As a junior biglaw associate, is it appropriate to get a Christmas gift for an unassigned paralegal? Forum

[showusyourtorts]

In my biglaw firm, every associate is assigned a legal assistant/secretary. In addition to that, most practice groups -- though not my own practice group -- have various paralegals, all of whom are unassigned within that practice group.

I'm a junior associate in Practice Group X and, due to the cross-functional nature of some work that I do, I often end up asking a paralegal from our corporate practice group (i.e., not Practice Group X) to assist with routine corporate tasks that I frequently need done (entity formation, EINs, etc). The paralegal does a great job and often stays up late/works on last minute notice to help out.

I'd like to get her a gift card or something similar but, in thinking about what amount would be appropriate, was hoping to get a feel for what's normal procedure. Are junior associates expected to get a Christmas gift for an unassigned paralegal that they frequently work with? Does the fact that she is in a different practice group make it more or less expected? Would a junior associate's gift to an unassigned paralegal in another practice group but who I work with frequently be expected , such that I should go a bit higher on the range that I'm comfortable with? Or would a gift be somewhat surprising, such that I could perhaps lean lower within my comfort zone?

Of course, I plan to get my actual assigned secretary a gift card (or similar) as well.

[wwwcol]

in my experience there’s no expectation to give anything to a “floater”/unassigned staff member, whether in or outside your group

but you should do it nonetheless because this person is doing good work and saving your time, and im sure they would appreciate a holiday gift

you should go with a number your comfortable with but I think the absolute floor is $50 (personally I have done $100 in similar situations)

ps don’t do a gift card just do cash. That’s a norm in biglaw. Or do cash and a little gift card to a nice bakery / lunch place

[Definitely Not North]

idk about the question but echoing that nobody (nobody) wants a gift card. Hit the ATM

[Whatislaw]

What are folks doing for this year with most of us working remotely? Normally cash works, but you can't exactly mail cash...

[Definitely Not North]

What are folks doing for this year with most of us working remotely? Normally cash works, but you can't exactly mail cash...

Use your courier to “interoffice” it to their house. Or put it under their keyboard and shoot them an email saying you left them a card

[showusyourtorts]

Thanks for the tip on cash. Do folks really think that using a courier to send cash is realistic / not excessive given the current situation? Thoughts on one of those basically-cash Visa gift cards?

[lolwutpar]

idk about the question but echoing that nobody (nobody) wants a gift card. Hit the ATM

It's funny how many people think this is tacky. Who doesn't like cold hard cash??

[Whatislaw]

Cash is good, but a thoughtful gift to accompany is a better pairing if you ask me. I typically try to pair cash with a small gift that is something my secretary likes. The inter office courier is a good idea, but you have to mail it into the office and a lot of people see the gift and cash so I may end up opting for a Visa or AMEX gift card this year as you can send those by email.

[nixy]

The only quibble I’d have with cash is right now, I don’t know a lot of people who use actual cash, and if someone’s trying to avoid stores and is ordering everything online, one of the Visa cards might be easier. But that probably varies a lot by person.

[avenuem]

Thanks for the tip on cash. Do folks really think that using a courier to send cash is realistic / not excessive given the current situation? Thoughts on one of those basically-cash Visa gift cards?

Paying for a courier to send cash is a bad use of firm resources, especially during a pandemic when firms have made severe financial cuts, furloughed people, and deferred entire classes (even if yours has not).

Your assistant will know you're gifting them money when it arrives. Is it so bad to lose the surprise element by asking for their Paypal, Cash app, or, if you still want to surprise, just mailing them a check or cash (I know people say don't mail cash, I've done it often with 100% success, you just put it between a folder paper)? Also, people who aren't holed up in their apartments are accepting cash. At least in NYC.

[Whatislaw]

And let us all not forget you can mail a thing called a check. Yes yes let the dinosaur jokes begin, but that is a thing folks.

[Dietcoke27]

It's thoughtful that you're doing this! I don't mean to impose thoughts on you that you don't have. But it sounds like she's outside the typical group that attorneys give gifts to on an individual basis like your secretary (my firm has attorneys contribute to a pool that is divided among all the paralegals). If you're doing this based on attraction in any sense, please reconsider. I would also advise you not send anything to her house even if this is fully above-board. Try a digital amazon gift card sent by work email.

[bigchiefhoho]

Related question - what about incoming associates who are starting much later than usual? Should an associate starting in late November or early December be prepared to give gifts to whoever they might be working with in the couple weeks until the holidays?

[Whatislaw]

I wouldn't worry about it if I were a new Associate who started recently. It's more of an appreciation for a year's hard work and naturally not applicable in your circumstances.

[showusyourtorts]

It's thoughtful that you're doing this! I don't mean to impose thoughts on you that you don't have. But it sounds like she's outside the typical group that attorneys give gifts to on an individual basis like your secretary (my firm has attorneys contribute to a pool that is divided among all the paralegals). If you're doing this based on attraction in any sense, please reconsider. I would also advise you not send anything to her house even if this is fully above-board. Try a digital amazon gift card sent by work email.

Thankfully, I am female (as is she) so I would not expect her to have to run through that thought process - but as a woman, I'm happy somebody else pointed this out.

I will almost certainly end up doing an AMEX / VISA/ Amazon gift card via email. I appreciate everyone's perspective!

[The Lsat Airbender]

Related question - what about incoming associates who are starting much later than usual? Should an associate starting in late November or early December be prepared to give gifts to whoever they might be working with in the couple weeks until the holidays?

Don't bother. People won't even have noticed you exist yet. This is already borderline for stub years who start in September