Abigail Cumpstone, a solicitor at Watkins and Gunn, reports
on the new trend for lawyers to dress down.
It was announced last month that lawyers appearing at the
Supreme Court, theUK's highest court, will no longer have to wear
traditional dress of a wig and gown.
This follows the announcement in 2008 that judges in civil and
family cases inEnglandandWaleswere no longer required to wear wigs.
Wigs and gowns have been worn in court for over 300 years but they
are now seen as a potential bar to making justice accessible to the
public. The Ministry of Justice have plans to further improve the
transparency of the legal process and in September declared their
intention to remove the ban on cameras in court. This will
initially be limited to televising judgments in the Court of
Appeal, then expanded to include the Crown Courts.
The movement towards more casual dress has also spread to law
firms. Whilst many still insist on traditional business attire
a growing number of firms are choosing to relax their dress codes
and dispense with suits and ties. One firm are even reported to
encourage shorts and flip flops and their only dress requirement is
to wear footwear - because their insurance company requires it!
Whilst many people still think that we lawyers should dress like
lawyers all of the time, the trend certainly is towards more
relaxed dress. However, a balance will need to be struck between
making the legal system less intimidating and more accessible and
transparent, whilst not damaging public confidence and
respect for the dignity and solemnity of court
proceedings.
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