Can Lawyers Have Long Hair? (Yes, But…)

In general, lawyers can have long hair.

But for many reasons, most male lawyers choose to cut their hair for the legal setting.

Let us explain.

Can Lawyers Have Long Hair? (Explained)

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We lawyers look to the rules first to determine whether things are okay or not.

In general, if you are looking to practice in a certain jurisdiction (and a certain court), you should check the Uniform Trial Court Rules (or something similar which applies to all the courts in your state) and the Supplemental Court Rules (or something similar which applies to specific courts in a specific place.

Also check with the state bar for any additional restrictions/requirements.

In general, in the jurisdictions we know, there are specific rules for court for clothing and appearance for attorneys.

In general, male attorneys are required to wear professional attire specifically including a suit jacket, and female attorneys are required to wear “the equivalent” of what men are required to wear.

But nothing specific usually about women’s clothing.

There’s no language usually about hair length or style for men or women, like you see with the military.

To our knowledge, we generally know of no specific prohibition against long hair for men.

Judge’s Preferences Rule The Day

However, just because the known rules don’t state something specific, it doesn’t mean that judges don’t have their own preferences that they enforce.

For example, this author knows of a judge who required that female attorneys wearing skirts also donned pantyhose.

She would kick out attorneys who didn’t have pantyhose on with their skirt and wouldn’t let them return until the hose had been acquired.

Another judge this author knows of personally refused to allow attorneys into his courtroom wearing the color purple.

He was an avid sports fan of a specific team, and the team’s rival sported the color purple.

He would outright refuse to hear the cases of people wearing purple suits.

In the end, if you decide to wear long hair (or wild, colorful hair) in court as an attorney, you may come across a judge who doesn’t approve of your appearance.

This could impact you and your case negatively, which is not fair to your client.

Why Male Lawyers Avoid Long Hair In Court and The Office

Even though the rules don’t prohibit it, male lawyers tend to avoid long hair in court and in the office.

Long hair has become less of a statement of rebellion and are much more mainstream now (like tattoos).

However, long hair on men has not reached the level of professional.

We’d all like to think that the strength of the argument carries the day.

But in the practice of law, the way an attorney looks matters.

A judge (who is likely to have a lot of gray hair and antiquated notions) may not look well upon the male lawyer who is wearing long hair in court, and thus turn that disfavor upon the attorney’s client.

Attorneys want their clients to succeed, and will usually conform their appearance to what is expected to make sure the client receives every opportunity for a favorable result.

Long hair on a male attorney might be cool with some clients.

But many potential clients cannot see past appearance.

A male attorney wearing a suit and long hair may be perceived as unprofessional, inexperienced, or less competent.

The client may be less likely to trust the attorneys advice, or even want to work with them.

Hiring partners at law firms are often looking for the “right fit.”

They know what their clients expect to see when meeting with an attorney in their office.

And while the law protects employees on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, etc, there is no protections for long hair for men that we know of.

But What About Originality? Personality?

Sadly, the costs of law school tend to squash a lot of the exuberance of youth.

When you are young and free of substantial debt, you can do what you want.

But when you suddenly owe six figures in student loans and you are facing down a monthly loan payment of more than $1,000 a month, you find yourself compromising your personal feelings about originality pretty darn quick.

When the choice is getting a law job with a conservative firm that doesn’t like long hair vs living off ramen noodles in perpetuity, you can see how many young people end up conforming.

As lawyers get older and more experienced (and have more clients), they might start to take more chances with their physical appearance.

After all, they have years of experience backing them up, and people won’t be making hiring decisions based upon hair or appearance.

And if the client walks because he doesn’t like the hair, then the attorney has other clients to assist and earn money from.

Why Wearing Long Hair Could Be A Good Idea

Clients often choose attorneys that they feel they can trust, or relate to.

A very conservative gray haired man or women might not be someone the client can identify with or trust, if the attorney’s life and lifestyle seems far from the clients.

An attorney who wears their hair long (and other non-mainstream elements of life) might be better off being himself, hair and all.

This might repel certain clients.

But it also might attract others.

And these clients might be more enjoyable for the attorney to assist and serve, making his practice of law that much more enjoyable.

Thinking about going to law school or becoming an attorney? Check out our law school and career guides in our legal library.