How to Build a Lawyer Wardrobe

These past few weeks back at school I have been busy applying and interviewing for summer clerk positions because here at my school it's time for Spring OCIs (on campus interview). I missed out on the Fall OCIs because a lot of those were nabbed during the summer, so now I'm trying to play catch up. Since I'm broke right now, I'm slowly trying to build up my wardrobe by buying like one or two things every couple of months so that when I do get a job I'll have everything I need.

Related: Internship Interview Prep

Skirt Suit

Right now I only have one skirt suit but I eventually want to have a few on hand. Skirt suits are more traditional and more conservative than pant suits so this is usually what I wear for an interview just to err on the subtle side. Panty hose is starting to not be a thing anymore so I usually don't wear it but if your from requires it, I've been told to get skin colored ones instead of black. 

The most traditional color is black but navy and gray are generally accepted and are even okay for court. I take my suit jackets in to get hemmed so that the sleeves aren't too long to make my suit perfect for my body. One tip that I've been given on suits is don't dry clean it until it gets dirty because it'll help it last longer.

Pant Suit

I also have one pant suit that I bought with my skirt suit as a set so the material and the shade of black match perfectly so my jacket can be interchangeable. In general, go a size up to prevent bunching around your crotch or being inappropriately tight in your butt. Fit it to your thighs and then for about $20 you can have it taken in at the waist and hemmed. When I get closer to graduating I think I'm going to ask my mom to help me buy a nice custom tailored Ann Taylor suit!

Don't get a suit to be "fun" or "show your personality" or stand out." The suit should say "I'm a professional" and your attitude and personality can show the rest. I know this sounds strict, but lawyers are generally expected to be one of the most conservative in the business style.

Blouses

Get white, off-white, blush, or nude shirts for interviews and other big days. If you're looking for a little color, I've been told that powder blue is your best option for that. Later down the road once you get the feel of your firm, you can go with other colors. Jewel tones like sapphire, emerald, ruby, or amethyst are great power colors without being overpowering. If you get the right top, it can be worn under a suit jacket or with editor pants and a blazer for less formal business outfits.

Business Professional Dresses

For just regular days at the office, usually you can get away with a nice dress. I tend to love the wrap, sheath, and pencil shapes because they're flattering without being inappropriate. Always make sure the dress has a little sleeve, isn't too tight, doesn't end more than about an inch above the knee, and doesn't have a pattern that is too bold and is distracting. 

Related: The Difference Between Business Professional and Business Casual

Black Heels

My black heels were the first thing I added to my business professional wardrobe because they can go with almost everything. Make sure that the heel no more than 3.5 inches. Stay away from heels that have a platform because it's not very professional. Also, don't get open-toed shoes. Most importantly, make sure that the shoes you get are comfortable! It's worth it to invest a little more for shoes that you can work long days in while you run around the office.

Nude Heels

Next after the black heels, you need a pair of nude heels. Technically I have a pair of nude heels from my recruitment days, but they're a little too high for the business world and are in pretty rough shape after years of stacking. Nude heels are great for dresses or other colorful outfits so a new pair is the next thing on my list.

Black Flats

Warning: I've been told to avoid flats for interviews and the courtroom. I saved up for a pair of Tory Burch Reva flats and love them! I wear them on less dressy days to work or on dressy days will wear them walking from my car to the courthouse and then will throw them in my bag and change into heels when I get there. They also look great with skinny jeans for class!

Nude Flats 

My 2L year I invested in another pair of Tory flats, a nude Jolie bale slipper. I think the Jolie are more comfortable on my toes than the Revas, if any of y'all are trying to decide. Thanks to a reader's tip, I went for a nude shade just a little darker than my skin tone so it doesn't look like I'm barefoot. I love it because these flats go great with my navy outfits, but really they go with just about everything. I wear both my nude and black flats to work but actually get even more use out of them because they're perfect to wear with skinny jeans and a nice top to class so that I look put together even though I'm super comfortable.

Related: How I dress for class in law school

Professional Bag

I love my Louis Vuitton bag, don't get me wrong, but the traditional brown monogram doesn't exactly go with a black suit so I'm saving up to get a work bag and just use my Louis as an everyday bag. So if you're needing a new bag, learn from my mistake and get one that is in a versatile color (I'm thinking black since it goes with everything). Make sure that it's plenty big so you can fit a portfolio, planner, wallet, and even maybe a change of shoes in. There's lots of tote bags that are the perfect size for this! I personally think that bags are worth the investment because they last you years, so it might be worth it to use up a Christmas or Birthday request on a quality bag.

