Started at a V64 today and got roasted for my shoes
This week I started working as a lateral at a prestigious Vault ranked law firm (top 64) in their Manhattan office. I came from a smaller firm and didn’t know a lot about this place, so I prepared by reading as much about them as I could online. They’re listed on the wikipedia page for “white shoe” law firms and Grok told me that white shoe meant prestige, so I knew I joined the right place.
On Monday, my first day, I wore my cleanest Lacoste sneakers with a casual button down and black slacks. It went horribly. The HR woman who took me to my shared office told me that people “tend to dress up a little bit around here more” when she eyed me over. My shared office buddy didn’t even shake my hand when I introduced myself; he just said “I went to Columbia Law, what about you?” and before I could respond, he looked down, asked “what are those??”, pointed at my sneakers, and laughed. Then he walked out of the room.
And worst of all, the partner who I believe played a big role in hiring me met with me for lunch. He called me “gator guy” because of the logo on my Lacostes. But the shoes don’t even have a gator, it’s a crocodile (it’s even smiling).
I should add that NONE of these people were wearing white shoes but still had the nerve to make fun of me as I try to uphold the prestige of an elite Vault top-64 ranked firm. Is society cooked or do lawyers just not care about formalities anymore?