Artwork for a law office: 7 art prints on law and justice, also as a gift for a lawyer

The right artwork for a law office is the kind that tells, without any explanation, what work is done behind that door: the law, the spoken word, justice. An abstract painting decorates; a scene from Roman law or ancient philosophy tells the client they are sitting in front of someone who knows the roots of their profession. And for a lawyer it is also the most fitting gift: they will see it every day, from the first client to the last hearing.

In this guide you will find 7 art prints for a lawyer's office, grouped into three themes: oratory and justice, Roman law, philosophy. They range from €154 to €270, and for each one we tell you what it depicts, which office it suits best and which lawyer it is the right gift for.

How to choose artwork for a law office

Before looking at the prints, three questions.

What style is the office? In a classic office, with wooden bookcases, leather armchairs and imposing desks, historical scenes and beech frames are right at home. In a modern office, with light walls and essential furniture, contrast works: a single large old artwork on a white wall becomes the focal point of the room, more than any abstract painting.

Which wall and which size? The reception and the waiting room are the first thing the client sees: here you need a work that reads from a distance, such as a large map of 45 x 65 cm (17.7 x 25.6 in) or a canvas. The meeting room takes a pair of prints of the same size side by side well. The wall behind the desk is the one the client looks at for the whole meeting: better a single work, centred, that says something about the person sitting at the desk.

What message do you want to give? Authority is conveyed by the great scenes of the Roman Senate; justice by Justinian's law and by Socrates, who accepted his sentence even though he believed it unjust; culture by the School of Athens. A criminal lawyer may choose oratory, a civil lawyer the origins of civil law, someone working in international law a map.

Oratory and justice

Before the codes, justice in Rome was made of words spoken before an assembly. These are the scenes every lawyer feels closest to.

1. Cicero Denounces Catiline, by Cesare Maccari

2. Fabius Maximus before the Senate of Carthage, by Giambattista Tiepolo

Roman law

Italian civil law, like that of almost all of continental Europe, descends from Rome. These three prints tell where it all began.

3. The map of the Eastern Roman Empire under Justinian I

4. The map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent

5. The Roman Forum, by Lancelot Théodore Turpin de Crissé

Philosophy

Before the law comes the question of what is just. Two works for the office of someone who loves to reason.

6. The Death of Socrates, by Jacques-Louis David

7. The School of Athens, by Raphael

Which one to choose: the quick guide

• Criminal or trial lawyer: Cicero Denounces Catiline (€154) or the Death of Socrates (€185).
• Civil lawyer or notary: the map of Justinian's empire (€170).
• Business lawyer, arbitration, negotiation: Fabius Maximus before the Senate of Carthage (€270).
• Reception or large meeting room: the map of the empire at its greatest extent (€220).
• Understated, modern office: Turpin de Crissé's Roman Forum (€209).
• Law partnership or law degree: the School of Athens (€210).

Why it is not a poster

In a law office clients notice everything, including the quality of a picture. That is why our prints are made the way they used to be.

Fabius Maximus before the Senate of Carthage is the only exception: it is printed on fine-grain painter's canvas, like a painting, in a larger size.

A gift for a lawyer: which print for which occasion

A picture for the office is one of the few gifts a lawyer really uses: it does not end up in a drawer like the tenth pen, and it stays on the wall for a whole career. Here is how to match it to the occasion.

Admission to the bar. Passing the bar exam is the finish line of years of practice. The perfect gift is Cicero Denounces Catiline: the greatest advocate of Rome, on the day of his most famous speech. It is also the one people enjoy giving most, because everyone recognises it.

Swearing-in. With the oath, Italian lawyers pledge before the Bar Council to practise with loyalty, honour and diligence. For such a solemn moment, the Death of Socrates: the man who respected the law to the very end.

Law degree. Anyone who has just finished studying Roman law will recognise Justinian at once: the map of Justinian's empire or the School of Athens, which shares its room with Tribonian and the Pandects, are the ideal graduation gift for someone entering the world of law. If you love history as much as the graduate, our guide to gifts for history lovers has more ideas.

Opening the office. A new office has empty walls. Here it pays to think big: the map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent for the reception, or Fabius Maximus before the Senate of Carthage for the meeting room. We told its story in the map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent.

Latin legal maxims for the card

For a lawyer, a Latin maxim written by hand is worth more than any greeting. Four ideas, with their real origin:

Iuris praecepta sunt haec: honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, suum cuique tribuere, "the precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to harm no one, to give everyone their due". It comes from the jurist Ulpian and is in Justinian's Digest (1.1.10). Perfect with the map of Justinian.

Legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus, "we are servants of the laws so that we may be free": Cicero wrote it in his speech Pro Cluentio (146). Pair it with Cicero Denounces Catiline.

Dura lex, sed lex, "the law is harsh, but it is the law". Note: in this form it is not a classical phrase but a traditional maxim. It is traced back to a passage of Ulpian in the Digest (40.9.12.1), where the jurist admits that a rule is very harsh, "but that is how the law is written". Ideal with the Death of Socrates.

Ubi societas, ibi ius, "where there is society, there is law". This too is a legal maxim, not a quotation from an ancient author: it sums up the idea that no community exists without rules. Lovely with the Roman Forum or the map of the empire.

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