{"id":139249,"date":"2025-12-18T10:27:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/18\/holiday-parties-yay-or-nay\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T10:27:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:27:51","slug":"holiday-parties-yay-or-nay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/18\/holiday-parties-yay-or-nay\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Parties: Yay Or Nay?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/figure>\n

Is there anything worse than a holiday office party? I can think of nothing less fun than spending several hours with colleagues at lunch or dinner or cocktails in settings outside of the office. For those like me, the whine is usually \u201cDo I have to go?\u201d Making an appearance even if you don\u2019t stay very long is crucial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, you do need to show up, for the same reason that\u00a0 you need to appear in person in the office every once in a while. Matching the face to the work done is a smart idea. Employers frown on nonparticipation unless your reason for not attending is better than excuses such as your need to clean up your cat\u2019s hairballs, an attack of last-minute Christmas shopping, and other similar lame reasons.<\/p>\n

If you say that \u201cThe court has ordered us back today this afternoon at 1:30. I have to be there,\u201d or \u201cThis deal has to\u00a0 close this afternoon,\u201d you should be excused from attending, but not always. Other than the last two, which are legitimate explanations for begging off (as long as you can proffer the reason with a straight face) you are doomed to spend several hours showing your holiday spirit, if you have any. Maybe not, given this year.<\/p>\n

Enforced socializing, hanging out with others whom you normally would not spend a New York minute out of the office with, those you have nothing in common with except that the same employer\u2019s name is on all the paystubs \u2026 blech.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Booze at these parties? If employers are smart (and there\u2019s plenty of evidence in case law and elsewhere that some managers\/supervisors may be two branches short of a Christmas tree or a Hanukkah bush) there would be no imbibing of any booze during such festivities (and I use that term advisedly). There are way too many reported cases of employees enjoying themselves too much in inappropriate ways. Manners matter.<\/p>\n

Free food, free booze (if it is served) can be too tempting for many of us mere mortals. When there\u2019s free-flowing booze at holiday parties, there is more than just temptation, there are events with potential consequences. Do EPLI carriers need to be on standby or even attend?<\/p>\n

At some office parties, attendees are expected to dress appropriately for the time and place. At others, just showing up suffices. If there is a meal \u2014 and often there isn\u2019t \u2014 just appetizers and drink, it\u2019s more likely that attendees will make a brief appearance, long enough to see and be seen, and then skedaddle. Excuses like \u201cI promised to be home by X time,\u201d or \u201cthe kids have [insert kind] practice and what with traffic, I am going to be later than promised,\u201d or the best one, at least for ingratiating purposes, \u201cI need to get back to the office to finish drafting the motion that I know Partner A wants to read tomorrow.\u201d This, of course, is said not necessarily in front of Partner A but within earshot.<\/p>\n

And how about those \u201cSecret Santa\u201d exchanges? Does anyone else find them as cringe-inducing as I do? Watching colleagues snatch gifts from each other has never been a favorite spectator sport of mine.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t stand in a group of your colleagues and talk about yourself. Not only does no one want to hear it, they probably already know about it, having heard about it at the coffee bar, or whatever today has replaced the \u201cwater cooler\u201d as the hub for gossip and conversation. No one enjoys hanging out with a narcissist, so if you see everyone drift away, get the hint so that they don\u2019t have to get the hook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, be on your guard with what you say and with who\u2019s listening. I never thought that would be something we citizens had to fear, but with the first year of 47\u2019s second term coming to a\u00a0 close, you can\u2019t be too careful. Just as \u201cloose lips sink ships,\u201d (was that term in use before our current Secretary of Defense aka War?) anyone\u2019s behavior, comments, social media, and the like are now grist for being included on a list of \u201cdomestic terrorists.\u201d I wish I was making this up, but I am not. Instead of Santa checking whether someone has been naughty or nice, this list now will allow our federal government \u2014 yes, yours, mine, and ours \u2014 to reward citizens who rat on others<\/a> to identify purported acts of domestic terrorism. Please STFU. An arrest may suffice for doling out reward bucks. I am not kidding. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will we become a nation of informants? Something to worry about in the new year? Remember Spy vs. Spy<\/a> in Mad Magazine? This makes me want to have a drink, but not at an office holiday party.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>oldladylawyer@gmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Holiday Parties: Yay Or Nay?<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Is there anything worse than a holiday office party? I can think of nothing less fun than spending several hours with colleagues at lunch or dinner or cocktails in settings outside of the office. For those like me, the whine is usually \u201cDo I have to go?\u201d Making an appearance even if you don\u2019t stay very long is crucial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yes, you do need to show up, for the same reason that\u00a0 you need to appear in person in the office every once in a while. Matching the face to the work done is a smart idea. Employers frown on nonparticipation unless your reason for not attending is better than excuses such as your need to clean up your cat\u2019s hairballs, an attack of last-minute Christmas shopping, and other similar lame reasons.<\/p>\n

