I may not always know what I’m talking about, but I always know the time. Believe it or not, prior to 1988, over 97 percent of all lawyers wore watches. Yes, I made that stat up. However, it’s likely true. In today’s world, though, I am noticing fewer and fewer watches, and a lot more tans.
“My cell phone is my watch now … I can access the Internet and blah, blah, blah,” I hear my co-young attorneys say. I personally believe a watch is very important: A nice watch is always noticed—and the fact that it tells time is secondary to what it tells your clients, other attorneys and judges. I am not talking about status. I am talking about maturity, timeliness and responsibility.
Adults wear watches.
Successful people wear watches.
Gentlemen and ladies wear watches.
Kids and 35-year-olds who live in their parents’ basement check the time on their iPhones.
For Those Unused to Watch Wearing
When selecting a watch, remember that a watch is not a projection of status but a reflection of success. It matters not the brand, but the style. Here are a few tips:
1. To get a watch, you have to buy a watch. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars. Brera, Swiss Army, Tag Heuer and others make excellent and professional-looking watches for between $200 and $800. Surprisingly, even Neiman Marcus has a tremendous watch selection in the $200 to $800 range.
2. Make sure you get one that fits you. If you have slimish wrists, like me, don’t buy a watch that looks like a clock. Buy one that has a sensibly sized face. I would go analog over digital. Personally, digital watches are good for hunting bear, building a skyscraper and tactically assaulting an enemy compound. An analog watch is good for business.
3. Wear the watch. Get used it. It will feel weird, but you will soon feel naked without it.
I may not know what I’m talking about, but I think you understand.
William Melater is a young associate attorney working at a firm focused on commercial litigation and transactional work. A self-described legal hunter and gatherer, Bill has accumulated a plethora of legal certificates and diplomas—all of which have been appropriately framed and hung behind his desk. Bill has a distaste for emails, suspenders, fake tans, paralegals who cry, sea urchins and attorneys who repeat the phrase “this is my bottom-line offer.” When irked, Bill blogs about his experiences at Attorney at Work.