A LAW firm has been accused of old school sexism after a series of guidelines for female staff on how to dress and act were leaked online.

The "memo" from New York law firm Clifford Chance encourages female staff to cover up their cleavage, "practice hard words" and to "think Lauren Bacall, not Marilyn Monroe."

Even Hillary Clinton gets a special nod: "No one heard Hillary the day she showed cleavage."

Legal news website Abovethelaw.com broke the news after a tip-off from an upset co-worker caused outrage online.

"Female associates are very upset by not only the elementary nature of the tips themselves, but the suggestion that these would only apply to women. We have never been a very female friendly firm, but this is beyond the pale," she wrote.

Asked if the firm felt they were being sexist, a spokesperson quickly backtracked, saying the tips "represented a personal perspective, shared with a group of colleagues, some just starting out in their careers.

"While much of what is covered is common sense, we believe that it is important that women as well as men are given access to a range of different viewpoints and approaches; there is no Clifford Chance template on how people should present. The offence caused by a small percentage of the suggestions in the tip sheet was entirely unintentional."

READ THE FULL PRESENTATION TIPS MEMO BELOW

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