If you say that \u201cThe court has ordered us back today this afternoon at 1:30. I have to be there,\u201d or \u201cThis deal has to\u00a0 close this afternoon,\u201d you should be excused from attending, but not always. Other than the last two, which are legitimate explanations for begging off (as long as you can proffer the reason with a straight face) you are doomed to spend several hours showing your holiday spirit, if you have any. Maybe not, given this year.<\/p>\n

Enforced socializing, hanging out with others whom you normally would not spend a New York minute out of the office with, those you have nothing in common with except that the same employer\u2019s name is on all the paystubs \u2026 blech.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Booze at these parties? If employers are smart (and there\u2019s plenty of evidence in case law and elsewhere that some managers\/supervisors may be two branches short of a Christmas tree or a Hanukkah bush) there would be no imbibing of any booze during such festivities (and I use that term advisedly). There are way too many reported cases of employees enjoying themselves too much in inappropriate ways. Manners matter.<\/p>\n

Free food, free booze (if it is served) can be too tempting for many of us mere mortals. When there\u2019s free-flowing booze at holiday parties, there is more than just temptation, there are events with potential consequences. Do EPLI carriers need to be on standby or even attend?<\/p>\n

At some office parties, attendees are expected to dress appropriately for the time and place. At others, just showing up suffices. If there is a meal \u2014 and often there isn\u2019t \u2014 just appetizers and drink, it\u2019s more likely that attendees will make a brief appearance, long enough to see and be seen, and then skedaddle. Excuses like \u201cI promised to be home by X time,\u201d or \u201cthe kids have [insert kind] practice and what with traffic, I am going to be later than promised,\u201d or the best one, at least for ingratiating purposes, \u201cI need to get back to the office to finish drafting the motion that I know Partner A wants to read tomorrow.\u201d This, of course, is said not necessarily in front of Partner A but within earshot.<\/p>\n

And how about those \u201cSecret Santa\u201d exchanges? Does anyone else find them as cringe-inducing as I do? Watching colleagues snatch gifts from each other has never been a favorite spectator sport of mine.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t stand in a group of your colleagues and talk about yourself. Not only does no one want to hear it, they probably already know about it, having heard about it at the coffee bar, or whatever today has replaced the \u201cwater cooler\u201d as the hub for gossip and conversation. No one enjoys hanging out with a narcissist, so if you see everyone drift away, get the hint so that they don\u2019t have to get the hook.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Finally, be on your guard with what you say and with who\u2019s listening. I never thought that would be something we citizens had to fear, but with the first year of 47\u2019s second term coming to a\u00a0 close, you can\u2019t be too careful. Just as \u201cloose lips sink ships,\u201d (was that term in use before our current Secretary of Defense aka War?) anyone\u2019s behavior, comments, social media, and the like are now grist for being included on a list of \u201cdomestic terrorists.\u201d I wish I was making this up, but I am not. Instead of Santa checking whether someone has been naughty or nice, this list now will allow our federal government \u2014 yes, yours, mine, and ours \u2014 to reward citizens who rat on others<\/a> to identify purported acts of domestic terrorism. Please STFU. An arrest may suffice for doling out reward bucks. I am not kidding. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will we become a nation of informants? Something to worry about in the new year? Remember Spy vs. Spy<\/a> in Mad Magazine? This makes me want to have a drink, but not at an office holiday party.<\/p>\n

\n

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She\u2019s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact \u2014 it\u2019s not always civil. You can reach her by email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>[email\u00a0protected]<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is there anything worse than a holiday office party? I can think of nothing less fun than spending several hours with colleagues at lunch or dinner or cocktails in settings outside of the office. For those like me, the whine is usually \u201cDo I have to go?\u201d Making an appearance even if you don\u2019t stay […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":139239,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/dance-dancing-holiday-party-Christmas-parties-6IfEbI.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}