Birefringence in solutions and films of poly[4,4'-bis(4''-N-phenoxy)diphenylsulfon]imide of 1,3-bis(3',4-dicarboxyphenoxy)benzene macromolecules is studied. The method of birefringence in the flow of polymer solutions in DMF allows one to determine the proper specific optical anisotropy of the repeating unit of chain β_M = +15 × 10^–27 cm³ mol/g. Spontaneous birefringence in polymer films of different thickness is studied under various incidence angles of a polarized beam. The total data analysis allows one to estimate the orientation order parameter of polymer chain fragments in the vicinity of surface S₀ =–0.01, which is typical of flexible-chain polymers.