Related: What's in My Work Bag

Subtle Jewelry

The key word here is subtle. I have a pearl necklace that I got for my birthday in college and I wear it all the time because it's just so classic! If pearls aren't your thing/not in your price range right now, look for simple necklaces that compliment rather than distract. 

And although I love my Kendra Scott Danielle earrings, I would never wear them to work! Make sure that you stick with studs at first because a lot of employers aren't fans of any dangly jewelry. Gold is the most traditional, but silver is fine if that better compliments your skin tone. Rose gold is iffy because it might be considered too trendy, so if you do wear it, make sure to stay subtle.

Last but certainly not least are watches. Even if you're not a watch person, you might consider putting one on for an interview because watches give off this "I'm punctual" vibe. yAlthough I love my Apple Watch, I still swap it out for a traditional watch for interviews because the sport band isn't exactly professional and I don't want it to be distracting.

Lawyer-esque Nails

If you did recruitment with your sorority then you should be familiar with this. I always try to get my nails done or at least do them myself before an interview and keep them polished. Pale pinks and nudes are perfect but French tips are fine too! Although red is a classic, I've always been told it's too bold for interviews. If you don't like polish, then you should at least get them buffed. 

Don't try to get trendy with pointy or almond shapes. In fact, some employers don't even like squared edges. I get that a lot of this is picky stuff but that's just something you have to embrace to work in the business professional world.

Money saving tips

Shop off-season by buying pants and jackets in the summer and blouses in the winter during end-of-season sales. 

Focus on a few items that you need the most and slowly save up and buy them throughout the year, and then slowly save up and expand on what you have. 

Invest in a few quality pieces that will last you all through law school and beyond instead of having to replace cheap pieces every few years, because it will save you money in the long run (same goes for shoes!). 

Use birthdays and Christmas to ask for these pieces or gift cards to stores that sell them because #adulting means birthday presents are now gift cards to tailor a suit instead of fun things. 

Use a tide-to-go pen and spot clean little mistakes as soon as possible to save from having to pay for dry cleaning. 

Buy pieces that easily mix and match so you have a capsule wardrobe. Borrow what you don't have!

Related: 5 best work basics from Amazon

Other tips

While I've been slowly upgrading my wardrobe, I've been slowly upgrading my closet supplies as well. I've ordered a pack of these velvet dress hangers this summer to put all of my new work clothes on and I noticed how they take up less room on the rack than plastic hangers (so I can fit more clothes in the same space) so now I've ordered another pack and my goal is to have my whole closet matching! I also got these dress pants hangers for my jeans so they'll match with my black shirt hangers. Another thing that I strongly recommend you consider investing in is this mini clothes steamer! I've had mine for a few years and I always have friends rush over the night before their interview to use it.

If you're looking for more outfit inspiration, resume advice, or interview tips, then check out my Pinterest Board for more help!

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What to Wear to Law School Orientation

I just realized that I probably should've written this earlier because some of y'all have already started your orientation, but my orientation starts next week so I just thought of it (whoops). I really wish I could take pictures of the outfits that I plan to wear but my house is a mess right now because I'm about to move and also I don't own a full length mirror. 

Depending on your law school, they probably will tell you what to wear to your orientation. If you don't have a big professional wardrobe, that's fine! There's really no one to impress this week so it's ok if you wear what you have. Just keep this in mind and work these next two semesters to slowly build your wardrobe so that you're prepared to interview and work in an internship. That being said, do try to look put together because there's a good chance that you'll meet your professors this week so it's always a good idea to make a good first impression.

Business Professional

BP in the legal field is definitely more conservative and classically professional than what Pinterest will lead you to believe. If a lawyer ever tells you to dress BP, they are meaning a suit. Your school might ask you to wear this one day when you take an official oath swearing that you'll do nothing but read for a whole year (jk. but not). I already wrote a little about this in my post about what I wore in moot court, but here's some looks you can click through or shop if you want.

Related: Building a Lawyer Wardrobe

Business Casual

This is what Pinterest is talking about when it says anything about Business. Obviously, BC is a step down from BP. Basically if it's colorful or slightly casual, it's BC. I'd stay safe with either comfortable heels or a good pair of flats. I've seen a lot of people wear blazers, too. It wasn't uncommon for girls to dress BC for class because they want to look nice.

