Friday, June 24, 2011

American Bar Association Journal re: 450 lawyer business litigation firm that respects employees' rights to wear casual clothes to work

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Quinn Emanuel Takes Casual Dress to the Flip-Flops Level

Posted Jun 23, 2011 6:41 AM CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

Business casual outfits of tailored slacks or pressed khakis are too dressy for some lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

The Careerist interviewed founding partner William Urquhart about the firm’s dress code after meeting an associate dressed in shorts and flip-flops. Urquhart told the blog that practically anything goes. T-shirts and jeans are particularly popular, he said, including jeans with “raggedy edges” worn by men despite their wives’ disapproval.

"We take casual dress to a whole new level," Urquhart said. "The only dress code we have is that you have to have something between your feet and the carpet—and that's because our insurance company requires it."

The firm believes casual dress encourages creativity and helps eliminate the "trappings of power" that can intimidate associates, Urquhart said.

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