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If you are attempting to do some last minute shopping for your legal assistant, secretary, or paralegal, we have some good news for you-the shopping on this front is going to be pretty easy. Unless you have a close enough relationship with this person that something more, well, personalized, is appropriate, a survey of folks in that profession suggests that the answer is very simple: straight cash money.
Briefly perusing the internet shows a few hilarious suggestions, like highly generic coffee mugs that just sub in the word "paralegal" for "nurse" or "teacher" or literally any other job with a modicum of stress; desk accessories (admittedly useful, but who wants even more job stuff from their boss?); and even the real classics like scented candles and yoga lessons. Needless to say, they don't actually want that stuff. Cash or an equivalent (like an Amazon gift card) is not only fine but preferable. The real question, then, is how much money you should give.
The rule of thumb we've heard repeated is a pretty simple one: $100 for every year of seniority. So, a fifth year associate would give $500, while partners are probably into four digits (but hey, you can afford it). We recommend keeping it simple and reasonably generous. We know you appreciate all the wonderful work your staff performs for you throughout the year, and you can make them pretty happy without sweating the details.
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