Practical Gift Advice When Shopping for New Lawyers

By George Khoury, Esq. on November 21, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Shopping for lawyers is never easy, especially if you consider the fact that the person you are shopping for is a lawyer, or will be one very soon. Lawyers are, by nature, picky, and by trade, generally able to buy whatever they want for themselves, or will be able to very soon at least. And with Black Friday fast approaching (or already past depending on when you read this), time is already running out to find that perfect gift.

If you're a lawyer, you probably figured it out pretty soon after becoming one: lawyers are regular people and want the same regular things that other people want as gifts. Yes, we know the law and that's awesome, but we're still humans, just generally a bit more logical. Basically, if you're shopping for a lawyer, the difficult part might just be finding something thoughtful that they don't already have.

Below, you can get some helpful advice on shopping for the lawyers in your life.

You might think the lawyer in your life would love a squeaking rubber gavel, but consider for a moment: if they actually wanted one of those, they would have spent three dollars on it themselves, or picked one up for free at some networking event or conference.

If you're gifting anything to anyone, unless you are certain they will love the novelty garbage you want to give them, just avoid silly novelties. Instead, consider getting personal or maybe a bit technical. And if you're going to get one of those novelty gifts, make sure you're doing it for them, and not for you. For example, instead of the silly rubber gavel, consider something a bit fancier, like an engraved wood or brass gavel that they can at least leave in a drawer to protect themselves from unruly clients.

Outfitting New Lawyers and Law Students

If you're shopping for a new lawyer, gifting a little help acquiring a professional wardrobe is thoughtful and helpful. It can also be rather simple as you can get someone a gift card to a department store, or other clothing retailer that might specialize in professional attire.

Accessories or essentials like a leather brief bag, dress socks, scarves, umbrellas, or handkerchiefs can also work well (just be sure to always include a gift receipt with any clothing item). Protip (from my feet to theirs): Avoid those trendy-silly dress socks unless you actually are buying in person and can feel that they are high-quality, as sometimes these can be unwearable, and unwearable socks can be a real distraction.

Upscale Experiences

For new lawyers, it might be a new experience going to a really fancy salon, or spa, or getting courtside seats at a sporting event, or flying first class. While these experiences may cost (quite) a bit more, just a taste is often affordable enough.

Wine tasting and other fine-dining-tasting experiences, symphony, opera, or theater tickets, or private museum tours even, can often be found at reasonable prices. Just be mindful that you aren't missing the mark when it comes to your gift recipient's personal tastes (i.e. don't buy opera tickets for Super Bowl Sunday unless you're 100% sure they don't care about missing the Super Bowl).

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard