A Gift Guide For Law School Grads

A collection of gift ideas for graduating law students.

UPDATED FOR 2021! We didn’t update this guide for 2020 because at the time we were locked in our homes, schools were trying to figure out what Zoom School of Law would even look like, and graduations were getting canceled right and left. Which is a shame because while those were definitely more pressing stories, graduates needed a little bit of joy and recognition for their accomplishments.

The law school odyssey is coming to a close for many students this year, and before the focus shifts to studying for the bar exam and staring blankly into the middle distance contemplating disappearing job prospects, these graduates deserve some gifts.

Obviously, the best gifts for a newly minted J.D. would be “comprehensive debt relief,” “job offers,” or “straight cash, homey.” Unfortunately, you may not be able to deliver these gifts — at least not in amounts that anyone wants — or you may just not care that much about the graduate.

So we’ve compiled some gift ideas, ranging from serious to specious, for you to consider.

Before we begin, a quick policy statement: ATL is not being paid to promote any of these products, but when available from Amazon, the products are featured with affiliate links, meaning that ATL receives a small commission from Amazon if you buy something through that site.

I broke things down into categories. You can jump to a section through this table of contents, or you can scroll at your leisure:

Office Equipment
Gizmos
The Case
Toys & Games
Booze
Non-Alcoholic Drinkers
Jewelry
Books
Clothes
Art

Sponsored

Office Equipment

Unless your graduate is heading to Sullivan & Cromwell, it’s a safe bet that some degree of working from home is in the cards. So maybe spruce up the home office with a standing desk. And if the young lawyer wants to stay in shape while staring blankly at a screen, consider a companion treadmill.

If your graduate is lucky enough to have a job lined up for after the bar exam, consider office accouterments. A bare law firm office is one of the saddest scenes in the world. Levenger makes a handsome desk set that can be purchased in whole or in part to spruce up an office. The “bomber jacket” theme rests comfortably between modern and throwback. And they can decorate this set with their personalized pen set. Which they can use on their Ruth Bader Ginsburg stationery.

For a slightly more “old school” look, here’s a burgundy oak set from Amazon. This set is a little cheaper and includes a letter opener, and what gift is complete without a sharp object?

On the lighter side, there’s the Legal Decision Maker Desk Paperweight that allows a lawyer to cede all decision-making to the Fates. And here’s something for the nagging client asking for something for free.

Sponsored

Gizmos

A lot of people have Apple Watches. But those are kind of cheap looking. Here’s a smartwatch that looks professional. And yes, this is actually a picture of a smartwatch.

What about a Livescribe pen that captures both audio and digitizes notes as they’re written.

Does your grad want to stay in shape but not look like an 80-year-old woman? Either this FitBit accessory or this one from Kate Bracelet will do the trick.

The Case

The classic law school gift is a briefcase. But the days of the hard-sided rectangle of doom are in the past. A soft-sided, elegant bag that can store a laptop with room to spare is the order of the day. Here’s a nice distressed tan messenger bag.

And I’m not a big believer in gendered bags, but here’s a computer bag designed for women’s fashion.

And if you feel compelled to purchase a hard-sided briefcase, Alpine Swiss offers an expandable briefcase with pockets for modern essentials like a smartphone.

One more option is the iPad case. For example, this leather iPad Pro case from Snugg. Or if they’re on the Surface Pro 6 train, here’s a case.

Toys & Games

People love Funko Pops and there are some available for your fictional legal heroes. Like Lawyer Morty. Or there’s the soon-to-be Disney+ famous She-Hulk in lawyer attire. There’s obviously the forgotten Netflix famous Matt Murdock too.

And, of course, there’s Passing The Bar, the board game designed to help Kim Kardashian. There’s Blind Justice: The Game of Lawsuits, and an intriguing new option this year I dissent.

Maybe golf is your grad’s game? If so, there are legally-themed golf balls and divot repair tools out there.

Booze

Lawyers like to drink. They don’t call it a “JD” for nothing. But as a graduation gift, a case of PBR tall boys seems a bit gauche. It’s time to drink classy.

Is a lawyer having a good day or a bad day? This wine glass will let everyone know.

It is an indisputable truth that “Bourbon is a great way to alcohol.” Caskers, a spirit distributor founded by Harvard Law grads, offers a Whiskey Club, providing a selection of craft whiskeys.

You can also get your law grad a commemorative flask!

Non-Alcoholic Drinkers

If the grad’s liquid drug of choice is caffeine, there are some cute legally-themed coffee mugs out there. For example, this Supreme Court case mug displays famous cases when cold, and shows only shortened names when filled with hot liquid. It’s like the blue mountains on a Coors Light in reverse! Another mug with the same qualities is the Disappearing Civil Liberties mug, which shows the Bill of Rights when cold and erases those getting compromised daily when filled up and hot.

Or for the more honest out there, we have this World’s Okayest Lawyer Mug.

Jewelry

This is, admittedly, not my best category to set up since the only scenario where I’d wear a ring is if I’ve, in fact, won a Super Bowl. Thankfully I have colleagues who can help me out on this one.

Here’s a scales of justice charm with an inspirational graduation message. There’s also this one for the grad who believed she could.

Books

The hackneyed option is Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, which is, you know, one of the non-racist Seuss books. But come on, let’s get original. Maybe it’s my newfound interest in the legal significance of Dr. Seuss, but I’d go with Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. The tale of Yertle’s unrealistic demands at the expense of the minions he trods upon is just the thing to prepare the grad for a career in Biglaw.

Now this book is awesome! All the author’s New York bar exam notes illustrated with delightful cartoon stick figures. The New York Bar Picture Book may not replace their bar prep course, but it’s a fun and useful study aid.

How about the collected wit and wisdom of Mark Twain on lawyers?

There’s also The New Yorker Book of Lawyer Cartoons if your grad is the sort who wants to say, “Hey, I’m a lawyer, and I’m also pretentious.”

You can also, of course, pick up Supreme Ambitions by our old founding editor David Lat.

Clothes

Everyone needs socks.

Look, the law school graduate probably already has some professional attire — they did interview after all — so maybe you should get them something to wear when they relax. For a day every six months or so.

Like this Better Call Saul t-shirt. For It’s Always Sunny fans, they can proudly proclaim their specialty in bird law. And while many law grads shuffle off to an Am Law 200 firm, for the small or solo inclined, here’s a Nelson & Murdock shirt.

Art

How about lawyer refrigerator poetry? Perhaps you feel this is more literary than artistic, but admit it — your refrigerator poetry is more for show than publication isn’t it?

Look, when it comes to art, nothing tops dogs playing poker. Thus, I bring you “dogs being lawyers” in Breach of Promise Suit.

It doesn’t get classier than that.

Feel free to email us other suggestions!