Hi everyone
I worked with a lawyer to bring my mother to Canada, which took 4.5 years. Very happy to share that my mama has arrived. Now I want to acknowledge the time and effort of my attorney that she invested in our case.
What is the best way to express an appreciation for her hard work?
Shall I send her a thank you email only, or shall I get her a bouquet of flowers, a thank you card and a small gift basket and go to their law firm or only a bouquet of flowers, a thank you card? Or do nothing.
This is my first time working with an attorney and my apologies if this question sounds weird, but I want to do something nice.
Thanks
Generally agree with
@KClaire.
I will assume the attorney worked for a fee and did not work "
pro bono", i.e., for free. In that case, and assuming you paid usual attorney fees, but are now very happy with the result, there is really no expected form of "thank you". You paid her bill. Of course, it's appropriate to express thanks other than by simply paying the attorney's fees, but there should be no expectation on the part of the attorney. Really a matter of your own preference. A simple email saying that you appreciate the prolonged and successful effort would be fine. Nothing wrong with any of your other ideas, either.
Finally, a further assumption on my part is that the attorney is a Canadian attorney. I cannot say what might be the etiquette in other cultures/countries. I lived in the US for a few years and in the Philippines for a few years and interacted with attorneys in those countries. Nothing I saw in those places would lead me to conclude that the practice there differs from Canada. But that leaves a lot of the rest of the world about which I know nothing. Maybe there are places where attorneys expect an invitation to a 5-star restaurant as a show of appreciation
In the end, your call. No right or wrong way. The attorney will not think less of you for not sending a dozen roses.
I practised law in downtown Vancouver once upon a time. I never expected any gratuities and was happy to see my accounts paid on time. The odd time I would get some added token of appreciation. A bottle of wine or liquor once in awhile. One memorable client, of Japanese origin, would always pay my bill, before rendered, by signing and handing me a blank cheque. His cheques were always good. Every time he came to the office, he would bring me a case of canned crab.
Funny, writing this just now reminded me of another time. I was asked to represent 2 criminal clients in the small town of Bella Bella BC. I had to make two appearances and I was there for a couple of days each time. First time I flew in and out on a Grumman Mallard. The clients were fishermen. They sent me home with fish. After first trip, they told me to take overnight ferry home next time, so they could give me more than air travel would allow me to carry. They said they would arrange with the ship's purser to have some seafood placed in the ship's freezer. That time I went home with frozen and canned salmon, frozen and canned abalone, frozen oolichan and more. And that was after one of them was sent to jail! You would think I would have been persona non grata at that point!
