- law dawg
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As November wraps up and we head into the thick of the holidays, we thought it would be worth revisiting the topic of gifting. The topic is evergreen (you can see what people thought in 2013 here) and one fraught with many perils. What is your approach to gifts at the office? Do you do something for everyone you work with? Only your secretary? Do you do the same thing every year or do you adjust for inflation? Do you gift differently if you’ve got a new secretary (worked for you less than a year) versus a more established one? For those legal staff that comment here, what do you prefer for gifts? Actual thoughtful items or gift cards/money? What gifts should you avoid?
On a related note–what about holiday cards? Do you give one to staff? Do you send them to clients? Are you just doing the digital card these days?
My gift this season includes making CCSD my Due Process Bitch. Fellow parents of CCSD students, you’re welcome.
I hate feeling obligated to give gifts to assistants who are barely doing their job in the first place and getting compensated by the firm, yet I feel I must to avoid problems. If they’re new, I usually start out with a small token of my appreciation. $25 gift card or something. If they’re invaluable or on the way, usually a little bit more. Usually only buy them something if they want it. Had an assistant who told me what would be nice and that was actually very helpful.
$25? or a “little bit more?” Are you one of those attorneys who advertise for “NEEDED. LEGAL ASSISTANT. WILL PAY $15-$18/HOUR” and then separately bemoan the profession and life in general when you realize your brain is still stuck at 1990 levels of compensation because you either get no response or only get garbage-level employees?
I’m an associate working with an assistant I had no say in hiring 5 months ago. I called it a small token of my appreciation. You think I should be dropping $200 bucks in that situation?
$25 for a bad assistant gurantees your coffee will have extra seasoning. A little more for an invaluable assistant is an insult and guarantees you a lifetime of bad assistants. Look at most of the top attorneys who have had the same assistant for decades. I bet they get around 100 years worth of your bonuses, give or take.
Lmao your assistant makes your coffee? What is this … 1974?
$25? I went to McDonalds yesterday and for me and a child it was $23. A pack of soda is like 9 bucks. Good Lord, if you can’t throw someone a couple hundred bucks AT LEAST, why even bother.
For my paralegal or legal assistant, about $250.00. For a staff person who does not work for me directly, but who I want to thank for taking some time to help me out during the year, more like $100.00
I am looking to escape this profession and have been using Indeed. I have noticed that about 20% are having me do a one-way video interview answering meaningless questions. This seem like simply a way to see me i.e., race, age, etc. thereby bypassing employment law. I have strabismus (mis-aligned eyes) and have suffered my whole life with the effects – dating, etc. Any thoughts on legality. Perhaps I’m just venting but damn man can’t I just be judged on skill set?
Bring it up at the interview. Tell them you are cross eyed and just put it on the table. The reality is we are all judged by looks. I don’t want a 500 pound receptionist no matter how great she answer the phone. I know people who don’t hire women in pivotal roles because in general women are the care takers for children and they don’t want to deal with those issues and missed work that happens with being a mom. In short, suck it up buttercup.
You seem fun.
As a happy paralegal, I have to say, if you are only showing your appreciation during the holidays because you feel obligated, you deserve crappy staff. My attorney makes me feel valued and like an important part of the firm all of the time.
In return, I feel that her cases are my cases, her clients are my clients, and the success of the firm is my success.
This is the best job I’ve ever had and the only boss I want to work for from now until retirement. Am I the best paid paralegal in the Valley? I doubt it. I don’t care. Having a boss that treats me like a real human being and cares about work-life balance makes me one of the happiest.
I support another attorney too. He will probably give me a nice, generous, gift card. It’s appreciated. But when deadlines are nearing, a client is tanking a case, and co-counsel is M.I.A., I’m happy to do whatever needs to be done day or night or weekends for the attorney who always has my back.
I usually get a gift card to Amazon for my assistant and paralegal. The amount does depend on how long they have been with me. I just got a new assistant like three weeks ago.
I have worked for a few firms and each had very different approaches to gift giving. The first firm I worked for was basically a free for all and it seemed like attorneys were trying to one up each other in terms of gift giving for the holidays. I was a brand new attorney and did not have much discretionary pay to buy lavish gifts. I also worked for a firm in the past that completely prohibited gift giving by attorneys. The firm instead would buy gift cards for paralegals/assistants.
Same. Every place was different. One had ‘limits’,, one prohibited,, one free for all,, the current one is considering the holiday party and small bonus as the gift. **shrugs**
Books make for thoughtful, affordable gifts.
When will people stop drinking and driving? Two highway patrol officers! Horrible!!
RIP
Thank you, officers, for continuing to try to protect us even as the political, educational, and media establishment poops on you and your efforts.
The booking photo is as expected. After some back and forth, he will get the usual slap on the wrist and be back out on the road in no time.
You think a guy that killed two cops while DUI will get a slap on the wrist? LOL, right.
Short answer: Never. Humans have a long and sordid history of doing stupid sh!t and never learning from it.
Yesterday there was a link to the story about the sex ring busts during F1 and it talked about how Metro is gearing up for the Super Bowl. Aside from the general disgust I have even knowing that kind of person exists on the same planet as me, I wonder about attorneys who represent them. I get that criminal defense attorneys and PDs have a job and criminal defendants are entitled to counsel, but other than that, how do attorneys represent them? As a family law attorney, if some dude who raped his step-kid walked into my office, there is no amount of money that I would accept to represent him. I just wouldn’t. Thoughts?
I stand with the working girls. If I was a criminal defense attorney, I would make very favorable arrangements for these hardworking stigmatized women.
You have the absolute right to reject Stepdaddy rapist as a client. Just remember that mom probably had to marry Mr. Perv out of economic necessity. Becoming a working girl would have offered a more suitable arrangement.
Watch out for them “suitable arrangements”. One of the absolute coolest guys I know was clipped for that and is a lawyer no more.
Yes, very good point. One of the reasons I still have my license despite my proclivities is that I never, ever shit where I eat.
My bad. I meant to say that I strictly adhere to the principle of never mixing personal affairs with professional responsibilities.
PD’s and criminal defense attorneys are the front line in making sure Due Process means anything for any of us, whether their client is innocent or guilty. The right to counsel is a built-in check and balance between the judiciary (Administrative office of US Courts oversees) and the executive. Even when the client isn’t worth defending, the process still is.
No one’s asking all of us to be cut out for that (I’m certainly not, either side), but I have an incredible amount of respect for the people who are because if we all had your attitude, not sure how much “innocent until proven guilty” would mean. Also come on, you’re in family law – have you never seen a coached kid?