Meet 9 of New York City’s Best-Dressed Lawyers | Invesloan.com

Law has a dress code. A navy suit is safe. Black is safer. Shoes should be sensible. The message is clear: Blend in. Never give the jury something to talk about.

But a new class of lawyers is finding room for a little more zhuzh. Men are badging into Hudson Yards office towers in vintage sport coats and baseball caps. Women are power suiting in Celine pumps. Even jeans have made their way into firms that once treated them like contraband.

The softening of the dress code comes at a moment when lawyers are being forced to think harder about what, exactly, makes them indispensable. Artificial intelligence can already draft briefs, research case law, and dig through piles of documents. Yet, software cannot earn a client’s trust. It cannot read a room or persuade a judge.

Law is still a people business. And at a time when attorneys are being asked to defend the value only they can provide, some lawyers tell us that personal style is more than self-expression. It is part of how they show clients they are worth their hourly rate.

Business Insider asked readers and law firms to nominate New York’s best-dressed lawyers.

Our judging panel included Business Insider’s editor in chief of Life, Joi-Marie McKenzie, fashion editor Leah Faye Cooper, who’s worked as digital style director for Vogue, and Roberto Concepción Jr., a former Hearst lawyer, who’s now an employee relations senior leader at Instacart.

They reviewed 46 nominations and whittled the list down to nine honorees. We then invited the lawyers into our newsroom for a photo shoot and interviews about why they wear what they wear.

Vanessa Ajagu, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Vanessa Ajagu likes her clothes loud. “Nothing feeds me more than a compliment about my outfit,” she says.

For the Gibson Dunn litigator, Nigerian designers fit the brief. She flies home for the holidays with an empty suitcase and returns with it full of vintage pieces and demi-couture suits from Ohlanna bu Zikora, whose founder won the top prize on Nigeria’s version of “Project Runway.”

For the office, Ajagu builds an outfit around one anchor piece, then adds a printed scarf, statement earrings, or a dash of color. In court, she turns the volume down with a plain black suit so her outfit doesn’t become the conversation. “The client comes first,” she says.

Her hair finishes the look. Ajagu has worn cornrows tipped with beads, blonde braids, and more traditional designs, pushing back on old ideas about what Black hair is supposed to look like in a corporate setting. When her students at Columbia Law School, where she teaches legal writing, ask, “You get to wear that to work?” she answers: “Hell yeah, I wear it to work.”

Judge’s note: “The way Vanessa blends Nigerian and Western fashion is to be admired. And while many think of beauty as an afterthought, it’s clear from her hairstyles that she thinks about a look from head to toe.” — Joi-Marie McKenzie

William A. Brewer III, Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors

William A. Brewer III dresses the way Hollywood has trained us to picture a powerful litigator. “I’m probably going to be in a suit unless we’ve declared it a snow day,” he says.

Brewer’s suits are made by tailors at Oxxford Clothes and Zegna, whose soft shoulders and relaxed drape keep his wardrobe from feeling too stiff. For his shirts, he’s relied for 15 years on Bruce Cameron Clark, the English tailor with a Savile Row pedigree and a client list that includes Ringo Starr and Elton John.

Brewer also knows how to dress down, preferring tennis whites for a match in the Hamptons and Ralph Lauren jeans for an evening affair.

That old-school polish has become a house style at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, a firm built for high-stakes commercial fights. Last Christmas, Brewer says he worked with longtime contacts at Ralph Lauren to source more than a dozen vintage watches for his leadership team. “You give somebody a timepiece, you’re telling them their time is now,” he says.

Judge’s note: “William’s style shines in the details: the tailoring, the ties, and even the watches. He stood out to me, however, for how he can expertly move from a traditional suit to a casual look without feeling like he’s trying too hard. He just gets it.” — Joi-Marie McKenzie

Shermin Lakha, Lvlup Legal

Shermin Lakha has heard the joke before: She’s the lawyer in the crop top.

