Note to West Coast Lawyers: The Federal Circuit Requires a Tie

[WSJ Law Blog]

Remember Warren Zier, the first member of the Law Blog Ascot Society? Zier, a state prosecutor in Wisconsin, was called out by Judge William Sosnay for wearing a red ascot to court. Sosnay said Zier’s sartorial choice bordered on “contempt.” For Judge Sosnay — as Shakespeare might’ve said — apparel oft proclaims the lawyer.

A loyal LB reader has alerted us to a recent argument before the the Washington, D.C.-based Federal Circuit in which Delbert J. Barnard, of Barnard Intellectual Property Law in Seattle, pushed the envelope a bit further than our old friend Zier. At oral argument in Brady Construction v. Perfect Wall, Barnard appeared before a three-judge panel without a tie.

Judge Randall Rader called him out: “Next time wear a tie,” Judge Rader instructed Barnard. “This is the Federal Circuit.”

We called up Barnard (pictured) in Seattle, and he graciously provided some context. “I had popped a collar button on my one and only dress shirt,” explained Barnard. “I put it on, and put the tie on to see if it could lay flat even though the collar wouldn’t stay down, and it wouldn’t. I thought to myself, out here on the West Coast a lot of people will wear a suit with a turtleneck. I had a dark polo shirt. So I wore that.”

He continued: “Judge Rader was very polite about it, but I was kind of surprised that he’d make that comment. I didn’t think I should take the time to explain what had happened. I’d come all the way across the United States to go to the hearing.”

We asked Barnard to expand a bit on this divergence between West and East Coast courtroom styles. He said simply: “Well, you don’t have to wear a powdered wig or anything. But it is the Federal Circuit.”

In any event, Judge Rader wasn’t too upset about Barnard’s lack of a tie. The panel unanimously affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of his client.