<p>So a friend of mine will be working at one of Wachtell/Cravath/Sullivan & Cromwell/Davis Polk this summer. He wants to grow out his beard, but intends to keep it tidy and presentable. Is this a definite no-no for SAs? Something not worth risking? Or is it totally ok?</p>
<p>Dangit, you specified the gender. This thread was going to be fun.</p>
<p>Hahahahahahahahaha, yes.</p>
<p>If he’s interested in presenting a professional image, he should definitely give up shaving.</p>
<p>I may be biased in this matter.</p>
<p>Whoa, and all this time I was thinking that your moniker meant to symbolize wisdom!</p>
<p>As a summer associate, you don’t want to be noticed for your wardrobe (too short, too tight, too frayed, too cheap, too expensive, etc.) nor for your grooming habits (anything other than the conservative norm). That’s not to say that wearing a tattered suit or growing out a beard would necessarily have a negative effect on your career, buy why take that chance? You want to be noticed for your intelligence, your work product, your diligence and your ability.</p>
<p>Later in your career, once you’ve established yourself and are known for your intelligence, work product, diligence and ability, you will have more flexibility with your dress and grooming habits.</p>
<p>old story that was going around way back when i was a brand new associate – i’m afraid to say just how old this story is – no idea if its true or not – </p>
<p>bearded law student interviewing with a white shoe firm.<br>
partner leans forward and quietly says, “by the way, you may notice that none of our lawyers here have a beard or moustache.”<br>
law student responds, “i’m sorry; hormonal problems?”</p>
<p>but, seriously – if your friend didn’t have a beard when he was hired, i’d suggest showing up looking the way they expect him to look. the summer will give him ample chance to gauge how a well-trimmed beard would go over if her returns as an associate.</p>
<p>Buy and use a shaver. In the “real” professional world, few men (or women) have facial hair. Fur under the nose is somewhat OK, but that’s it. In my 30 years practicing law, I can count on the fingers of one hand the attorneys that I met with a beard.</p>
<p>He’s not in college anymore. Grow up.</p>
<p>He’s going to shave it off. It’s not like he’s still wearing his “Franky says relax” t-shirt. Guy is smart and mature (and really handsome).</p>
<p>Someone’s got a crush!</p>
<p>“In my 30 years practicing law, I can count on the fingers of one hand the attorneys that I met with a beard.”</p>
<p>I guess it depends on where you live. I’ve been to calendar calls in San Francisco where there were fifty attorneys present, and more than 50% had beards. (For the record, none of the bearded attorneys were women.) I have noticed over the years that beards were much more common among litigators than transactional attorneys.</p>
<p>I’ll bet I’ve appeared before 30 bearded judges in the Bay Area.</p>
<p>haha i totally agree. crush!!</p>
<p>Friend thinks that mere disagreement over the acceptability of facial hair indicates an that having a beard is a risk not worth taking.</p>
<p>As for me? I plan to have a significant amount of facial hair. I’m all about making gender statements and liberating women. We need to be able to wear our 'stashes with pride!</p>
<p>If it’s a neat beard, and not scraggly, I don’t think it will make much difference. I’ve seen plenty of lawyers with facial hair in DC and New York. While appearance does matter, those top firms are going to primarily be judging him on work quality and output, anyway.</p>
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<p>Theoretically, that is indeed true. I’m afraid that perception of an individual (how they carry themselves, their confidence, and, yes, their appearance) can form a significant part of how their work product is judged. It’s human nature, and applies not only in the legal profession.</p>
<p>In addition, plum law firm assignments are often handed out over lunch or coffee, for example, so fitting in and being someone who others want to be around can play a not insignificant role in one’s success. Again, it’s human nature at work.</p>
<p>Of course, someone who is not attractive, is not socially pleasant to be around and/or is not well “put together” can be successful, but he or she would have to overcome those obstacles and be quite talented in other ways in order to do so.</p>
<p>So why start yourself out at a potential disadvantage? Play the game, dress as those around you dress and then your work can shine through on its own merits. You don’t want any discussion of your potential future at the firm to center on whether you would be presentable to clients or whether you would “fit in”.</p>
<p>I’ll try to give a more nuanced answer to this question this time around.</p>
<p>It’s unlikely that anyone will think less of you for being clean-shaven. There are people who react negatively to beards.</p>
<p>Most people, myself included, react negatively to some beards. (I’ve worn one for about thirty of the past thirty-five years.) If people have any doubt two weeks into your beard project about whether you are you growing a beard, that’s a good indication that the razor is your friend.</p>
<p>Some people really do look more professional with a neatly trimmed beard than they do clean-shaven. The last time I shaved (about a dozen years ago), my boss took my aside in all seriousness to let me know that in her view, if I cared at all about presenting a professional appearance, I should grow my beard back, forthwith. One of my colleagues concurred: with a beard, he said, I looked like a lawyer; without one, I looked like a marshmallow salesman.</p>
<p>From today’s San Francisco Chronicle: <a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/millner/[/url]”>http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/millner/</a></p>
<p>Sounds like he’s venting over men who wear flannel…</p>