Here's a Pinterest board full of Business Professional and Business Casual inspiration

Casual 

This is what you'll probably be able to wear for most of the week. It's also basically how I dressed for class. Law school casual is still a little more dressed up than what I wore in college. I saw a few people wearing yoga pants and Nike shorts, but it's not really that common. Remember that there's a chance on any given day that you'll have to stand up and talk in front of the class; I've found that dressing nice gives you more confidence on those days. There's also the chance that distinguished judges or lawyers will be visiting your school throughout the year, so make sure that you're always prepared to run into one of them.

And here's a Pinterest board full of outfit ideas for class 

Final Thoughts

If all else fails, just glance around and see what your classmates are wearing. If they're a little dressier, you can step it up a notch. I'm by no means a law school fashion blogger, but I think it'd be a great idea if any of y'all with more fashion sense want to start that up! "What do I wear?" is a question that gets asked a lot. In the meantime, if any of y'all feel like sharing what you wore to your orientation to help future generations of 1Ls, please send it to me and I'll update this post!

Oh and one rule that I recommend for class is the 2/3 rule — between your hair, makeup, and outfit, you should always have at least 2 put together (so if you do wear an oversized shirt and nikes, make sure your hair and makeup are done). It's just a handy way to keep you from looking too sloppy.

Read more about how my Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 went! And check out my Guide to Orientation post :)

What is Law School Moot Court

At my school, everyone is required to participate in Moot Court as a pass/fail part of LRW. We could pair up with any 1L and then competed against the entire 1L class for a chance to argue in front of appellate justices. The hardest part was that we had to argue both sides back to back, so by the second time my partner and I were mixing up our arguments over if there was or wasn't a constitutional right. Unfortunately my partner and I did not advance to the second round, which consisted of only the top 16 teams. But that doesn't mean that I didn't learn a lot!

What is Moot Court

Mock trial was a big thing in my pre law fraternity, but I never really got involved. So when moot court came up, I had no idea what I was doing. For those of you who aren't really into these either, mock trial is more where you question witnesses and argue in front of the judge and moot court is more for appeals where you just stand at a podium and talk to a judge. While these are different, I do wish that I would've at least tried my hand at this before I got to law school so I wouldn't feel so clueless.

What you wear

Before we started moot court, a 3L from my school's official team gave us a presentation about what to expect and one thing that he pointed out was that the dress code was strict. "Business Professional" like what you'd see on Pinterest still isn't business-y enough. This has to be Court Room Professional. Black pant suit or a skirt suit with skin-colored panty hose. No tight skirts and skirts should end right around the kneecap. White, peach, or pale pink button up or blouse. No cleavage whatsoever. Close-toed, black heels less than three inches, preferably not patent leather. Nude or pale pink nails. Natural makeup. Stud earrings and minimal jewelry. Hair out of your face. No bold colors and preferably no patterns. The rules were pretty strict, but I did feel like a total badass looking so professional. 

What happened

The only people in the room where the four speakers, a 3L (judge), and the timekeeper (bailiff). The order goes like this: Speaker 1 for Petitioner speaks on issue #1 for 7 minutes, Speaker 2 for Petitioner speaks on issue #2 for 10 minutes, Speaker 1 for Respondent speaks on issue #1 for 10 minutes, Speaker 2 for Respondent speaks on issue #2 for 10 minutes, Speaker 1 for Petitioner rebuts Respondents for 3 minutes. This is why it's very important to have comfortable shoes because your feet will start to hurt after standing in one place for so long.

When you go up there, you should have your main arguments outlined in 1-2 pages and a case list. The arguments should really be in bullet points so that you can't allow yourself to read from them. Your case list should have a list of all of your cases, with each case having one sentence summarizing the facts and one sentence summarizing the rule. You'll also want to know what level in the courts that this case made it to and in what jurisdiction. Our arguments were summaries from our briefs because we argued over the same hypothetical issue.

Don't think that you actually have to memorize a 10 minute speech!! Your judge will constantly be bombarding you with questions so in reality you might not even make it through your first argument. Because of this, you really need to start off summarizing the outline of your arguments so that even if you don't get to elaborate on argument two, you still got to mention it. Also, make your arguments concise so that you can cover more ground before getting cut off, because you can always go back and elaborate if you have leftover time.

What I learned

Moot court is all about presentation. 

Keep your hands on the podium and don't fidget or move around. 

