Does Your Law Firm Love You? An Open Thread on Exam Time Swag
From a law student tipster:
I was wondering if you've ever posted about the "care packages" big firms send their summers around finals time. I searched around your site and didn't find anything. [FN1]The things my friends are receiving from large New York and Boston firms are nuts. Tons of firm gear, Godiva chocolates, leather portfolios, popcorn, Red Bull, Starbucks cards... You name it. It would be interesting to see what firms send out to summers. Just a thought.
Love ATL - keep up the good work!
So have you received a Biglaw "care package" to get you through the next few weeks? Or is your firm just not into the holiday spirit (i.e., cheap)?
Please discuss, in the comments -- and identify firms by name if possible. Thanks.
[FN1] This is a good tipster. Many times people suggest topics to us without running a site search or looking through our archives first, and it turns out that we've already covered the subject.

FIRST! no care package though...
First! ( )o( )
from WG&M...
what's the point? you're not going to change your summer plans NOW.
latham sent me popcorn.
Irell in Los Angeles never gave me any exam Swag. I thought it was tacky.
Last year I got individually wrapped gourmet brownies and an invitation to the office holiday party. This year, so far, jack shit.
Who the fuck wants "firm gear"? That shit went straight into the trash when I was a 3L.
Foley sends the best cookies ever.
i got a happy holidays package from jones day today. coffee mug, starbucks gift card, bowling shoes, chocoloates...
nice little pick me up before my exam.
Are we talking about current 2L's who have accepted summer positions, or current 3L's who previously summered with the firm?
I just got a UPS notice that I missed a package yesterday from some company with initials I've never heard of. Maybe this is a package from Ropes Boston ... Anyone gotten anything from them? (it could also be something I ordered but forgot about :)
Nothing from Gibson, although I got a bunch of Ghiradelli a month ago
Lat, stop pandering to the snot-nosed law school readers. They don't know shit about shit.
Why don't you start a thread about "how my summer associate dog-and-pony show turned into a living hell after I became an associate."
Enjoy the happy-hours and brownies while you can, shit heads. I won't last long.
Last year I got individually wrapped gourmet brownies and an invitation to the office holiday party. This year, so far, nada.
I just got a UPS notice that I missed a package yesterday from some company with initials I've never heard of. Maybe this is a package from Ropes Boston ... Anyone gotten anything from them? (it could also be something I ordered but forgot about :)
Paul Hastings used to send individually wrapped Fairytale Brownies during exam times. The brownies were just okay, they didn't have any hash or pot in them or anything.
Nothing from Gibson, although I got a bunch of Ghiradelli a month ago
4:57(2)
That was your special order mail bomb. Be sure to pick it up from the package center later today.
I got a $100 Amex Gift card to "have dinner on the firm"
5:03 - What in the world?!?
Got a package from Mayer Brown, Chicago with a bunch of snacks, candy and chocolates. Nice thought.
5:05 - it sounds suspicious, doesn't it? "Got a package from some company I never heard of." Hmm...
Skadden sent me a condolences card because I had to settle for such a shitty firm.
5:05- Seriously?
What is this "individually wrapped" madness? Does this make you all feel better about your goddamn selves?
I accepted my offer for work at one of the big 3 in Boston, and I got no care package for this finals period.
Maybe they could send me a space heater since my landlord can't get my heat on.
If my supposedly "market" firm in NYC doesn't send me anything, is it officially TTT?
I got jack shit.
5:07 - It does, except that's what happens when these guys use third-parties to mail stuff.
Hey 4:55,
are you a 2L or 3L? And which Jones Day office are you going to be working at?
Nothing from Hogan & Hartson so far. :(
I agree with 4:59. Start a separate blog for law school kids and the gifts they got in the mail. The rest of us really don't care.
guys at my high school gave the subject of the previous ATL post in a box to girls as gifts all the time. it was no big deal.
5:09(2)
Yes. That is the official test.
Does Weil usually send a care package? I am starving.
5:13 - Damn... can you lateral as a summer?
Weil usually sends 2 girls with 1 cup to your apartment and they provide you with a snack of sorts.
Hey 4:55,
are you a 2L or 3L? And which Jones Day office are you going to be working at?
jd-
NO. you can't have my bowling shoes.
asshat.