Dressing like herself is more than an aesthetic choice. Lakha left Freshfields and built a law firm for startups, brands, and content creators, many of whom wanted a lawyer they could actually call. Being personable, she says, has been central to growing Lvlup Legal. Her clients span influencer Serena Kerrigan and beauty tastemaker Violet Grey.

“I want to change the perception that in order to be a professional woman or be considered serious, you have to look a certain way,” she says. “I dress the way I want.”

Her tailoring comes with more attitude than the typical corporate-law uniform: a nipped-waist pinstripe jacket from Club L London, or a green sequined suit with a jacket that skims the bottom of her ribcage, paired with an Hermès Birkin bag.

Judge’s note: “Her style is globally inspired yet unmistakably her own. Her look is both worldly and authentic, demonstrating that great style is a balance between inspiration and individuality.” — Roberto Concepción Jr.

Alec Soghomonian, Boies Schiller Flexner LLP

Alec Soghomonian, a fourth-year lawyer at Boies Schiller Flexner, loves the hunt. His favorite tie is a vintage Polo Ralph Lauren in silk, snagged on eBay for $31. On weekends, he digs through racks at Alfargo’s Marketplace, a New York gathering for vintage menswear obsessives, in search of sport coats and sweaters.

“You don’t need money to dress well,” he says. “But you do need time.”

Soghomonian, who represents plaintiffs in class actions, became a student of menswear in law school when he began following Derek Guy, the voluble writer who lays waste to the ruling class’s suits on X.

He came to think of style as a language: learn the grammar first, then figure out where you can bend it. At BSF, where the dress code skews casual, that might mean pairing a baseball cap with a relaxed suit or wearing jeans cut to sit neatly beneath a tailored jacket.

Judge’s note: “This isn’t so obvious, but Alec knows exactly which proportions suit him, and that lends itself to most things looking great. He mentioned being a fan of the 1980s (same), and I think it’s great that he leans into that, despite how polarizing the decade’s fashion can be. He looks like himself, and that’s the true mark of great style.” — Leah Faye Cooper

Elena Fast, The Fast Law Firm

Elena Fast’s dress code has an unusual requirement: Be ready for federal court at all times. Clients get arrested, and hearings materialize in the middle of the day. The criminal defense attorney has built a wardrobe fit for a millennial Elle Woods, if the “Legally Blonde” heroine traded pink for a creamy crepe-knit jacket paired with Manolo Blahnik pumps.

Fast cares about keeping luxury under the radar. A vintage Dior jacket is fine if no one can tell it’s Dior; a conspicuous designer bag or six-carat ring is not. Standing beside someone accused of a serious crime, she doesn’t want a jury wondering why the lawyer looks “so done up and moneyed,” she says.

There is one audience that judges Fast’s attire pretty intensively: corrections officers. Jail rules prohibit visitors from wearing green, orange, khaki, open-toe shoes, and high slits. Every morning, Fast says, her outfit has to pass two tests: Will it work for the judge, and will the jail let her in?

Judge’s note: “Her style captures classic New York at its finest: polished and sophisticated for the boardroom, yet effortlessly chic for an evening socializing at Brooklyn Bridge Park. She embodies the versatility and confidence of a true New York wardrobe.” — Roberto Concepción Jr.

Michael Kosowski, Amabile & Erman

Michael Kosowski knows menswear doesn’t need to be boring. A berry-jam suit and dotted ascot command attention without becoming a distraction. A chocolate-brown checked jacket opens to reveal a silk tapestry sewn into the lining.

Before law school, Kosowski recalls, he was riding in an Uber when his boss, public relations pro Juda Engelmayer, turned to him and said, “Everything we do is presentation.” Years later, he still takes that edict to heart in the courtroom, where he defends clinicians in medical malpractice cases.

His wardrobe mixes custom suits by Ammar Belal, vintage pieces, and retail finds he often personalizes himself. Kosowski learned to sew in high school from his Italian American grandmother, who taught him to make costumes for the drama club. These days, he gives old jackets a second life by restitching them or swapping in family heirloom buttons.

