 There could be many reasons for seeking out a present for a fellow lawyer this Christmas. Perhaps it is for a life partner, or a law firm partner whose rainmaking skills have kept your draw up this year. There may be the solicitor at another firm who caved in feebly for a great settlement, or the barrister (or solicitor-advocate, of course) whose penetrating question saved the day.
Buying a present for colleagues can be tricky, as explained by The Rodent, an anonymous columnist on the US profession. ‘The importance of good gift-giving cannot be overstated,’ he says in one of his articles. ‘A lousy gift can subject you to vicious behind-your-back attacks in the firm’s lunchroom and ruin your reputation.’
So, he says, key moves include always buying something for the post room staff. For the junior assistant who worked too hard on that deal and went the extra mile to cover you: get nothing. He cannot help advance your career. For the head of department, it is best to buy a lousy present and send it under the name of a hated rival. ‘If you execute this properly, the gift will be so embarrassing that the partner will never even mention it to your hated rival and thus it will never be denied.’
Finally, do not skimp on your secretary’s present. If you do, ‘you’re lower than the lowest lawyer in the firm. Conversely, you can be horrible all year long and make up for it with just the right gift’. One problem with that, of course, is that you really cannot send your secretary out to buy it.
Whatever the reason for shopping (if any reason is needed), there is a growing industry in legal gifts, although one shop owner around Chancery Lane suggested that lawyers are generally not the types for frivolous items beyond – mainly in the case of barristers – brightly coloured shirts and ties. Nonetheless, if you are looking for law-related cufflinks (bearing legends such as ‘No win’ and ‘No fee’, ‘Guilty’ and ‘Not guilty’), ties, tie-pins, braces etcetera, you are well served.
The likes of the Law Society Shop, the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company and renowned legal outfitters Ede & Ravenscroft all offer a good selection; the Law Society Shop also sells non-law specific silver jewellery, while legal outfitters Stanley Ley, trying to appeal to those outgoing barristers, has a wide selection of funky cufflinks from designers such as Paul Smith.
For the barrister in your life, Edes – and to lesser extent Stanley Ley – specialise in a wide range of items from cufflinks to car badges bearing the various motifs of the Inns of Court, apparently particularly popular with overseas barristers. You could also buy leather bands and collar cases, while Edes handmakes wig stands and lecterns.
General office equipment is also popular, whether it be business card holders, paperweights and book plates, while prints of legal cartoons from Vanity Fair and Punch (as well as more modern jokey cartoons) are widely available.
For something a bit more offbeat, the Law Society Shop and the Carbolic Smoke Ball Company – which offers mail order but also seems to supply some of the shops around Chancery Lane – appear the main sources. The Law Society Shop offers a wide selection of presents with (or without) the Society’s crest, from a silver-plated PC mouse and pack of golf balls to a fleece top or a frame for your practising certificate.
Some of Carbolic’s gifts are a little more frivolous, such as the ‘Solicitor from Hell’ key-ring, ‘I love rich clients’ coffee mug, ‘I’m no lady, I’m a lawyer’ T-shirt and Mr Fox QC, a handpuppet of a fox dressed as a silk, who will apparently help you play devil’s advocate and test out the other side’s arguments. In fact, teddy bears are quite popular from all sources, with the Law Society’s barrister bear and duty solicitor bear both quite appealing.
Books are always a good option for presents, and legal bookshop Hammicks sells well-illustrated reads such as the ‘Walking guide to lawyers’ London’ and ‘Legal London – a pictorial history’. One of the shop’s assistants was also very enthusiastic about ‘Why lawyers should eat bananas’, a book written by Simon Tupman, a former English solicitor now living in New Zealand. It tantalisingly promises ‘inspirational ideas for lawyers wanting more out of life’.
However, as ever, our American cousins are ahead of the game when it comes to the perfect gift for lawyers – and those of the next generation. Web site Forcounsel.com offers a baby mobile to hang over the cots of lawyers to be, featuring soft-toy versions of the scales of justice surrounded by a law book, briefcase, gavel and golf bag with clubs, all rotating gently to the tune of Brahms’s lullaby. The wide choice also includes the ‘Sue Moore female lawyer bottle stopper’ and the ‘Lawyer Hot Sauce’ collection, made up of ‘Lawyer's breath hot sauce’, ‘Contempt of court pepper sauce’, and the apparently tasty ‘Under the influence tomatillo sauce’.
But if you want top of the shop, there are a few gifts whose price tags may raise an eyebrow. Both Carbolic and Hammicks sell a very limited-edition Wilkinson Sword-produced ‘Sword of justice’ letter opener that heads towards the £100 mark, while Carbolic also has a large bulldog barrister sculpture at £80 and a print of WP Frith’s ‘The Plea’ for £100.
However, the most expensive we found were from e-Corporategifts. com – a seated Lady of Justice clock, which will set you back $250 (£130); and from lawshop.com, a silver sculpture of Themis, the goddess of justice, for $375 (£195).
You would not necessarily vouch for the taste of some of the products on sale, but one thing’s for sure – there is something out there for every lawyer.
CONTACTS
Law Society Shop 020 7320 5640 www.publications.lawsociety.org.uk
Carbolic Smoke Ball Company 01252 795951 www.carbolicsmokeball.com
Ede & Ravenscroft 020 7344 2021 www.edeandravenscroft.co.uk
Stanley Ley 020 7405 7345 www.stanley-ley.co.uk
Hammicks 020 7405 5711 www.hammickslegal.co.uk
www.lawshop.com
www.forcounsel.com
www.e-Corporategifts.com/legal_gifts.html
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