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Could not find a post that asked this, link me if I am wrong. Law school wise do you see a lot of AA rocking their natural hair or braids. Is it common or frowned upon? Have you ever been told certain hairstyles are unprofessional??

I have actually asked a couple of people about this in regards to law firms. The consensus seems to be as long as its neat, no one is going to comment on it. Whether you get complimented or not is a different story. I always can't say how that will go when it comes to OCIs. I will also say that most of these people were in large(r), more liberal cities - Think Chicago/NYC/Boston etc. So that may also change things.

Idk if this helps any, but I sat in on a 1L class in Michigan and there were two black women in the class. Both of them had natural styles (one had micros, the other had twists).

Edit: I meant protective styles, not natural styles

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I'm a 0L, so I can't speak to the law field specifically, but (as much as I hate to say this), the only time I've received negative comments about my hair at work was from other black women who had strong feelings about relaxed vs. "nappy" hair. Could just be my experience, but in a professional environment where I am often the only female and often the only black person, I've been treated either the same with or without my weave and had totally non-cringey compliments about my natural hair from people who I don't think genuinely know the difference.

I think it mostly has to do with the work culture of the office itself, honestly. I'm a strong believer that you should NOT put harsh chemicals on your scalp or shell out hundreds of dollars for a weave for a job out of principle unless you're planning to make multi-millions as an actress or a model or something lol.

I'll probably be a weave/wig-wearer for much - or all - of my legal career. I've always been really self-conscious about my hair though.

I cut it all off not long ago and am currently growing it back out though so in LS it'll def. be protective styles while I try to get my length back

brinicolec wrote:I'll probably be a weave/wig-wearer for much - or all - of my legal career. I've always been really self-conscious about my hair though.

I cut it all off not long ago and am currently growing it back out though so in LS it'll def. be protective styles while I try to get my length back

I mean, I personally couldn't imagine myself NOT doing weaves with a big law job, but mostly because they take so much less time than maintaining my outrageously thick natural hair. During super busy times at work when there's little time to spend doing my hair in the morning, having a low maintenance weave is a LIFESAVER. I've never tried wigs, but mostly because I'm afraid they'll look terrible if I attempted them myself lol but I'd imagine they're even better for saving time when work gets crazy, so maybe I'll look into figuring that out before law school starts!

I'm also a fan of natural hair clip ins, even though I'd say they aren't as low maintenance as a weave or a wig, they do help me keep one natural style throughout the week since I have fine hair that refuses to hold a curl, and are less expensive in the long run.

Hair is a personal choice, I consider ourselves fortunate to have so many options, but if it comes down to it, I've definitely chosen to use my weave fun-funds for an early/bigger payment on debt (undergrad) before and I feel like if that's a kind of choice that someone is facing in the future, they should pick whatever their heart desires without the pressures of "will i keep my job" or "will my coworkers treat me differently" looming over them. We're there for a reason (smart, innovative, valuable for the team, etc), and our weave is not one of them.

Hogwartsexpress wrote:Could not find a post that asked this, link me if I am wrong. Law school wise do you see a lot of AA rocking their natural hair or braids. Is it common or frowned upon? Have you ever been told certain hairstyles are unprofessional??

It might also depend on the law school but at the ones that I visited (UVA, Harvard, Michigan, and Columbia) all the black women had their hair either natural, braided (microbraids, box braids, etc). or a wig with straight hair. I saw ONE black girl with relaxed hair and that was at UVA. I didn't see any noticeable weaves, but the wigs were pretty noticeable IMO. I'm not sure if they switch it up during interview season, but they definitely wear their hair however they like during other times. I actually asked about hair at every school I visited because I wanted to know where I could go to get my hair done.

What city are you going to be in?

In LA all are acceptable in big law and at law school, though natural has been the trend.

Any idea how dreadlocks are received at both law schools (classmates and faculty) and at law firms/companies?

zil020511 wrote:Any idea how dreadlocks are received at both law schools (classmates and faculty) and at law firms/companies?

I wouldn't imagine a problem at school, but I think it would be not the best for law firms. Others might have difference experiences, but it is not something I would recommend at all.

Yeah, I never really see people with dreads at big law firms or in legal jobs period. I was wondering how SEO would view them?

zil020511 wrote:Any idea how dreadlocks are received at both law schools (classmates and faculty) and at law firms/companies?

How long and how natty are we talking?

Average length of to the shoulders (unless I wanted to an updo) and retwisted professionally monthly

zil020511 wrote:Average length of to the shoulders (unless I wanted to an updo) and retwisted professionally monthly

I think it's fine.

I'm not an uppity old white dude, though, and they make frown upon it.

Still, I think it's fine. It's not going to get you dinged, but you might get side eye.