With holiday seasons often comes the tradition of gift-giving. In the world of business, and especially in legal relationships, this ritual could be fraught with questions and potentially missteps. As a former outside counsel, I confess I had no tradition of sending holiday gifts to clients, mindful of how it might be perceived, especially in relation to partners’ client relationships. However, now as an in-house counsel, I see the potential benefit. From my interactions with fellow in-house colleagues, the absence of a holiday gesture could be misconstrued as leaving the relationship on autopilot, particularly when there has been hefty financial involvement during the year.
Of course, these observations aren’t one-size-fits-all. Many companies have policies regarding which associate-client gifts are acceptable, varying from a complete ban to the acceptance of tangible objects below a specific value. If you’re an in-house counsel, you should check your company’s rules. If you’re outside counsel, best practice would be to inquire regarding your clients’ policies.
At the end of the day, these gifts should not influence business decisions. Extravagant gifts could be put under more stringent examinations. What should be considered, however, is the intention behind the gesture: to signify one’s regard for the relationship. Personalisation was a recurrent favourite in an unofficial survey conducted among legal practitioners. Practical gifts such as usable gadgets and sharable items like snacks or sweets were also appreciated. Also, some in-house counsels mentioned experiences, such as tickets to a sporting event or a dinner, where they could build relationships with their outside counsels.
While a generic premade gift basket may check the holiday gift box, a little creativity and personal touch can have a significant impact, at times eliciting a more welcome reaction. So if you’re going to make the effort to send a gift, you might as well make it more memorable.
This is a combination of ideas gathered from my personal experiences as well as some very unscientific crowdsourcing within the in-house counsel community. For more on this, view the complete article on Above the Law.
Written by Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz, in-house at Toyota Motor North America. Her passions include mentoring, championing belonging, and a personal blog: TheMeybe.com. At home, she practices being a “fun” mom to a toddler and preschooler and pursuing her best self on her Peloton. You can find her on LinkedIn here . Opinions expressed are personal.