Gift for Great Attorneys?
Hi – I just closed (today, yay!) on a condo after a grueling wait for city paperwork and mortgage financing to clear. My attorney was beyond fantastic and the sponsor’s attorney was so great I felt like she was also on my side (in the sense that she really wanted to make this deal happen…
Hi – I just closed (today, yay!) on a condo after a grueling wait for city paperwork and mortgage financing to clear. My attorney was beyond fantastic and the sponsor’s attorney was so great I felt like she was also on my side (in the sense that she really wanted to make this deal happen too). She really went to bat for me with the bank. Is it customary to give thank-you gifts beyond the legal fee I am paying? Or maybe it is expected, in which case I’d like to know so I can be extra nice to these two attorneys.
thanks!
Nice thoughts have been added, needs no extra addition..!!
Shelly Smith..
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[url=”http://www.legalx.net”]Attorneys[/url]
Hi everyone – OP here. Thanks for the responses. Referrals, of course!
Here is my attorney’s name and number. He was fantastic and really made this process go smoothly. I won’t go into all the nonsense that transpired waiting for this thing to close, but he stayed on top of this process for 7 months with professionalism, responsiveness and a patience (with my questions as a first-time buyer):
Lawrence Gerson [lgersonesq at aol.com]. I recommend him 100%.
“More money than he deserved” Classic nonsense by funstraw. Sometimes I wonder if half of these posters actually have real jobs, or are they just wannabe hipsters posing as; out of work graphic designers. For the record, you shouldn’t feel obligated to give your lawyer anything. A nice bottle of wine or a couple of broadway tickets if you’re sentimental. As the others have said: Referrals are the best gift.
P. S. I just read the part where you said the sponsor’s attorney was great too. That’s hysterical (especially given my comment about my sponsor’s attorney) – shows how much times have changed in the 2+ years since I closed. So, what I did may not work for you. The general guideline for gifts is, I think, the personal touch.
Somebody already suggested referrals, so let me second that opinion. I really liked my lawyer (Christine Bell, from Rheem & Bell), so when it came time to write my check, I bumped it up a little so that she got more than the sponsor’s attorney. The ~$100 wasn’t making or breaking anyone (you know how closings are – the 0s just go flying by), but knowing that I purposely paid her more than the harpy she’d been wrangling with all afternoon made her day.
funstraw – how is earning an honest living providing a valuable service getting “a lot more money than [the lawyer] deserved”?
A good real estate attorney can save clients time, money and certainly a lot of headaches.
Try closing on your own the next time buy a property. Good luck.
What do you do for work?
I am certain whatever you make, you will still be aksing for a raise at the next opportunity.
why assume they make more than you do?
funstraw – When I moved from the co-op that i was living in, one of the doormen gave me a book of drawings by Rembrandt.
Another idea: make a charitable donation in his/her name. It sort of skirts the eithics issues.
funstraw, giving a gift is an emotional decision, not some sort of obligation. OP sounds emotionally grateful. You make me thing of dear old dad, who was fond of buying gifts at the thrift store and wrapping them in used supermarket bags. I would have preferred a heartfelt hug, if he ever could have mustered one up. Joy is for enjoying!