Raising the bar on style in courtroom; Justice isn't blind to fashion, lawyers say

MIAMI — Of all the professional types whose appearance can influence business success, few have to stay on top of their game more than attorneys.

Yes, you expect a nice suit or a nice skirt on your lawyer. But attorneys in standard business wear are a dime a dozen. The most successful of them combine "nice" with perfect accessories and attitudes that say, I'm not just doing this because of my job. I look this good all the time!

"Let's face it, human nature being what it is, when we pay attention to looks, looks matter," says Susan Powell, a licensed clinical psychologist and principal with New York-based jury consultants Strategic Litigation Research. "And an attorney who doesn't look right is an attorney who will not have the confidence of his client ... or, possibly, a jury."

We consulted four of Miami-Dade and Broward counties' sharpest dressers to find out what the Floridians wear, how they dress it up and how they match their mental and emotional styles to their look.

"Litigators, clients, depositions, courtrooms ... They're all trying to influence the other side," says Lisa Schiller, 45, a partner with Rice Pugatch Robinson & Schiller in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "If you look good, you're ahead of the game. Personally, if someone walks into a conference room from the other side and looks frumpy, right away I'm thinking, 'This won't be too hard.'"

As a corporate litigator — mostly mega-bankruptcies — she aims for a conservative, traditional style, but likes to give it feminine flair.

"There are people who will misinterpret that and say that I'm putting women down," Schiller says wryly. "But the truth is, in spite of all the tough arguments in conference rooms and in courtrooms, I'm a woman, and I still want to look like one."

Schiller's secret weapon is her Miu Miu heels.

"You think it sounds silly, but the added height from the shoes gives clients a sense of greater confidence. Height translates to power to some people. And yes, I walk well in them. It takes practice. And if you can't do it well, don't wear high heels."

Friends, colleagues and competitors describe Scott Rothstein. CEO of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, Fort Lauderdale, 47, as "colorful," "bold" and "flamboyant," and they're not just talking about his three-piece suits, blaze-orange pocket squares, bright neckties and blinding cuff links.

"Part of my style is the fact that I know I'm making a presentation," says Rothstein, whose firm handles everything from labor and employment law to mergers and acquisitions and technology law.