In our last blog post, we discussed authority. In brief, we compared how authority can be gained by extrinsic or intrinsic qualities. Of the intrinsic qualities that can grant you authority, the one we discussed most at length was knowledge; for an attorney, knowledge of the law being of primary importance. There are, of course, a plethora of other places from which one can derive authority. One might even assume another has authority based solely on their appearance: imagine seeing someone in a limousine, wearing a beautiful suit, talking on a fancy cellphone about business; you’ll assume that person has some degree of power or authority. Appearances matter.

Professionalism is one way in which appearance translates to authority. To be clear, appearance doesn’t just relate to how you dress; it’s how you hold yourself, how you speak, how you act. You can cultivate professionalism in your life until it becomes a part of who you are. Those who think before they speak are seen as more professional. Those who put effort and care into how they groom themselves and how they dress are seen as more professional. That brings us to an interesting question: what is professionalism, and why do certain traits seemingly unrelated to how well you can perform your duties, like appearance, affect how much of it you’re seen to have?

The answer is more straightforward than you might expect: when you take the time to care for yourself, it makes others more confident that you’ll take the time to care for them. Someone who walks into the office looking like they just got out of bed, hair in a mess, tie off-centre, is going to raise eyebrows. Did they not get enough sleep, are they stressed, why haven’t they taken the time to ready themselves? To be professional is to be conscientious, to have all your ducks in a row; it’s being organized, and having good time management skills. Your appearance needs to reflect these things, and to achieve that, you need to look well put together.

There are elements of your personality that work into professionalism as well. Being well-organized is a major asset to appearing professional; if you always know where things are in the physical world, people will assume your thoughts are well-aligned as well. Ethical practice is another key part of professionalism; when you speak to your clients in a courteous manner, without sounding condescending, and explain to them what’s in their best interest, you’ll seem incredibly professional.

When you refer a client to someone else, or use an appearance attorney to make an appearance you can’t be at, their professionalism is seen as an extension of your own. That’s why you want court appearance professionals who live up to that name; you want them to have the same strict standards of professionalism as you do. After all, they’re going in your stead. Attorneys on Demand works with the most professional court appearance attorneys, so you can rest easy, knowing your reputation for high standards will be upheld.