Latham popcorn was gross. What happened to those yummy Godiva chocolate-covered pretzels?
5:09(6)
Um...Cleveland? Why?
tons of chocolate and cheese for me and my low COL...
I know Ropes Boston sent Harry and David packages this time last year.
So far, the mid-to-low AmLaw 100 firms my roommate and I are working at next summer haven't sent anything. If any recruiting folks are reading this, we'd like to request brownies.
Gift certificate to Mustang Ranch. I can't wait till finals are over!! Foursome, baby!!
I know Ropes Boston sent Harry and David packages this time last year.
So far, the mid-to-low AmLaw 100 firms my roommate and I are working at next summer haven't sent anything. If any recruiting folks are reading this, we'd like to request brownies.
Gift certificate to Mustang Ranch. I can't wait till finals are over!! Foursome, baby!!
got a dick in a box, send it back?
bowling shoes? that is so random...are they the cool rental style ones with the different colors? A teacher tried to give my sister detention in high school for stealing a pair and making them part of her wardrobe...
Yes. Foley & Lardner did send some yummy cookies. They were individually wrapped also and in a ribbon tied silver papered box with a snowflake ornament attached. Tis a shame I shall have eaten them all before finals next week.
K&E gave really good brownies my year
S&C to bonzai christmas trees?
5:16
That tiny bag of pretzels was crap too, though I did get three of them for some reason. Irell sent cookies and brownies and OMM sent a large amount of Halloween cookies that were also better. This well of baked goods really dried up after I accepted a summer offer though.
Guys at my high school never posted about what guys at their high school did or did not do, but it was no big deal.
nothing from Ropes yet...not that it really matters.
5:08(1): funniest post so far, by far, but tintcr
S&C sent a delivery boy to my apartment who proceded to throw a pencil on the floor and tell me to bend over and pick it up, noting that he'd bet that I liked it.
It was both contemporary and tasteful. Well done, Sullivan.
I've only received package bombs from the Vault 100 firms that I mass mailed/cold called. I don't think they had chocolate inside - mostly just ball bearings, nails and explosives.
what does TTT mean? i worked for a V30 firm last year and got no care package. actually, i may have gotten a large bag of m&ms in firm colors, which were apparently every color in the rainbow, but that could have just been for accepting. do 3Ls ever get gifts? or is our present when we arrive in september and get welcomed to the real world, not the fake summer?
zilch. but would've been really impressed!
My Firm sent me an envelope, with a pink piece of paper inside.
I'm afraid to open it; I know it's not Hello Kitty paraphernalia because I am a boy.
5:40: please tell me what firm sent you a bag of M&Ms for accepting an offer? That is some budget shit right there.
What's in the WGM package?
Individually wrapped = I could pawn them off on other people and look thoughtful. Mailmen, property managers, whoever.
nothing from wachtell or the firm i worked at last summer.
5:36 is not getting NEARLY enough attention. Best post by far.
"What's in the booooxxxx??"
nothing from dp dubs...I would like something though, hint hint. coffee? diamonds? a puppy?
Vinson & Elkins sent gourmet cookies and a throw blanket the past couple of years.
Hmm, swag now, anal rapings later, sign me up!
Oh wait I did. And there's a grinning partner at my door right. . .
(bending down to grab ankles)
1Ls at Hofstra got gifts from the prospective v50 firms all the time, it was no big deal that we didn't have grades because we already got accepted to Hofstra.
Associates get yearly swag as well. I just got a big gift basket from the copy vendor. I had them do lots of bates labeling, in return they sent me 10,000 calories of candy and cookies. Now I can gain weight without even leaving my desk. Who knew doc review could be so fattening?
Speaking of Latham, what's the word on bonuses over there? They seem to be the only firm worth mentioning that hasn't announced anything (including an anouncement saying they'd announce later). Are people worried that they're going to get a haircut compared to NYC peers?
Firms that send shwag are TTT. Truly prestigious firms only send dank.
CWT sent me a cockpunch-o-gram. It hurt, but in a good way.
Last year (2L), a mug, a Starbucks card, some candy, and a fleece throw.
This year a firm-logo laptop bag.
Last year the card was handwritten, this year it was printed.
do firms gift giving have any correlation to your law school? for example, if i went to yale or harvard, could i expect to get a great gift. but if i go to a top 50 law school with very good grades, would the same firm send me nothing?
