Biglaw, Holidays and Seasons, Money, Paralegals, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants, Shopping, Shopping For Others

Open Thread: Making the Holidays Happy for Your Secretary / Administrative Staff

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It’s that time of the year again, says one ATL reader:

now would be a good time for the old “how much are you giving your secretaries for the holidays?” story

It’s customary for associates at large law firms to give a cash gift to their administrative assistants, often along with a card or small gift. Not everyone opts for cold, hard cash — some do AmEx or Visa gift cards.

This year has been a tough one. Some associates have had their salaries frozen and have gotten “baby bonuses” in comparison with years past. Are you planning to let the economic pain trickle down?

Some discussion and advice from last year, after the jump.

Last year, the recession had reared its ugly head, so many Biglaw types were taking that into consideration while gift-giving. In 2008, most associates said they planned to give gifts of between $100 and $250 to their secretaries / administrative assistants.

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Some associates have told us that they lost their dedicated secretary as a result of staff cutbacks this year, and now share a pool of secretaries with other associates. If that’s the case, standard practice is to pool gift-giving.

Here’s one piece of advice from secretaries last year:

A few secretaries urged associates to give cash or an AmEx/Visa gift card equivalent, and not a gift card to a specific restaurant, bookstore or department store. As one secretary said, “if you decide on giving gift certificates/store cards — I sincerely hope your next bonus will be paid in the same currency.”

If your secretary is Kathy Henry, though, you might want to get her a good organizer.

UPDATE: For more on this subject, see Pls Hndle Thx: What Secretaries Want.

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Earlier: Further Thoughts: The Time for Giving (to your Secretary/Administrative Staff)
Open Thread: The Time for Giving (to your Secretary/Administrative Staff)

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