Law Firm Client Gifts and Referral Thank-Yous: Discreet, Signed by the Attorney, and the “Nominal Gift” Rule

We sell a $35 logo mug gift box, printed, packed and shipped to each person's address. This guide covers the other options too.

Key facts

• Personalized Gifts Delivered ships each box in a plain white carton with only the shipping label, and the return address shows PersonalizedGiftsDelivered.com, never your firm; your logo is printed small on the mug inside. $35 per box delivered, no minimum.
• ABA Model Rule 7.2(b)(5): a lawyer may "give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer's services" (ABA Model Rule 7.2). State versions vary.
• ABA Comment [4]: the gift "may not be more than a token item as might be given for holidays, or other ordinary social hospitality" (Comment on Rule 7.2).

This page is part of our guide to client gifts by profession.

Is It Appropriate for a Law Firm to Send Clients Holiday Gifts? It Depends on the Matter

One lawyer describes a simple tiered habit. "I hand write my holiday cards with something personal towards that client. I get amazing feedback. Most clients will also have a gift card include. Biggest clients get baskets," they wrote on r/LawFirm (2020). With no minimum, a box for every client is simple arithmetic: at $35 delivered, 40 clients come to $1,400.

What recipients remember is a treat with a personal touch. A law clerk for "a very well known attorney who got gifts from anyone and everyone" said the best one "came from another law firm that sent a holiday card with a fat thick bar of really nice local chocolate with a tiny hammer" (r/LawFirm, 2025). Asked about vendor gifts, a paralegal recalled: "The most memorable was a winter box containing a stadium blanket, hot cocoa, ceramic soup mug and spoon" (r/paralegal, 2026).

The other side is real too. In the same r/LawFirm thread, a former client wrote in 2024: "I've been receiving Thanksgiving, Xmas, Birthday cards from a lawyer who worked on my case, and I find it quite irritating." And: "PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR CLIENTS WITHOUT FIRST ASKING!!" Some clients hired you for something they would rather not be reminded of every December.

Keep the firm's name small: in business.com's 2022 online survey, "prominently branded items felt more like ads than tokens of appreciation" (business.com). Useful ones get kept: in ASI's 2026 survey (a promotional-products industry study), 87% would keep a branded drinkware item because it's useful (ASI).

Can a Lawyer Thank a Referral Source With a Gift? ABA Rule 7.2(b)(5) Says "Nominal"

"Any ethical issues for sending gifts to past or potential referral sources though?" a commenter asked in the r/LawFirm thread above, and the replies disagreed. The ABA Model Rules address it in Rule 7.2(b)(5) and its Comment [4]:

Model Rule 7.2(b)(5): a lawyer may "give nominal gifts as an expression of appreciation that are neither intended nor reasonably expected to be a form of compensation for recommending a lawyer's services".

Comment [4]: "The gift may not be more than a token item as might be given for holidays, or other ordinary social hospitality. A gift is prohibited if offered or given in consideration of any promise, agreement or understanding that such a gift would be forthcoming or that referrals would be made or encouraged in the future."

Sources: ABA Model Rule 7.2 and Comment on Rule 7.2, text read from the Internet Archive copies of July 23, 2026 (comment) and April 7, 2026 (rule), the latest copies; checked October 29, 2026. Your state's version of the rule may differ; check it.

What the text says, and doesn't:

• It names no dollar amount. Whether a given gift is "nominal" is a question for your state's rule and its ethics opinions.
• It is about thanks, after the fact. Comment [4] describes a gift given under a promise or understanding "that such a gift would be forthcoming" as prohibited.
• The card matters too. A line like "keep the referrals coming" points at referrals "made or encouraged in the future", the words Comment [4] uses.
• Closing work and RESPA. Regulation X lists "Rendering of services by an attorney" as a settlement service (12 CFR 1024.2(b)), and the CFPB says: "There is no exception to RESPA Section 8 solely based on the value of the gift or promotion" (CFPB RESPA FAQs). More: RESPA Section 8 and gifts.

The IRS rule on business gifts: "You can deduct no more than $25 for business gifts you give directly or indirectly to each person during your tax year," and "If a partnership gives gifts, the partnership and the partners are treated as one taxpayer" (IRS Publication 463, for 2025 returns). Our walk-through: are client gifts tax deductible?

This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check your state's version of the rule; for closing work, ask your counsel or compliance officer; for the deduction, your tax professional) before you send.

How Do We Keep a Client Gift Confidential? Start With a Plain Carton

The risk is specific. A box with a law firm's name on the outside, sitting on a porch or in a mailroom, tells everyone who sees it that the client has a lawyer. Here is where a firm's name could show, and what a Personalized Gifts Delivered box does at each point:

Three habits do the rest:

1. Ask before you ship to a home. Some clients would rather get it at the office, and some would rather not get it at all. Our address-request templates keep the ask short.
2. Nothing about the matter on the card. No case names, no outcomes, no "congratulations on the settlement". Assume someone else in the house opens the envelope.
3. One box per named person at business clients.

