My younger grandson is in his final year of law school (Penn State). I'm starting to think about a graduation gift.

What do y'all SIGforum lawyers recommend?

Of course it depends greatly on budget, as well as personal tastes and what he may already have. A nice pen, either conventional like a Mont Blanc fountain pen, or ball point. Or one of the more modern pens- I’ve seen some machined out of solid titanium, copper, bronze. A briefcase, like a Saddleback Leather. Those are some obvious and perhaps expensive options.

Maybe a piece of art with law or lawyers as the subject. Lady justice desktop sculpture.

Congratulations to him.

I am always a fan of a nice watch to commemorate a milestone. A decent watch will last him a lifetime. I still treasure the one my mother gave me when I graduated.

There are a lot of great watches out there at a variety of price points.

I typically give a coin minted the year of graduation. Silver if you like them, gold if you really like them. I think I generally use USMint.com.

I echo both of the above suggestions, depending on budget. If you have the money and are willing to spend it, a very nice briefcase (saddleback has several excellent offerings, though their actual “barrister” briefcase is overkill in my opinion) will last him his whole career. If you don’t want to spend that much, a Montblanc rollerball pen would be nice. Skip the fountain pen unless he is already a fountain pen person.

One note on the briefcase - try to find some way to figure out what color he would like. Because some people really don’t like black briefcases and vice versa.

To me, a briefcase from granddad is pretty much the perfect gift. Will last forever, will be used every day, and will just get better with age.

As said, no idea of your budget, but when I graduated law school 43 years ago the nicest and most used gift I received was from my parents, a high end leather attache case. Still have it still use it when I don't need something larger.

A nice watch is also a great suggestion.

Oh, and mazel tov!

I graduated law school in 2000. My father in law gave me a set of tools, ratchets and sockets, 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drives. I use them very often, and he remains on my mind that way, though he is now in Heaven. I recommend tools as the gift.

A nice portfolio or thin briefcase is nice. There is no need for a large bag any more. Everything is online, and no lawyer I see ever has one of those bags that will put your back out as were common when I started practice, and brought 3 or 4 case files home with me from the office.

A nice pen is a good thing to have, as well, but I find that although I have a number of them, and appreciate fine pens, I am so afraid of losing it when I'm on the road, that they don't get much use, and a Pilot works just fine.

A fine watch is also nice, as pointed out above, but it won't mean much if he decides he needs and Apple Watch, Garmin, or Samsung so that he can keep up to date with messaging without pulling out his phone.

I would avoid technology. It changes too fast to be a meaningful "lifetime event" gift.

If it’s in budget, a suit watch is a good choice - and frankly there are decent options in almost any budget.

Lots of young professional men wear sports watches, with professional attire, and think it’s OK, because they’re expensive.

To me, I think a lawyer should look like he wants to be in the room, and avoid the “man of action, who happens to be in a suit,” Look.

Briefcases, pens, portfolios etc can be very personal.

Cuff links seem to be coming back in style, in Miami. Maybe a set of those?

It’s not a great family gift, but an ergonomic keyboard and mouse are probably the most useful.

He's going to need to start building a rotation of tailored suits. That can be difficult to do when you are starting out. I would start there. It always made me nervous to wear nice watches going through security to get into court.

A quality leather padfolio with a monogram. My aunt, a judge herself, gave me one when I graduated law school and I used it for years. I lost it a few years ago and I’m still pissed about it.

A nice pen is always nice to pull out when you sign something although electronic signatures are method court documents are signed.

A tailored suit would be nice as would a nice writing instrument, briefcase, or a nice smartphone if he doesn't have a good one.

When my son graduated from law school, he asked for a pistol and got a S&W 9mm.

My mother gave me a Blacks Law dictionary. Its big, awkward and stands out. It also got used a lot early on.

Zero Halliburton briefcase. My personal attorney has one.

Good point on the suits. Shoes can also be a bit much, and last a very long time - and having at least 3 pairs will really reduce the wear.

I carry a raw brass space pen, with my name and phone number engraved on it.

It’s very useful, and has gone through the wash et .

Maybe a key smart/some other kind of key holder? (Assuming he’s not habitually wearing a suit)

The other thing I always carry are the small rite in the rain stapled notebooks, which fit in a passport sleeve from Gfeller.

Looks fairly professional and between that and the space pen, I always have a pen and paper to jot down a phone number, etc.

Young people may not need that as much. Not sure.

Mostly, it seems like they say they remember it and use their phone, but actually just don’t track anything.

A suit or good shoes. A new laptop if solid specs and reasonably durable.

Kids today use backpacks more than briefcases. I’d pick a rolling catalog case over a traditional briefcase for a new grad if they plan to do litigation.

A nice pen is always a good gift but it may turn into something not used, just kept.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
My mother gave me a Blacks Law dictionary. It’s big, awkward and stands out. It also got used a lot early on.

IANAL, but my father was, and of all his books the one I kept, now unfortunately lost, was his copy of Blacks.

Sometimes you just gotta touch paper.

I was also the only detective who went to court with case files in a Saddleback brief case, and got a lot of positive comments from attorneys. I think it sent a subliminal message to the defense bar.

Mt Blanc 149 Diplomat or Louis Vuitton portfolio.
Lifelong remembrance of your thoughtful generosity.
I had both.

A high polished chrome pistol with white or white ish or faux pearl grips.

On on the zippered case it should say
I object