Lawyers told to lower their skirts... at the hemline.

Your skimpy skirts and high heels just won’t do, trainee solicitors told

With the sun out and temperatures rising, the young women of the City law firm Allen & Overy decided it was time to do the same for their hemlines.

Women were told to increase the lengths of their skirts and reduce the height of their heels or face 'uncomfortable discussions' with the HR department Photo: ALAMY

By Jonathan Russell 10:00PM BST 08 Apr 2011

Unfortunately, the sight of dozens of trainee solicitors arriving for work in “very short skirts” did not fill senior partners with the joys of spring.

After several complaints about the amount of flesh on show, an email was sent to the company’s 105 trainees reminding them of the sartorial standards expected by their employer — one of the five leading firms in the City known as the “Magic Circle”.

Women were told to increase the lengths of their skirts and reduce the height of their heels or face “uncomfortable discussions” with the human resources department.

“We’ve been asked to draw your attention to the fact that HR have received numerous complaints about the way female trainees have been dressing around the office,” stated the email from Allen & Overy’s trainee solicitor liaison committee.

It went on: “The main problem seems to be very short skirts and high heels and generally looking like we’re going clubbing instead of to the office. HR would like this to be addressed asap so they don’t have to have uncomfortable discussions with individuals about it, especially as we’re now getting into summer and are more likely to be wearing less as it gets hotter!”

The email also described instances of trainees failing to come to work without brushing their hair properly, and warned that inappropriately dressed solicitors “may miss out on appointments such as client meetings”.

In a sign that the edict failed to find favour among some young women at the firm, it was leaked to the legal blog rollonfriday.com.

Allen & Overy’s dress code stipulates “business casual” dress while in the office and suits when meeting clients.

A spokesman for the company refused to be drawn yesterday on exactly what length of skirt and height of heel passed the “business casual” test.

“I don’t think we are that prescriptive,” the spokesman said. “These are pretty intelligent people.” Referring to the email, the spokesman added: “It was just a reminder to people to apply a little common sense.

“There were a couple of examples of girls whose skirts were too short and heels that were too high.”

Allen & Overy is the second major company this year to find details of its corporate dress code being aired in public.

In January, it was disclosed that 44 pages of guidance from UBS, the Swiss investment bank, extended to the colour of female employees’ underwear — skin-coloured — the best perfume to wear and the length of employees’ toenails — short, “to extend the life of your knee socks and stockings”. Men were told how to tie and knot and to get their hair cut once a month.

In 2003, JP Morgan issued a three-page memo reminding male members of staff to shave, polish their shoes and consider investing in an iron.

The email suggested that a dress-down code at the investment bank had led to “dress collapse” in some cases.

“Shaving, polishing your shoes and being smart add to the professional tone,” stated the email from David Hitchcock, a former Gurkha captain and the firm’s head of corporate access. “Also, any good electrical shop will sell you a steam iron.”