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I'll be starting a two-year paralegal program this fall, and I'll likely have to come up with a solution when I begin interning towards the end of the program. I don't know, guys. Is my hair done for?
I live in arguably one of the most liberal parts of the world, San Francisco, CA, and long-haired men are incredibly common. I'm not sure if it will be tolerated in the legal field, and I probably won't be taken seriously by some. I envision gelling it into a very neat bun, clean sides with my nape hair shorn off and looking very presentable, but that's me being hopeful.
Please, any thoughts are welcome.
I was watching MSNBC when they were covering the battle between the XL pipeline and the native american tribes in North Dakota. One of them was a lawyer who had pig tails that were waist length.
And yes there are other lawyers with long hair.
Its going to depend on the firm you are at, but I think with the way you plan to wear it, you should be able to find a place where it will be fine. Also, as a paralegal you should have some more flexibility.
Local bar associations have directories, usually with pictures. See if you can get access to one and take note of where any longhair lawyers work.
Chris
A good attempt and worth trying.
Frank,
As you say, if there is one place where such expression is accepted widely, it's SF. (Though where I live, Seattle, is up there). I believe that if you are good at what you do, then people will not care about how you look. If you overdress and neaten your hair like you plan to, I don't see you having any problems.
I think the most important thing to remember is to be confident in your abilities and imagine your hair won't matter at all. Especially in the legal field where confidence is key.
Good luck with your new career!
-Dan H.
I also live in San Francisco, but I have never practiced law here. I practiced law in Illinois. Here I became state licensed as, and I practiced, engineering.
What I found was that in law, "sales" is often a big part of the work. You have to sell people on your ideas, be that when you convince a judge, convince a jury, go into negotiations with an opposing party, etc. When you are selling on someone's behalf, they are going to care more what you look like. There are more shorthaired people than longhaired people, so more people are going to want you shorthaired.
In engineering, my clients cared about my reputation designing buildings that worked. Sure, I got comments, but I also got the work, even from clients who were very "high end" and dressed to the nines.
My experience leads me to two comments:
1. You can go into an area of work where your clients will not care so much about your hair. Criminal law is one such field. You will be more accepted as defense counsel than you will be as a prosecutor. This dichotomy crops up in other fields of law. In labor law, you can be more accepted representing the employee side rather than the employer side. So look at the various fields of law and then do a bit of research. Talk to people. Pick a place where you will enjoy the work and are more apt to fit.
2. In larger firms there are many tasks. Some are more up front in the house and some are more in the back. If you meet with clients a lot or appear in court a lot, they are going to care about your looks more than if you are a research guru who cranks out all the paperwork that the pretty boys absolutely depend on to make their cases. Again, though, I'd say talk to people where you'd like to find a niche, and see if you get a sense that you could fit.
I tried practicing law with short hair, and it did not work out well. I felt the same as if I had appeared in high heels and a tutu. I just wasn't me. This lack of self-confidence translated into poor performance, because people read it as my not believing in what I was trying to advocate. I fell back on my undergrad degree, electrical engineering, and I excelled there. Eventually I was designing electrical systems in some of downtown San Francisco's largest buildings. My employer had clients insisting that I'd do their jobs or they'd take those jobs elsewhere. This did not bode well for the pretty boys who had the jobs ripped off their drafting tables, but it bode well for me. Nobody cared about my clothes and my hair. I exuded confidence in myself and in my work, and I got the reputation to back that up. I could have never gotten there being pretty.
Bill
Seeing an occasional longhaired lawyer is not all that uncommon, maybe slightly more uncommon than in other professions; but still, not as rare as you'd think.
There used to be a young lawyer living in my building a few years ago. His hair was "medium length" (AKA "long-ISH"); but he consistently kept his appearance at that hair length.
A friend of mine who lives in Boston used to work as a legal secretary (he's retired now), and he told me that there was not just one longhaired lawyer there, but TWO!!
We also have a regular member here who lives & works in the Washington DC area, I'm forgetting his name right now; but hopefully he'll post a reply to you, encouraging you not to cut. He has very looooong hair, as well as a beard!!
Hope that helps!
- Ken in San Francisco (another local longhair!)
Hello Frank - All is not lost if you want to go into the legal field, but if you want to have long hair , it may be a bit challenging. I am a lawyer who has long hair(and have had for quite a while). The larger and more corporate the firm, the less they will look at you as an individual and take appearances more seriously (which is never a good thing in any sense). If you had an established reputation, it would not matter as much, but if you are starting out, potential employers will judge on superficial things. But that being said, if something like keeping your hair is important, there are places that will be perfectly fine - I have even worked in one firm where a partner said that he missed having long hair when he was younger and was jealous of the fact that I didn't cut my hair short. Always remember that when looking for a job, the important thing is to find a mutual fit - if you work somewhere that accepts you and appreciates you for who you are, it will be happier all around. Best of luck
I have no idea if you'd be taken seriously, as im not in law nor do I live in America. But, really, I think we all have made (and continue to make) the decision that we'd rather express ourselves as who we are than not risk the scorn from general society. Some asshats might give you trouble, just move on. Whats the point of life if you cant be yourself?
Hi Frank,
Since you live in San Francisco I wouldn't think you would have any problem. I am going to hope you have a smooth enjoyable experience regardless! Good luck in your studies and please stay well my friend!
Ted
I am a patent agent in a law firm in DC, so I am neither attorney nor staff, but I do the same work as a patent attorney, just with a different title and no law degree. In the DC Human Rights Act 'hair style' is a protected class, so I supposedly couldn't be fired for having long hair.
I honestly don't know any other long haired male patent agents, and only one longish haired male patent attorney - a partner in a previous firm who also wore Hawaiian shirts to work! I have met several long haired male paralegals, and IME no-one cares what paralegals look like (except maybe in a job interview I suppose).
I have seen long-haired male attorneys (plural) working as defenders (while defending myself in traffic court, LOL!), so clearly they would hire a long-haired paralegal.