As a 2L I got tons of shit from Kirkland, as a 3L. . . nothing :(
I just got my gift, it was notice that we have to respond to a subpoena and I will be reviewing documents up and through the holidays and that I should have "most, if not all" of my time available to devote to this....
Hogan will send you something - when you are studying for the bar as well. They are just a bit slow sometimes.
heller sf sent $25 starbucks cards
Seeing as how I won't be doing any fancy Summer Associate work, I'll be getting nothing.
A few years back S&C sent $50 gift certificates to both Barnes & Noble and Starbucks, as well as huge gift baskets with expensive chocolate and various other snacks.
What's the covington swag?
4:59(2) and 5:12(1), seriously, just fall on a fucking knife, you motherfuckers. We have to endure your repetitive bullshit bonus posts, you'll deal with an occasional law school post. Assholes.
Firm that no offered sent me a package. I thought they had reconsidered and decided to offer me a job. But it turned out to be a box full of anthrax spores.
Has anyone gotten anything from K&E?
Weil sent me some candy around haloween
The cock punch and anthrax spores posts almost sent coffee shooting out of my nose.
5:47 (3) = bpsf
nothing from willkie.
haynes & boone sent me a $100 amex card
Hughes Hubbard & Reed sent a care package full of firm schwag. Mostly pretty nice stuff (considering that it's, you know, firm schwag.) Gym bag, H2O bottle, umbrella, pen, coffee mug, etc etc... Plus the most ill-advised corporate tshirt I've ever ever laid eyes on (think Warhol takes on C.E. Hughes.)
Jack from Gibson. Some firms also send bar exam swag....but they apparently don't do that either.
Clifford Chance sent a package of cookies, brownies and other tasty candy/food last year around this time. Later in the year they sent a messenger bag and some other stuff.
Ropes last year sent spring exam packages too to those who accepted. Is that the norm?
Nicest gift was a picnic basket and blanket from Dechert. (again, last year)
Jones Day - chocolate covered pretzels
Who cares about swag? Its not coming from your future coworkers, its coming from some BS marketing/HR department. Either way the firm could give two shits about you and the partners are going to run you into the ground for several years, suck every last billable hour out of you and then not bat an eyelash as you quit the firm and some other naive, fresh-faced jackass comes in eager to grab the world by the horns only to have the horrible crushing weight that is BIGLAW extinguish every last ounce of energy and originality from their once vibrant soul.
But seriously, who Lindt chocoloates?
My firm sent me a box... I pounded her and left a good tip.
nothing from cravath :(
Shearman gave iPods to all summers. I can't remember if they were nanos or shuffle.
The worst day of exams is better than the BEST day of document review in Dayton...
I didnt even get the popcorn from Latham -
Can I unaccept?
Kaye Scholer sent me m&ms with "Kaye Scholer" written really tiny on each one of them, and playing cards, and a winter hat with their logo, and some other snack stuff...
Nothing from Skadden :(
Its already been said but Mayer Brown Chicago sent a bunch of Candy. Seeing the other gifts I think I got shorted.
Its already been said but Mayer Brown Chicago sent a bunch of Candy. Seeing the other gifts I think I got shorted.
Loyola 2L- I got the same packages, except the ones from the sub-v100 firms were mostly filled with scraps of aluminum and used paperclips (clearly too cheap for quality nails and bolts)
nothing from Steptoe. They're right next to a Krispy Kreme, though. I'd take a box of that shit.
Nothing...sheesh...
6:19
You will become us, but we will not become you. Bonus posts are relevant for each group.
3L who switched to NYC office of Magic Circle firm (not Clifford Chance)
No schwag, Starbucks card, Printed holiday card, and a bottle of veuve clicquot.
Not great, but better than the popcorn, cookies, and hot chocolate my 2L firm sent me.
Irell LA sent a box of cookies upon offer being accepted, but has sent nothing for finals/holidays.
Clifford sent out a fleece-throw during the fall. I'm waiting on the cookies and brownies now through - exactly what I need around Xmas time.
Chadbourne last year sent the 2Ls a blanket, popcorn and a Blockbuster gift card
Seriously. If you actually think your firm gives a rat's ass about you because they sent you godiva chocolates, it is going to be a long first year.
