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NOTHING BUT THE RUTH!

Who Wants Pie? Celebrating Non-Traditional Holidays at Your Law Firm

By Ruth Carter

Whether Pi Day, Paralegal Day or Talk Like a Pirate Day, perhaps more offices should celebrate non-traditional holidays that fit their firm’s culture.

non-traditional holidays

I work at a somewhat non-traditional law firm. I don’t have billable hour requirements. We come and go as we please. It’s perfectly acceptable to leave in the middle of the day to go to the gym or run an errand. Dogs are welcome in the office. As an eat-what-you-kill employee, I have unlimited vacation (not that I take it). We don’t have a written dress code, though I suspect if we had one, it would be “You must wear clothes.”

Another thing I’ve noticed that makes my firm different from others is that we don’t really celebrate holidays. Of course, most of us don’t work on traditional holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but we don’t really celebrate them as a firm. We do not send holiday cards on behalf of the firm and, unless our office manager decides to do it, we don’t decorate our lobby for any holiday. It’s not a priority for us. We’re more likely to be focused on client work.

Saying Yes to Pi

There is one exception to our non-practice of non-traditional holidays, and that’s Pi Day, which takes place March 14 (3/14, 3.14 …).

Our firm does a substantial amount of intellectual property work, and most of the people in our firm are engineers, scientists, geeks or a combination thereof. A holiday that combines math and dessert is right up our alley. (Note that National Pie Day is January 23.)

We get excited about Pi Day

We don’t just make a run to the grocery store to pick up a pie. Oh, no. We place an order with a proper pie shop where they are made especially for us. Yes, our firm has an official pie shop. Our shop even topped one of our pies this year with the Greek letter “π.”

Does Your Firm Observe a Non-Traditional Holiday?

I wondered if other firms celebrate any non-traditional holidays, but was sad to see there don’t appear to be many. One lawyer said their firm celebrates Data Privacy Day (January 28) by eating cookies. Another lawyer reported this isn’t celebrated firmwide, but he celebrates the anniversary of a win in a significant case every year.

In case you are interested, there are law-related holidays, including:

  • Handcuff Day (February 20)
  • Proofreading Day (March 8) – This is the closest thing I could find to Contracts Day.
  • Legal Assistants Day (March 26)
  • Law Day (May 1)
  • Love Litigating Lawyers Day (August 31)
  • Paralegal Day (October 23)
  • Love Your Lawyer Day (1st Friday in November)
  • Bill of Rights Day (December 15)
  • Donut Day (1st Friday in June) – OK, it isn’t a legal holiday, but I figured this is something that everyone would want to celebrate.

And, in case you were wondering, Columnists’ Day is on April 18.

More offices should celebrate holidays that fit their firm’s culture, rather than feel obligated to conform to traditional ways of celebrating. Years ago, I sent out over 400 custom-made postcards to celebrate the Future Birthday of Captain Kirk (March 22). That’s something I want to integrate into my annual marketing plan going forward. It’s definitely more memorable than sending a holiday card in December — unless you’re sending me a card for Festivus (December 23).

If you’re interested in non-traditional holidays, I recommend the National Day Calendar, which lists all sorts of random and real holidays. (You can also sign up to get holiday alerts.)

Image ©imagezoo.com

You Might Also Like:

“You Don’t Need a Holiday to Show Some Love” by Ruth Carter

“Books Every Lawyer Must Read Before Opening a Law Firm” by Ruth Carter

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Categories: Law Firm Culture, Law Firm People Management, Nothing But The Ruth!, Workstyles
Originally published February 18, 2023
Last updated June 22, 2023
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Ruth Carter Ruth Carter

Ruth Carter — lawyer, writer and professional speaker — is Of Counsel with Venjuris, focusing on intellectual property, business, internet and flash mob law. Named an ABA Journal Legal Rebel, Ruth is the author of “The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers,” as well as “Flash Mob Law: The Legal Side of Planning and Participating in Pillow Fights, No Pants Rides, and Other Shenanigans.” Ruth blogs at GeekLawFirm.com and UndeniableRuth.com.

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