Gift & Thank You Note to Judge AFTER Offer & Acceptance Forum

[Anonymous User]

I was offered (& accepted) a clerkship position.

I was wondering whether it was appropriate to send the judge a small "gift" of appreciation, along with a thank you note. Since the judge graduated from the same law school that I did (& is a big fan), I was wondering if it was OK to send him something from the Law School Store, along with a thank you note.

Any insight is appreciated!

[A. Nony Mouse]

No no no no no. Don't send a gift. For one thing, judges often can't accept gifts under ethics rules, and for another, it's a professional transaction, not a personal one. You don't need to give someone a gift for hiring you, even if it's a judge - that just looks wrong. They're not doing you a favor, they're getting an employee.

[atcushman]

I don't know if its necessarily a ethics question as A. Non says, but I do agree it's weird.

[Anonymous User]

OK. I really appreciate your responses. Then I won't. Thanks!!

[A. Nony Mouse]

(Congrats on the clerkship! A thank you note will be more than sufficient.)

[Anonymous User]

Thanks!

Also, is a "thank you note" a requirement?

[A. Nony Mouse]

No, I don't think so. People here go back and forth on thank yous. I was sort of assuming (because offers often come quickly after clerkship interviews) that the OP* hadn't written a thank you at all before getting the offer; if they already wrote one, I wouldn't write another. If they haven't written any, they could write one now, but it probably wouldn't matter if they didn't.

*or you, if this is the OP

[Anonymous User]

Thank you very much!