“Why is it important to dress attractively for a deposition, a mediation or a trial?”

Hi, I’m David Holub, an attorney practicing injury law in northwest Indiana. Welcome to our Personal Injury Primer podcast, where we break down the law into simple terms, provide legal tips, and discuss topics related to personal injury law.

Today’s question comes from a listener who would like to know why I emphasized in a blog post that it is important to dress appropriately for legal proceedings, including depositions, mediation and trial. 

Easy answer: respect. R E S P E C T. The Aretha Franklin song lyrics focus is on relationships and the need for each party in a relationship to respect the other parties in the relationship.

But what does that have to do with your attorney talking to you about how to dress for legal proceedings?

Well, how we dress communicates a lot about us. When you go into the courtroom, if you dress nicely, you are communicating, by the way you dress, that you have respect for the judge, for the jury, for witnesses who come to trial and, well the list goes on and on.

What if you step into a courtroom wearing a burlap sack with a belt around the waist? What message would that send?  

Compared to you stepping into the courtroom wearing clean dark colored well pressed pants or slacks, and a clean buttoned down white or light blue shirt or blouse?

Dressing nicely doesn’t require very much effort. The payoff can be very large.

The way we dress, and the way we present ourselves, from the way we comb our hair, if we have visible tattoos, if we wear jewelry … all of it makes a huge difference and sends a signal to other people.  

We are not trying to oppress someone when we talk about dressing nicely. We simply know that impressions are made by the way someone dresses. If you’re going for a job interview you’re going to dress for the type of job that you are seeking. It’s the same with legal proceedings.

I hope you found this information helpful. If you have questions about negligence, personal injury or medical malpractice give us a call at (219)736-9700. You can also learn more about us by visiting our website at www.DavidHolubLaw.com – while there make sure you request a copy of our book “Fighting for Truth”. Have a fantastic day.