Eye contact is very important.

To maintain eye contact with your judge, memorize your opening and closing statements! 

Use your most formal language.

Never cut off or interrupt your judge.

Always begin your response to your judge with Yes or No Your Honor.

Try to answer each judge's question by citing to a case.

Answer a question before continuing. Don't say I will answer this later or my partner will address that issue. Answer. The. Question.

Relate your judge's question to what you say next after answering.

Properly answering questions and your procedure are a little bit better than a strong argument.

Use your opponent's own case against them. 

Taking a pause is better than mumbling "um."

Make sure that your arguments are based on facts, not emotions.

Don't be afraid to BS a little if you start to get stuck :)

Be assertive — tell the court what it should do and why.

Don't use I, we, or my client. Instead use the name of your client (Mr. Jones) and call the opposing party by either Petitioner or Respondent. [but not the Petitioner/Respondent]

Most of your time will be spent answering the judge's questions. 

Remind yourself to speak slowly, calmly, and clearly. 

Law school outfits

Basically what I've been wearing has been more on the casual side of business casual. My classmates wear everything ranging from jean shorts and a T shirt to sundresses to slacks with a blazer. I think the worst that I saw was a girl wearing yoga pants that she was trying to pull off as dress pants along with way too much blue eyeshadow and a pinstriped vest that didn't match at all. 

It's tough because on one hand it's just class so why should I dress up just to sit and take notes all day, but on the other hand last week I got an email in the middle of my first class saying that our first Women's Law Association meeting was during lunch that day and there was going to be a local lawyer speaking. 

Overall, it's best to err on the side of looking nice. Dresses, rompers, and skinny jeans are my favorite because they're simple yet don't look too sloppy. But I am working to slowly build up my collection of blouses that would look professional with a suit so that I'll be prepared for my future without having to spend a lot of money all at once.

PS - here's a post with more about what to wear to during law school

Law School Day 2

What I Wore

Technically though, I'm considering this Day 1 of my Tuesday Thursday classes. Lol just realized that the problem with having the same classes every day with the same people is that I definitely can't repeat outfits that often. Today I wore a teal maxi dress that I wore on the plane home from Vegas. 

First Class: Civil Procedure

According to my professor, most schools make this a 6 hour course spread out over 2 semesters, but my school decided to cram it into a 4 hour course, with 2 hours a day starting bright and early at 8 am. I'm pretty sure that we're the only class offered at this time because I got ridiculously great parking and the law school was oddly quiet. I love this professor. He's very much into challenging what and how you think and is a very interesting person. He also gets bonus points for giving us a break in between the 2 hour class. Although civil procedure seems like it will be understandably boring, my professor offers good insist that's intriguing enough that I don't think I'll have a hard time staying awake. Today was a very informal day in his class, but next class we'll start having assigned seats.

Second Class: Property

Not much happened in this class because all we did was go over IRAC again. Apparently its a BFD because my professor said we're going to be spending this entire week going over the analysis part since that is what we will need to really understand to be good lawyers. This professor and my Contracts professor do this cute thing where they playfully make fun of each other in their classes so it's reassuring knowing that the faculty here have a sense of humor. 

Third Class: Legal Research and Writing

For this class, I went ahead and bought was seems like the most important book from the bookstore. I still had about $40 left in my student bookstore account, so renting a used one only cost me personally $42. I might still end up having to go back for the other books though. This professor is one of those naturally smiley people so it was a weird situation watching him beam while saying that only one of us could get an A since this class is a subgroup of Section A and we only have 14 people in it. 

Final Thoughts

Book briefing is making me read slow, but one of my tests is an open book test so now all I have to do is put tabs on my book to help me find important rules or whatever, and I don't have to waste time copying down my final outline in book. I also like that with my color coding system, when my professors ask something like what does a word mean or what was the plaintiff's argument, I can quickly look down at my book and see exactly what I need based off of it's colors. I know not everyone like color coding, but the OCD in me loves this!

Read about my first day of law school here!

My First Day of Law School

"Wish me luck, Bruiser. This is my first class as a serious law student."

Originally, I had planned to wake up at 7 and finish my briefs for Torts, but I couldn't sleep last night and ended up letting myself sleep in until 9 because my first class on Mondays and Wednesdays doesn't start until 10. I have an hour and a half lunch so I just decided to come home to eat and finish up. I know eventually I won't be coming home for my lunch break because that'll add up in gas and I can utilize that time for reading when those start piling up. And to save money on paying for a locker, I plan to just keep my day's supply of books in my car and rung out and switch what I need into my backpack since I have plenty of time between classes.

