The two firms merged with Nabarro last week
CMS has brought in a new dress code to help its suit-favouring lawyers adapt to office life post-merger.
Last week the three-way combination between CMS Cameron McKenna and City duo Nabarro and Olswang officially went live. Creating the sixth largest outfit in the UK by revenue, CMS (as it is now known) has over 1,000 partners and 5,000 lawyers across the globe.
Now, in an interesting offshoot to the complex triple merger, CMS has had to re-evaluate how its lawyers dress
Pre-merger, CMS Cameron McKenna was arguably the most traditional of the three firms. Like the vast majority of top City outfits, its lawyers would be expected to dress smartly. However, lawyers at what was Olswang — which specialised in sexy areas of corporate law such as technology and media — adopted a more casual approach to office attire.
In an attempt to boost office cohesion post-merger, CMS has now rolled out new casual clothing advice that “encourages maximum flexibility” on the part of the individual lawyer. A CMS spokesperson, wearing a vest and shorts, told Legal Cheek:
For some [CMS lawyers and staff], that will be more or less formal, and we support and celebrate both approaches. For example, whether a lawyer is meeting with a tech start-up for coffee, a supplier in our offices or a senior client at a bank, they may dress differently to suit the situation.
So could CMS lawyers arrive at the office wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt? Continuing, the spokesperson said:
Our policy is not prescriptive in terms of what staff can and can’t wear, but encourages them to use their best judgement based on their clients/commitments and dress in a way that inspires confidence from both clients and colleagues.
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