Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Any item or benefit possessing economic or other utility. The phrase encompasses both tangible property and intangibles such as information, services, promises, or opportunities that can be transferred or received.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
6
Paid In-App Legal Referral Button
FinPath offers Naomi a prominent button in its financial app that routes users to her securities practice. Naomi pays FinPath a flat fee for each consultation booked through the button. The payment constitutes a thing of value exchanged for the platform's placement service rather than a prohibited recommendation.
Judicial Appointment Contribution
A law firm contributes funds to a judicial candidate's campaign shortly before seeking appointment to represent a state agency. The contribution qualifies as a thing of value given to obtain consideration for the government legal engagement.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Model Codes
Common Law
Casebooks
Study Supplements
Southern Union employees sell internal compliance records belonging to the United States. The records constitute a thing of value under the federal theft statute because they contain proprietary data that can be monetized.
Southern Union Co. v. United States567 U.S. 343 (2012)
Honest Services Bribery Scheme
An executive receives undisclosed payments from a vendor in exchange for steering contracts. The payments represent a thing of value that supplies the bribe element in the honest-services fraud prosecution.
Skilling v. United States561 U.S. 358, 407, 130 S.Ct. 2896, 2930, 177 L.Ed.2d 619 (2010)
Homegrown Marijuana Exchange
Raich cultivates marijuana plants at home and barters portions with others. The plants and the resulting product qualify as a thing of value capable of entering interstate commerce under the Commerce Clause analysis.
Gonzales v. Raich545 U.S. 1 (2005)
Abandoned Government Property Taking
Morissette removes spent bomb casings from a government bombing range believing them abandoned. The casings remain a thing of value belonging to the United States, triggering the requirement to prove criminal intent under the conversion statute.
Morrissette v. United States342 U.S. 246, 72 S.Ct. 240, 96 L.Ed. 288.
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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Does the phrase include intangible benefits such as information or promises?+
Yes. Courts and statutes treat intangibles like confidential data, sexual favors, and promises of future action as things of value when they confer an advantage or can be exchanged.
Supporting sources
When does paying a third party for client exposure cross into giving a thing of value for a recommendation?+
Payment crosses the line when it is conditioned on the third party steering specific clients or endorsing the lawyer by name rather than merely providing neutral advertising space or a flat fee for placement.
Supporting sources
Are political contributions treated as a thing of value under judicial appointment rules?+
Yes. A contribution or solicitation made to obtain or be considered for a government legal engagement or judicial appointment constitutes a thing of value that triggers scrutiny under the political contribution rule.
Supporting sources
How does the term function in theft or conversion prosecutions involving government property?+
The phrase covers both tangible items and intangible records or data belonging to the United States, so long as the item possesses worth that can be converted or sold.
Supporting sources
481 U.S. 279 (1987)Criminal Procedure
…study was flawed in several respects. Because of these defects, the court held that the Baldus study "fail[ed] to contribute anything of value" to McCleskey's claim. Id., at 372 (emphasis omitted). Accordingly, the court denied the petition insofar as it was based upon the Baldus study. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh…