Gift Ideas for the Lawyer(s) in Your Life 2025
The holiday gift-buying season is upon us! Whether you are buying office gifts, or for the person who has everything, there are a lot of ways to save, give back, get creative and get this checked off your “to do” list!
Curated Techie Gifts
There are usually many gift lists for lawyers, including those from unexpected places like Cosmopolitan. Here is a short list of items picked by the Center for Practice Management:
The Plaud Note is a small voice recorder with AI inside. There are many ways to get transcriptions and summary notes for video conferences and VOIP calls, but many lawyers want to take advantage of these features for dictation or conversations with clients. The device plus the app isn’t inexpensive, but the gain in productivity might be worth it.
Lawyers love the desktop ScanSnap scanner. However, it isn’t very portable. While you can use your smartphone to capture a scan of a few pieces of paper, sometimes you need something a bit more robust. Enter the ScanSnap portable scanner. Small enough to fit in your laptop bag, this USB/WiFi scanner scans letter-size paper in 5.2 seconds with continuous single-sided document feeding.
Multiple monitors make getting real work done easier and more efficient. When you are on the road with your laptop you may miss those extra screens. The Mobile Pixels Duex Plus Portable Monitor extends to add 2 more screens to your laptop. Convenient for travel, it requires a USB port and works with Macs and PCs.
Smartphones can be germy. PhoneSoap 3 is a UV sanitizer case AND duel universal cell phone charger in one. You can also clean your headphones, keys, glasses, earbuds and other small items in it.
Now you can have a standing desk without replacing your existing desk. Standing desk converters sit atop your desk and when you want to change positions simply lift your monitors, keyboard, mouse and laptop to a standing height. Prices range from about $100 – $300 and there are many options.
Peeps Glasses Cleaner: For those who wear glasses (even just readers), you know that they get smudged fast and microfiber cloths just smear oil and dirt around and sprays are not terribly useful on the go. The Peeps portable carbon cleaner has a brush end to get off any loose debris and a carbon cleaning pad that cleans both sides of the lens at the same time.
ScreenKlean: No glasses, no problems? How about device screens? You probably have a smartphone. And a laptop. And a tablet. This carbon-based cleaning device cleans them all and comes with a travel case.
ChargeHub React: A seven in one car charger that lets you keep your smartphone charged and includes an emergency multitool that includes a seatbelt cutter, window breaker, LED flashlight, strobing SOS beacon, and a long-range safety siren.
Give Back
For lawyers who are looking to give back, look no further than the North Carolina Bar Foundation. In addition to donations made in honor of someone, lawyers can give back to the community in several ways. One way is the Lawyers for Literacy program. Lawyer volunteers read to/with elementary school children, sharing books featuring stories about US history or civics. The Lawyers for Literacy program gifts the read-along books to the classrooms and children. For many of them, the gift books are the first they’ve ever owned themselves. Another opportunity to give back is the Wills for Heroes program, where lawyer volunteers produce free wills and power of attorney documents for NC first responders. First responders receive the gift of fully executed peace-of-mind documents for their families. NCBF supports many more public service and pro bono opportunities, to give back to the community and meet like-minded lawyers.
DIY (Do It Yourself)
Are you crafty? Handy? Like to bake? If you have some time and are low on funds, or you just want to add an individualized touch to your gift giving, there are so many things you can do. Offer to help fix something, knit a hat, shred some documents, re-arrange the storage closet. The gift of time and talent has more meaning than things, which so many people have in abundance.
Like to bake? Few people will turn down holiday treats. With a few ingredients and time, you can bake up a batch of Aggression Cookies (fun to make with kids, they are better than a stress ball, and yield a whopping 15 dozen) or the refined but easy Chocolate Bark with Pistachios & Dried Cherries. These chocolate crinkle cookies are easy to make and are for those who love the crispy edges of brownies, plus they are dairy free! Head to a dollar store and get some gift bags, pack up the sleigh, and deliver smiles all over!
One nifty idea that is just a little crafty is upcycling with candle making kits. Heirloom teacups, empty candle jars, any other objects can be made into candles instead of filling the landfills. Kits from companies like Siblings will send you everything you need to make luxurious scented candles at home.
Get Local!
North Carolina is brimming with local artisans, creative foodstuffs, and a thriving community of artists and makers. Many of the local farmers markets host craft fairs and feature local artisans in addition to local meats and produce this time of year. Enjoy the fresh air, reduce your carbon footprint, don’t stress the shipping, and pick unique gifts for those on your list. No time to get out? Companies like Made in NC, LLC , Made in North Carolina gifts, North Carolina Gourmet Food Gifts Boxes and more can help put together a gift box for you.
In addition to food, arts, and crafts, North Carolina is home to many amazing writers. Here are 12 recent books by NC authors, curated by the general manager at Page 158 Books in Wake Forest. This list includes everything from several genres of fiction (horror, short stories, novels, non-fiction books about local music, poetry, and memoirs. Don’t forget to support your local bookstores too!
Seek out a charity that sell gifts for a cause. For instance, at Extraordinary Gifts in Chapel Hill, a neurodiverse workforce handcrafts beautiful 100% soy wax candles and natural soaps. Extraordinary Gifts is an Extraordinary Venture, a non-profit dedicated to creating meaningful employment opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities like autism. They also partner with other local inclusive employers for supplies and design services as much as possible to amplify the impact of each purchase throughout the community.
Conclusion
Whatever you are giving this Holiday Season do not forget to give yourself and your family some time. Do what you can to arrange your schedule to rest, rejuvenate, and enjoy. Treat yourself to a spa day, or just shut your door and binge on a good book or your favorite series. Turn off your phone and computer. Your mental health is also a gift!