you’re down one. But, let yourself go, and you’ll be history.”
For most women in the legal field—who probably asked themselves these questions during the boom—being judged on your looks is a continuing insult. One might even think it impermissible discrimination on the basis of age or sex. One should think again…or at least take a second look at cases like Jesperson v. Harrah’s Operating Co., Inc., 444 F.3d 1104 (9th Cir. 2006). In Jesperson, a bartender working for a casino in Reno challenged the casino’s policy requiring female workers to meet with an image consultant and wear cosmetics. Ms. Jesperson lost her case (and I lost some faith in the sanity of the corporate workplace, but I digress). For an in-depth discussion of the Jesperson case, from one point of view, I recommend Michael Selmi’s The Many Faces of Darlene Jesperson, available here.
So while you’re dusting off those forgotten texts, researching that LLM, and reviewing layouts for the billboard ad, consider tightening up that tummy, upgrading your wardrobe, and bleaching them teeth. I’m not just talking to the ladies here. Gentlemen, you know who you are.
Tags: ABA, advertising, age discrimination, associate, attorney, competition, competitive edge, employment, interview, Jesperson, law firm, lawyer, legal profession, legal professional, manicure, marketing, recession, sexual discrimination, sexy