I don’t think Greg and Gregory are as professional as your name will need to be to succeed in the legal world. You should change your name to one of the most professional sounding names available. Here’s a list to get you started:
• Bernard
• Learned
• Edmund
• Frederick
• Rupert
• Thaddeus
• Tobias
• Blair
If you’re taking your legal career seriously, I think this is the only option you have. I understand this can be a very personal decision, but let us know which one you decide on.
In all seriousness, I’ve been using a diminutive and I do think it’s caused people to take me less seriously on paper. I intend to go with initials from here on out. Unless I apply to teaching jobs, in which case “Miss Jenny” sounds like a better choice than Jennifer.
Miss Jenny, you can’t ignore a man all throughout childhood and college, profess to love him only after his Apple stock starts paying dividends, die right after you bear his child, and then expect people to take you seriously.