What's a good gift for a lawyer?
May 11, 2013 3:32 PM   Subscribe

My lawyer did an awesome job for me on a case. He's late 30s/early 40s, male. Need ideas for a "thank you" gift. Catch: we live in Springfield, IL so lots of more "urban" upscale options are nil.

If he was a she I'd send a bouquet of flowers, but what can we give a guy? Do we send wine? Caviar? Cupcakes? Looking for ideas of something that can be delivered, not something we take ourselves as that's a bit "folksy"
posted by arniec to Grab Bag (19 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
What's the budget?

A gift certificate to a nice local restaurant, so that they can have some quality time with a loved one, would likely be appreciated.

A bottle of wine or nice bottle of single malt scotch would be fairly safe bets.
posted by ambrosia at 3:40 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Budget would be $250 or so
posted by arniec at 3:41 PM on May 11, 2013


Does he work in a firm? Check their policies and make sure he can accept gifts.

Maybe a nice cigar, scotch or a nice fancy pen.
posted by mibo at 3:42 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Humphrey's Market has gift baskets... $250 would probably be enough to buy something nice for the office. (Big theme from last thread was to send food-based gift to the office, including other staff)
posted by nickrussell at 4:04 PM on May 11, 2013 [3 favorites]


When I wanted to thank my lawyer for a job well done I sent a gift basket of edible goodies for the entire office. Your lawyer didn't do everything alone, in all likelihood.
posted by TedW at 4:11 PM on May 11, 2013 [10 favorites]


I gave the realtor who helped me find my condo a gift card to an indie electronics store
posted by brujita at 4:20 PM on May 11, 2013


A bottle of whiskey, an offer to provide a testimonial and future referrals.
posted by ewiar at 4:38 PM on May 11, 2013


Bottle of scotch for him, cupcakes for the office. Even just a card is great. Lawyers usually make sure they are well compensated and don't expect thank you gifts - but it is awesome to get them anyway! So many clients are ungrateful and demanding, so it is nice to be appreciated in any way.
posted by yarly at 5:06 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Definitely a handwritten thank you note.

I'd lean toward something that could be shared with the office as well - maybe something from Gourmet Gift Baskets, Harry and David, or Edible Arrangements. 250$ would go a long way toward a huge fruit basket.

If you go with a personal gift not for the office, booze is always good. Or sporting event tickets if you have any idea if he is a fan.
posted by mazienh at 5:29 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Have you seen this? How should I celebrate with my attorney?
posted by Houstonian at 5:32 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Recently.
posted by John Cohen at 7:02 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oh, never mind, Houstonian already linked to it. The most popular answer (by which I do not mean "the most favorited comment") seemed to be: pay on time, refer other people to your lawyer, and that's all.
posted by John Cohen at 7:04 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


I hate to be a party-pooper, but booze isn't necessarily an appropriate gift. Given the notoriously high rate of alcohol abuse within the legal profession, your guy may be one of many lawyers who has had to quit drinking (or is struggling to do so). Though, I suppose he could always re-gift it...
posted by nacho fries at 7:53 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


IANAL(yet) but I certainly can be a killjoy-- there are specific rules of professional ethics governing the propriety of lawyers accepting gifts from clients. These vary by state. I suggest you check out your local rules just to be on the safe side.

For example: http://government.lawyers.com/Giving-or-Receiving-Gifts-May-Get-You-Into-Trouble.html
posted by Schielisque at 10:57 PM on May 11, 2013 [1 favorite]


I always love it when Spousal Sheppagus, Esq. brings home a gift certificate, especially for dinner. We never see each other during trials and other time consuming legaley stuff, and it is SO NICE when we get alone couple time after the stressful work part wraps.

I agree also about paying the bill and referring others, but if you want to go above and beyond, this is nice. The few who have done this generally get the cell phone number and future weekend help if they end up in an after hours jam.
posted by Sheppagus at 2:19 AM on May 12, 2013


A nice Japanese knife. Even if he doesn't like cooking, he should appreciate that on some sort of masculine scale: like this.

Whatever you do, skip the drinks. Every professional I know has dozens of extremely varying qualities of whiskey, whisky, and wine sitting on their shelves. And have had for years. They don't want it. They'll buy it for themselves if they do. Something like this is what someone rational would never buy for themselves.
posted by converge at 3:21 AM on May 12, 2013 [1 favorite]


I am a lawyer, and for two recent cases I took without charging, I received a case of a nice selection of wines from one, and a half case of a Pinot Noir that needs to be cellared from the other. Both were immensely appreciated, and both came from clients who knew that I have a nice cellar and chose appropriately.

I do like the knife idea, but then again, I am a foodie, so if he's like my colleague whose entire diet consists of takeout, the knife will gather dust.

I also like the idea of recognizing the work his support staff provided by giving a gift for the whole office. It can be demoralizing for the staff to have contributed a huge amount of work and see the lead attorney get all the credit.

Did your attorney express personal preferences of any kind during your conversations?
posted by Capri at 8:48 AM on May 12, 2013


A nice pen?
posted by fancyoats at 4:13 PM on May 12, 2013


Make that big awesome baked goods basket from Incredibly Delicious, IMHO. Hi, neighbor.
posted by Occula at 10:11 PM on May 12, 2013


« Older Helping a daughter who is far from home   |   Decent introductions to Laotian history? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.