“If something off the rack doesn’t look like it’s me enough,” he says, “those buttons are coming off.”

Judge’s note: “Michael has a singular, innate sense of personal style, which I really appreciate. He deftly mixes prints and textures in a way that makes his work wardrobe quite interesting, and gravitates toward great vintage pieces. I really respect the thought, care, and attention to detail that seemingly goes into his self-expression through fashion.” — Leah Faye Cooper

HY Kim, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Hyun Young “HY” Kim shops in the one boutique no one else can access: her mother’s closet. She favors crisp lines, padded shoulders, and unusual cuts — many of them first spotted by her mother, whose ’90s suits and pristine Gucci bag have steadily migrated into Kim’s wardrobe.

“Whenever I visit South Korea, we go shopping together,” Kim says. Back in New York, she favors Cos for its minimalist, architectural silhouettes.

At Akin, she helps lawyers in the investment management group work faster and smarter, organizing the resources they rely on and introducing legal technology. The same instinct extends to getting dressed. When the pandemic sent lawyers home, Kim still dressed for work every morning, then documented each look on Instagram. Years later, she still scrolls through the archive when she needs inspiration. Call it knowledge management for the closet.

Judge’s note: “When I think of a wildly successful woman who lives and works in New York, she dresses like HY. Her looks are incredibly chic, understated but powerful, and include an incredible mix of accessible fashion brands and aspirational IYKYK designer pieces.” — Leah Faye Cooper

Ankit Kapoor, Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP

Ankit Kapoor has a standing brief for his tailor: Make him look like Harvey Specter. The matrimonial lawyer, who has represented Tom Brady in a family matter, snaps photos of suits he spots on television, including “Suits,” then sends them to his tailor in New York or India to recreate the look, down to the peak lapels and double vents.

Divorce law runs on referrals, and Kapoor, who nabbed the @newyorkdivorcelawyer handle on Instagram, knows a first impression forms before he says a word. “When you walk into a room, people should feel your presence,” he says. A sharply cut suit does some of that work for him, paired with Santoni loafers and an 18-karat yellow-gold Rolex Day-Date. “It’s the Tony Soprano Rolex,” he beams.

There is, however, a catch to bespoke tailoring: Kapoor figures his wardrobe has a roughly seven-pound margin of error. A few pounds gained or lost, and his custom suits stop fitting quite so perfectly. To stay his fighting weight, Kapoor, a former New York police officer, trains for Hyrox races.

Judge’s note: “When it comes to suiting, nothing is more important than fit, and Ankit clearly understands that. His suits are impeccably tailored, as they should be.” — Leah Faye Cooper

Nancy Chemtob, Chemtob Moss Forman & Beyda LLP

Nancy Chemtob has helped enough celebrities get divorced to fill a Met Gala table. Mary-Kate Olsen and Tory Burch are among them. While negotiating for her high-net-worth clients, she wants to look polished without looking like she’s billing the client to bankroll a shopping spree.

Her love affair with fashion began in high school, when Chemtob worked at Infinity, the Long Island boutique she still remembers as the place. She also spent summers studying at Parsons. Fashion was the dream. Law was the family business, and eventually she traded sketchbooks for legal pads.

She has always loved Chanel, but wears it selectively to court, steering clear of conspicuous logos. Dior feels quieter; a Pucci print might peek out from under a blazer. The common thread is longevity. Chemtob still reaches for pieces she bought almost two decades ago and rewards herself for big wins with jewelry she expects to keep just as long.

“Chanel never goes out of style,” she says.

Judge’s note: “With so much of fashion relying on trends, the fact that Nancy leans into classic styles and silhouettes speaks to her eye. And she’s not afraid to add a ‘surprise and delight’ moment, such as a bold print or fishnet stockings.” — Joi-Marie McKenzie