The legal profession has undergone a quiet but significant shift in professional dress standards since the COVID-19 pandemic changed how lawyers work.
Before the pandemic, attorneys operated within well-established expectations about appropriate attire across different professional settings and environments.
Lawyers typically wore suits to court, and most offices expected business attire for client meetings and interactions with other legal professionals.
When videoconferencing rapidly became central to legal practice during the pandemic, many attorneys initially tried to maintain those same formal dress standards on screen.
In the early days of widespread Zoom calls, lawyers frequently appeared on camera wearing jackets, ties, and full business attire despite working from kitchen tables or spare bedrooms.
The era generated no shortage of jokes about professionals wearing formal clothing above the waist while sitting comfortably in shorts or sweatpants below the camera frame.
Despite the humor, lawyers broadly believed that appearing professionally dressed on video was essential to maintaining the seriousness and credibility of the profession.
That attitude has shifted considerably, and it is now commonplace to join a video call and see another lawyer wearing a T-shirt, sweatshirt, or casual clothing that would have seemed out of place before 2020.
Attorneys themselves have embraced the more relaxed approach, with many acknowledging they now dress far more casually for routine video calls than they once would have considered appropriate.
There remain clear exceptions where formal attire is still expected and professionally necessary, regardless of whether the setting is physical or virtual.
Appearing virtually before a judge, for instance, still demands the same standard of dress as physically standing inside a courtroom, with no concessions made for the remote format.
Certain client meetings, depositions, and other specific professional circumstances also continue to call for more formal clothing choices, preserving traditional standards where they matter most.
The broader trend, however, reflects a profession gradually accepting that not every video call carries the same weight or requires the same level of formal presentation as a court appearance.
This evolution mirrors changes seen across many industries, where remote and hybrid working has prompted a wider cultural reassessment of what professional dress actually means in modern practice.