One Card per Client, From Their Own Attorney (Without Hand-Writing 60 Cards)

Sixty clients, each with a card from their own attorney: treat it like a mail merge, one order per attorney. Sort the address spreadsheet by attorney and split it into one list each. Each attorney writes one message for their own clients (two or three sentences, up to 300 characters) that greets each client by first name, and signs it; that order prints their words and their name on every card in it. The card is printed, not handwritten, so "signed by the attorney" means the words and the name are that attorney's. A client who should get a line of their own gets an order of their own: one box is a complete order.

People who write thank-you letters underestimate how surprised and pleased the recipients will be, and overestimate how awkward the recipients will feel (Kumar & Epley, 2018).

Two examples, and three lines to leave out:

• To clients, signed "Warm regards, David Chen": "Dear {first name}, thank you for trusting us this year. I hope the holidays bring you some quiet time."
• To a lawyer who referred a client (first check how your state's rule treats a gift like this), signed "Maria": "Thank you for thinking of us this year, {first name}. It meant a great deal. Happy holidays."
• Leave out: "Congratulations on the settlement." "Keep the referrals coming!" Any case name or matter number.

More wording: holiday card messages for clients and how to sign a business holiday card.

Can a Firm Pack and Ship Its Own Client Gifts?

Yes: a firm can assemble and ship client gift boxes itself, and by our estimate 25 logo mug gift boxes take about 9 hours of hands-on work (about 3½ of them packing, at about 8 minutes a box), plus a week or more waiting for supplies from about 8 separate orders. Per box, it comes out about even: about $38 with USPS counter postage and about $34 with commercial postage, with $1,192.84 paid up front for the mugs, the retail supply packs and 25 postage labels (our DIY cost comparison, prices as of Oct 29, 2026).

A typo on 25 printed cards means printing 25 again; a mug packed without a foam collar can break at the handle and must be bought, packed and shipped again. With Personalized Gifts Delivered, each attorney writes one message and adds their own list. We print, pack and ship each box to its own address.

What to Know Before You Order

• Gift limits. Each box is $35, delivered. Federal employees may accept "unsolicited gifts having an aggregate market value of $20 or less per source per occasion" (5 CFR 2635.204, read Oct 29, 2026), and some employers cap the gifts their people may accept; the limits, quoted from their sources: client gift limits by industry and gifts to government employees. This is information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current rule (or check with the recipient's agency ethics official) before you send.
• Your logo is on the mug, printed small. For a mug with no firm mark, choose "A personal gift" when you order, and the mug prints a few words you type instead.
• The card is printed, not handwritten, with each attorney's words and name; you see every client's card before you pay.
• The treats. LINDOR truffles contain milk, soy and barley malt (gluten); read the labels.
• Where we ship. The lower 48 states and Washington, DC, except Texas for now; no Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, APO/FPO or international. The order page flags any row we can't ship to, so you can fix it or take it out.

Where Personalized Gifts Delivered Fits for a Law Firm's Client List

A firm's gift has three jobs: go to each client at the address they chose, come from their own attorney, and tell no one else at the door anything. One Personalized Gifts Delivered order per attorney does all three:

• Each client's own address, from one list per attorney, each box shipped on its own with tracking.
• A card from their own attorney that greets each client by first name, sealed in its envelope on the lid.
• Nothing on the outside. A plain white carton; the return address shows PersonalizedGiftsDelivered.com, and your firm's name appears only on the card inside.
• A record for the file. When the boxes ship, one email brings a spreadsheet of recipient, ship date, carrier, tracking number and $35 per box, an itemized record for your compliance file.

Add your logo (or type your website and we'll find it), or a photo or a few words for a personal gift; check the preview of your mug and card; add your address list; and pay $35 per box. We print, pack and ship each box to its own address. We ship from New York. Ships within 2 business days of a complete order (your design, your address list and payment). Ships by USPS Ground Advantage or UPS Ground, with tracking, and usually arrives 2–5 business days after it ships. Delivery dates are carrier estimates, not guarantees, and run slower in mid-December.

Each client receives a logo mug gift box with Ghirardelli cocoa, Lindt truffles and a personal card from their own attorney: your logo printed small on an 11 oz white ceramic mug, Ghirardelli premium hot cocoa and 4 Lindt LINDOR milk chocolate truffles, in a matte-black gift box with a magnetic lid. Each attorney's list ready? Start your order: $35 per box, delivered, no minimum.