For those of you with lawyers in your lives – whether you know them as significant others, family members, friends or acquaintances that made poor career decisions or if they're your loyal document monkeys, putting up with your last-minute requests – it's that time of year where you might want to send them a holiday gift to raise their perpetually low spirits.
However, you might be wondering what sorts of gifts would the lawyers in your life appreciate?
Here are 10 unique holiday gift ideas for lawyers and law school students:
1. A Comic Book for Lawyers
Lawyers and law students read dense legal texts all day... Be considerate and give them a break from the fine print with a picture book that illustrates their daily frustrations in a humorous way.
After all, lawyers will generally develop a dark sense of humor to be able to survive the chaos of the legal industry.
2. A Punny Holiday Greeting Card
Speaking of humor, the bar for what's funny can be quite low when you spend 12+ hours a day at the law firm office or locked away studying for law school exams... So, brighten your lawyer's (or law student's) day with a punny holiday greeting card!
Given their attention to detail, they will at first be perturbed by the incorrect spelling or use of grammar. This will result in an increase in blood pressure but, in due time, they will realize that this was an intentional use of the lowest form of humor and feel an unfamiliar flood of relief.
3. Funny Statement Cups
Given their abnormal sleeping schedules (in that they do not sleep at all), lawyers and law students are generally always drinking some sort of caffeinated beverage. Do them a favor, get them a statement cup that showcases what they're thinking.
This will also serve as a subtle warning to their colleagues that all work requests should be delayed until after the cup is empty.
4. A Lawyer-Themed Christmas Tree Ornament
What better way to honor the lawyer or law student in your life with a law-themed Christmas tree ornament? Just when they thought they could try to enjoy the holidays and separate the grueling demands of work from the one or two days of rest they may have (if they're lucky), let's remind them that they're still a lawyer and on call at all times.
At the end of the day, lawyers spend so much time practicing the law that they lose any shreds of their previous identities, so it's helpful to keep reminding them that you also only see them as a lawyer!
5. Peace and Quiet
While it may be nice in theory to "unplug", it can actually be more stress inducing for lawyers or law students to turn off their inevitable stream of work-related notifications. They'll just spiral, thinking about all of the emails and calls about urgent deals that they're missing.
Accordingly, why not plug them in even more with a high-tech sleep mask and headphone set?
That way, instead of the logistical nightmare of scheduling a weekend trip into the wilderness, they can slip on a blindfold and crawl under their desk anytime for an impromptu escape.
6. Wearable Blanket
In addition to being devoid of joy, many law firm offices and law school libraries are unnaturally chilly. Keep your favorite lawyer or law student warm (even if their hearts are already iced over from prolonged exposure to the legal industry) with a cozy, wearable blanket!
Just like how Luke Skywalker survived the cold by getting stuffed into the warm innards of a dead tauntaun, this blanket will keep your lawyer or law student's circulation flowing so that their fingers can keep typing in unpleasant conditions.
7. Ergonomic Back Massager
Craning over their computers or desks all day in unnatural positions to read dense legal texts means lawyers and law students collect an assortment of different aches and pains in their neck, shoulders, arms, and back. Help them lower their chiropractic bills with an ergonomic back massager!
This strange-looking contraption will allow them to administer their own back and shoulder massages with one hand, leaving the other one free to mark up documents or face palm when that annoying client calls again.
8. Year of No (not to be confused with Shonda Rhimes' Year of Yes)
It's a safe bet that people who've made it to law school or managed to get hired at a law firm are used to stepping up and saying "yes" to unconscionable tasks. "Can you finish this complex legal research assignment in a day?" "Yes, of course!" "Can you cancel your vacation to work on this urgent deal?" "No problem!"
How about helping them out with a cold, hard, "NO"?
The lawyers and law students in your life might have trouble uttering "no" when they most need to, so give them a button that will do the work for them! All they need to do is press it when that demanding partner bursts through their door.
Alternatively, they can also personalize their response ahead of time with a custom recordable talking button!
This is perfect for lawyers and law students who know that a binary answer is rarely appropriate and prefer to answer with, "it depends", or would like to generate more concern with a button that announces, "Warning! Warning! Detonation will occur in 5... 4... 3... 2...".
9. Desk Organizer
In the midst of several competing deadlines and working with any number of law firm partners that prefer hard copies of everything in a data room usually results in a desk that looks like a paper hurricane swept through it. Accordingly, give the lawyer or law student some semblance of control over their lives with an aesthetically pleasing desk organizer.
Just because printouts, notes, and binders are strewn all over their desk doesn't mean their other items need to be buried under all of the chaos!
10. Audible Subscription
Given the antiquated face time requirements of most law firms, the lawyers in your life have likely resumed commuting to their firms or are soon on their way to a full return to the office. Make the commute less dreadful with a subscription to Audible (the first 30 days are free)!
Lawyers and law students are usually straining their eyes every day, trying to spot any pesky spelling errors, identify when an "and" is used instead of an "or" (or vice versa), comprehend paragraphs of confusing text that could be condensed into one sentence. Let them escape without forcing them to read with an audiobook!
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Hopefully, you got some useful lawyer and/or law student holiday gift ideas and inspiration from this list!
*Note that some of these are affiliated links, but I wouldn't promote them unless they were gifts that I would've actually enjoyed as a lawyer or law student.
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