What I Wore

For lack of a better explanation, I'd say a good outfit to wear is something that you'd wear meeting up with your friends for day drinking. Look nice, but don't worry about having to dress up too much or be formal or business-y. I think you might describe this as "snappy casual," if not a notch below that. I even noticed one girl wearing sweatpants and a messy bun, and I'm just going to assume that she's a 3L. Idk though, because according to Pinterest, most other schools take their clothes a little more seriously and business casual is the case with lots o' blazers and some pencil skirts thrown in for fun. Although, all of those posts makes me wonder if these people actually went to law school or if this is just what they assume law students dress like, and if they did go to law school then was it recently or has the typical student outfit shifted towards more casual in the past 8 years? Who knows. 

First Class: Contracts

I rushed to get to class a little early just in case the whole Legally Blonde assign-yourself-a-seat thing happened; however, when I walked into my classroom, none of my section was in there and I started to panic. I walked out and checked that I had written down room 104, walked back into room 104 and like a total first year stood there awkwardly looking for anyone I knew, and then in full-freakout mode I text the one girl whose number I got during orientation. Yep, we were moved to room 106 last week. I rushed over across the hall and found a seat right beside her in the most perfect seat: right in the center of the entire classroom. Turns out I was right in my worrying and we had assigned ourselves to that seat for the rest of the semester so I'm glad I sat where I did. 

Then we went over the syllabus and dived into the readings. My professor used the socratic method, choosing a student per case to go over it with. When one student said that he wasn't sure of the rule of the case, my professor asked us what we thought it was. The next student cited some theory that was mentioned in the text before the case, but really wasn't the rule of the case. I raised my hand and stated the rule and got an "exactly" from my professor. Still so proud of myself like oh hot damn I'm 2/2 in answering questions correctly so far so I'll take it. I was also proud of myself that everything we touched over in class was already highlighted or somehow noted in my book, so at least I'm somewhat on the right track. 

Second Class: Torts

So this class didn't have assigned seating, which is kinda disappointing because again I scoped out the perfect seat and now it's not reserved for me. My Torts professor is super anti-electronics, so I spend the whole class furiously jotting down notes while my professor talked.

Related: How I take notes

A poor girl that was the second student chosen to talk in my Contracts class was the first student chosen to talk about a case in this class. When we saw her stand up again we all felt bad for her, but the students closest to her whispered some encouragement. That's what I like about this school so far— it's more friendly than competitive and the professors seem pretty chill.

Luckily, I don't have any readings for my 3 classes tomorrow, so I'm enjoying a celebratory margarita and finishing The Paper Chase. Maybe it's because I'm also taking Contracts right now, but I like this movie more than Legally Blonde and How to Get Away With Murder because as a 1L I literally know nothing about the law and think it's a little unrealistic that 1L's would be helping their professors with actual criminal cases. Who knows, maybe in a few months I'll change my stance on that. And in the words of my Contracts professor, "This isn't as sexy as criminal law, but it's one of the more applicable are common areas of the law." 

Related: Perfect movies for law students and Favorite law TV shows

$More Books$

The books for my Legal Research and Writing class finally came in at the bookstore and I'll admit, I'm irritated. Why does one 2-hour class require 4 damn books?! I took a picture of the ISBN numbers to try to rush order some from Chegg since I don't have any reading in it this week, and part of me is really tempted to push how much is required. I have a citation book that a professor gave me in my freshman year, and I have yet to use it once. Do I really need a Blue Book? Like will I be expected to bring it and the three other books to class? Chegg only had the first two books, with renting the first one being almost the same price as buying a used one once you add in shipping and taxes, and the bookstore actually had a new Blue Book cheaper than a rented one off of Chegg, so I guess it'd just be easier to get them from the bookstore. FML there goes more money. 

In case you're wondering, in addition to the above required books for my Legal Research and Writing class, I've also paid this much for my other books:

• Property- $175 (used) 
• Contracts- $191 (rented)
• Tort- $95 (rented)
• Civil Procedure- $240 (bundle with a required workbook)

Cheesy first day of school pic 😊 1 Monday down, 13 more to go!

A photo posted by Nikki (@oh.nikki.you.so.fine) on Aug 24, 2015 at 2:12pm PDT