Travers Smith has replaced its corporate dress code with a new “dress down policy” after a review by its partnership board, The Lawyer can reveal.
The elite City outfit has told all staff that they can wear “business casual”, supplementing the firm’s former code in which corporate dress had to be worn.
The firm said qualified lawyers can wear what they want, although they are still required to wear corporate dress on client floors and in meetings with clients.
The move follows discussions between Travers’ partnership board and its associate committee, with the latter recommending that a change in policy was required.
One Travers lawyer said that the decision follows a trend in how people are dressing down in the City, although added that the move was not quite on a “Silicon Valley” level.
They went on to say that while many law firms implement “dress down” policies in the summer, there are few that have a “business casual” code throughout the year.
Another source said that the move could be regarded as “progressive” among the City’s top law firms, many of which still enforce business dress for lawyers and staff.
In its most recent financials, Travers’ average profit per equity partner (PEP) dropped below the £1m mark, after hitting the milestone for the first time in the previous financial year.
The firm posted mixed financial results for 2016/2017, recording a 4 per cent drop in PEP from £1.02m to £970,000.
Despite the falling PEP, Travers turnover increased by 4 per cent from £120m to £125m. The growth is smaller than last year in which the firm posted gains of 8 per cent.