And if you wear that hat with your firm's logo on it, you deserve whatever beating you get.
HOW MANY LAW STUDENTS ARE ON HERE... WTF?!?!
i got a box from dla last week with cookies, candy, and snacks. my study companion sitting here says he didn't get jack from pillsbury.
last summer goodwin procter boston sent out a gp mug with a starbucks card i think...
Law students studying for finals??? On the Internet??? This is outrageous!!!
i got nothing!!! NOTHING!!!!
Guys in my high school used to get useless holiday shit all the time from law firms that would grind them into the ground once they passed the bar, it was no big deal.
...prepare to be eaten alive, cannonfodder!
Fish & Richardson sent its summers a future paycut. Merry Christmas.
I thought the Latham popcorn was delicious - although I was baked out of my head when I ate it
Weil sent a See's Candies basket on Halloween and a Manhattan Portage messenger bag
Fulbright and Jaworski sent out cookie packages.
K&E still sends the really good brownies.
Guys at my high school gave each other handjobs in the shower all the time, it was no big deal.
"Who the fuck wants "firm gear"? That shit went straight into the trash when I was a 3L."
My firm gave me a really nice Lands' End duffle, which has come in handy on many a trip, both for work and pleasure. It has the firm name on it, but so what?
Cravath is proud to not give out care packages. I have no idea why, but I asked once and the legal recruiter seemed overly pleased to tell me that they "don't do" holiday care packages.
my firm sent me a big bird costume with the firm logo on it!
my firm sent me a scarecrow!
My firm sent me a big black dildo and told me to bend over and start practicing
Don't all Hofstra law students get gift bags from every BigLaw NY firm? I thought once you got accepted to a school like Hofstra that you get showered with gifts.
So is someone just impersonating Hof1L or is this girl going down Loyola 2L's path? At least Loyola2L has a sense of perspective. Hof1L is just delusional.
Nothing yet, but I did get some delicious Hannukah cookies from my mom.
I don't mean to sound delusional. It's just...since I got into Hofstra, most of the attorneys I've met through career fairs and networking events have really seemed to like me.
I'm not an airhead. I know - being a female that's shaped well in the right spots may have something to do with it - but I thought part of it was Hofstra.
I also got the candy/snack pack from Mayer ...but I had declined the offer a few weeks earlier! Alas, the firm I accepted has sent me nothing.
Hogan NY: Some nice Ogio Laptop bags for the 2L incoming summers. It was not for the holidays or anything, just sometime after you accepted.
MLB sent a package with 1lb. coffee, snacks, candy, etc.
A messenger came to the door and handed me a clipboard. While I reached for my pen, he kicked me in the balls. Then, after I signed the clipboard, he said "Welcome to the Real Deal".
I thought it was pretty prestigious.
To pile on, 8:35 also appears to be under the erroneous impression that L2L is a real person.
I have been blessed to already receive 5 Big Law rejection letters this holiday season. The letters have come as quickly as I could send out resumes. Some 1L's might like to get chocolate as a finals prep. gift, but I am lactose intolerant, so these letters have been more enjoyable because they've caused slightly less diarrhea.
I have a final tomorrow and I'm forced to sit here a surf the goddamn internet without and goddamn free snacks from my goddamn firm! this is BULLSHIT!!!!
Now I know what it feels like to be homeless and out on the street. This is goddamn pathetic.
8:57,
Thank you for explaining it to 8:35. I also witnessed the initial flaming that ensued after the initial appearance of Hof1L. I still chuckle when I see her/him post...and s/he still gets replies.
yeah, i got the candy and messenger bag from weil. Now I have a nice collection of law firm messenger bags... i am gonna try to sell them on ebay. Like I said, I'm starving.
If I don't get a bottle of Veuve, a $100 Amex, or at least something I can brag to my family about over Christmas by Friday, I'm withdrawing my offer.
And to all you people who don't like law school threads, DON'T READ LAW SCHOOL THREADS.
Oh, and the BigLawyers who tell us that our future firms don't really care about us are really enlightening me. I never knew that working would be different from being wined and dined. Thanks 5:51, 5:56, and 6:45!
9.26 - a $100 AMEX ... wow, go crazy kid!! buy yourself some nice ...colored paper
9:41 - you're right, a $100 Amex card is not a lot of money.... but it is the best gift listed here so far.