We’re still in the midst of pandemic uncertainty, but it’s that time of year where many of your soon-to-be lawyer friends or family members are graduating from law school.
Normally, it's a momentous occasion, in which the graduating law school class may imbibe copious amounts of alcohol to commemorate studying hard for finals.
Obviously, this was a strange year. Many graduation ceremonies probably happened remotely and, while that never stopped a Zoom happy hour from happening, it’s just a weird time to celebrate.
You may be wondering, what are some clever law school graduation gift ideas I can give these fresh graduates who just emerged from their law school hovel into an even bleaker future?
Here are 10 unique graduation gift ideas for law school students:
1. A Decently Thoughtful Care Package
Yes, these poor law school graduates could use a hug, but with social distancing requirements in place, you should not be within 6-feet of each other. The next best thing you can do, especially if you don’t already live together, is send them a care package!
A care package is basically a collection of a bunch of little related things where, if you had only sent one of the items by itself, it would be a lame gift. However, when put all together, it transforms into an awesome present.
Here are some things you can put in a care package for law students: healthy snacks
2. Snarky Greeting Cards
In a currently overcrowded digital world, while it’s easy to shoot someone a text or ask them to like your latest Tik Tok video, a funny greeting card in the mail really stands out.
Here are a few law school graduation cards that will really drive home the message of “I’m so happy for you” but also “stay far away and don’t breathe on me”, which is exactly the balance you’d want to strike right now:
As another upside, greeting cards have built-in expectation delays, so if you haven’t connected with that law school grad during the appropriate window of time, you can claim that USPS delays held up an otherwise timely-sent envelope.
3. Inspirational Prints
A print of a comic, image or quotation that is especially relatable to the recipient can be a wonderful present because it serves the dual purpose of being both entertaining and also a wall/office adornment.
However, let’s get to the real reason why you’d want to give a print–prints are a fantastic way to encourage someone to hang up and look at a message or token of appreciation from you every day until their lease ends or they move to a new home.
Accordingly, prints are one of the most effective mechanisms to make sure someone’s always thinking of you.
Here are some law school related prints that you can give as gifts and use to show off your superb dark sense of humor:
If you have a favorite comic from my archive that you like or think will be better suited for the law grad, you can get a custom print of that comic.
Or if you’re feeling super creative and want to give a truly one-of-a-kind graduation present, you can request a comic commission and I’ll create a unique comic just for you to gift.
4. A Gorgeous Wallpaper Mural
It’s not a great time to travel right now... so why not bring that beautiful ocean-side dream destination right to the door of that lucky law school grad in your life? No, I don’t mean shipping them a box full of sand and shells.
Instead, send them the illusion of being somewhere else with a realistic wallpaper mural!
In these dark times, even a split second of confusion that you’re overlooking a tranquil lake at sunset instead of a tiny apartment that opens into a garbage-filled alleyway would be worth it.
5. Indoor Gym Equipment
One of the best ways to relieve stress is through… medication that numbs your feelings. In lieu of that, the second best thing you could encourage is exercise!
A punching bag set can go a long way toward showing you care about that special person’s physical and mental health and it also keeps them on their toes because it could also be taken as a subtle sign that they need to start working out.
Either way, it brings the gym and stress relief therapy straight into their home without the sweaty towels strewn all over the locker room.
6. Natural Light Therapy Lamp / Motivational Light Box
Law offices are depressing and new law associates will naturally get the crappiest office with no windows and therefore no sunlight. Worst, they’ll most likely be stuck in their dark office for 15+ hours a day with no glimpse of hope.
So why not get them a natural light therapy lamp?
Or this inspirational light box–you might even want to add on a bottle of Vitamin D to help with their sunlight deficiency.
7. Non-Generic Mugs
Containers for hot beverages are very popular gifts especially for attorneys. It’s understandable. You’re going to need 5 cups of caffeine a day to keep your eyelids open as you read through dense legal jargon that you absolutely couldn’t care less about.
But even with a generic gift idea like a mug, you can still stand out from the crowd by making it personalized to the recent law grad like this attorney mug:
Pair this gift with some medium to dark roast coffee beans.
8. Fancy Planners & Journals
A lot of lawyers I know are super OCD planners. I don’t know if becoming a lawyer brings out the neuroticism in us or we were always neurotic to begin with and it just gets magnified as an attorney. Either way, lawyers are constantly writing down never-ending todo lists and bucket list items they’ll never get to do.
There are a millions types of planners/journals out there that claim to be the best and honestly, it really depends on your preferences, but I find that a simple blank moleskin journal works just fine.
9. Fake Plants
Being a plant parent is the latest trend. But lawyers don’t have time to be good parents (and plants can’t survive without natural sunlight–see gift #6).
The next best thing is to gift the new lawyer a fake plant. It looks just as pretty and doesn’t come with all the extra responsibilities and stress of having to take care of one.
10. Words of Wisdom from Others
They say the most successful people and CEOs read 100 books a year.
In lieu of giving 100 books, you can opt instead for an audible membership which not only saves trees but also lets you multitask and read while getting those billable hours (warning: productivity levels will decline when multitasking).
If you really want to gift a nice paperback book, then opt for something life-changing and unique like “Comics for the Disgruntled Lawyer”. Granted, it might take the recent law grad a few more years before becoming disillusioned... but it'll happen.
Or give something truly practical that no recent law student graduate wants but will most definitely use–a bar exam prep book.
Hopefully, you got some useful law school graduation gift ideas and inspiration from this list. At the end of the day, it’s the thought that counts and if it helps lower expectations, law students will already be in a state of gratitude for surviving law school that anything more than that will be a bonus.
*Note that some of these are affiliated links, but I wouldn't promote them unless they were gifts that I would've actually wanted for my law school graduation.
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