Her life is over as we know it.

July 2, 2009 8:39 AM

What should I put in a care package for a friend who is starting law school in the fall?

One of my closest friends is starting law school next semester. The school emailed her and said to have fun this summer, cause it's the last chance at a social life she'll have for the next 8-10 years. So I am presuming she'll not really have a life... and I want to make the transition easier! I'm thinking standard care-package things... like cookies and chocolate and idk... booze or something. But I want more specific, law-schooley things. What do you think?

posted by nataliedanger to grab bag (33 comments total)

Your friend will need more post-it flags and highlighter pens than she can ever imagine. There are a lot of highlighter options out there, you might want to get her a sample assortment of them so she can figure out which company she wants to buy stock in for the next three years. Some of this will depend on where she is moving. If she's going someplace farther away that she hasn't been before, a guidebook to the area or something that will allow her to shortcut the "getting to know the place" routine that she won't be able to get to while she's in school. You could also get her a gift card at one of the local stores, the local food place or the local bookstore.
posted by jessamyn at 8:51 AM on July 2 [1 favorite]

Coffee, vivarin, good chocolate, a copy of The Paperchase movie, and gift cards.
posted by heather-b at 8:54 AM on July 2

I spent a lot of long, lonely, COLD nights studying in the law library. Okay, well, *i* didn't, but many of my classmates did. A nice, comfy, snuggly hoodie from the law school might be much appreciated.
posted by bunnycup at 8:55 AM on July 2

Clif or Luna bars for those mornings she is running late to class and doesn't have time for a proper breakfast.
posted by aught at 8:56 AM on July 2

Gift certificate to half.com (if e-Bay will sell a site-specific certificate like that.) Seriously, she will save an arm and a leg for every textbook she buys used. She can easily save $200 to $400 a semester by buying the previous edition of all the textbooks. (For some people, having the current edition is really important to them, but I was OK being lost the 3 percent of the time that the class was talking about a new case I didn't have.)

Highlighters are fantastic. So are flags.

Perhaps one of those neck pillows that they sell for sleeping on the airplane? Because she'll probably be spending some long nights in the library and wishing she could take a 20-minute catnap.
posted by Happydaz at 8:57 AM on July 2

Cold medicines, pain relievers, those stick-on hot/cold patches, earplugs, magnifying glass, electric heating pad, and, as other posters have listed, MUCH CHOCOLATE.
posted by BostonTerrier at 8:58 AM on July 2

My biggest regret from my first year of law school was that I almost completely neglected my physical and mental health. I developed a huge caffeine addiction, gained a lot of weight, did not exercise, and, unsurprisingly, felt really, really crummy. It's an immersive experience, but it doesn't have to be such an unhealthy one.

To that end, may I suggest:

1. A month's membership at the local gym, if her school doesn't have one on-campus, or some equipment for any athletic activities she enjoys.

2. Healthy snacks.

3. Perhaps a visit? In mid-October of my 1L year, a visit from someone outside the school would have been a welcome reprieve from the unrelenting workload.

You sound like a wonderful friend - good luck with this effort.
posted by cheapskatebay at 9:02 AM on July 2 [1 favorite]

Just send some delightful stuff. I loved receiving food during law school, but I may have an especially food-centered personality.

Otherwise, let me buck the trend a little bit, and recommend gifts that don't say "YOUR OLD LIFE IS OVER." I think most of my classmates did not devote really life-changing amounts of time to their law school work. Try to give gifts that suggest the outlines of a concurrent life outside of law school. (Being obsessed with law school can be depressing.)
posted by grobstein at 9:25 AM on July 2

Back again to second the idea of a visit!
posted by grobstein at 9:26 AM on July 2

Chocolate-covered espresso beans, in bulk. Instead of gifting now, consider care packages at intervals with the beans and other stuff as listed. It's a long grind and packages are morale-builidng.
posted by theora55 at 9:27 AM on July 2

I bought myself a big package of every highlighter color you can imagine when I was in law school, and it made me so happy to use all the colors.
posted by amro at 9:34 AM on July 2

Oh, and this is more a single gift than something you would want to include in a care package, but one of those massaging things that you can strap to a desk chair would have been awesome when I was in law school. My back hurt all through law school from lugging around huge books and a laptop, and leaning over my desk studying for hours.
posted by amro at 9:36 AM on July 2

Law School in a Box.
posted by quodlibet at 9:36 AM on July 2

My wife got me a french press and high-end coffee thermos as a gift when i started law school. Also, your friend's school is exaggerating about her not having a social life in law school or even as a young associate. No one works 16 hours a day 7 days a week. Or at least not for more than a few months at a stretch.
posted by hhc5 at 9:38 AM on July 2

Earplugs, laptop accessories, highlighters, bookstore gift certificate, paperback version of Black's Law Dictionary.
posted by That takes balls. at 9:51 AM on July 2

Uh, I'm gonna go against the grain here and say noooo to a visit. I probably wouldda been the worst host ever if someone had visited me at that point in my education (1L): stressed, exhausted, under deadlines, etc. It would really have made me more stressed to know I had to house someone (if that'd be the case in your situation), amuse them, and carve out time to spend with them during an already busy time period.

I'd recommend a gift certificate for a massage/pedicure (make sure the expiration date isn't too soon), something silly but mildly brainiac like puzzles/handheld games, nthing food/school supplies, an iPod.
posted by December at 9:57 AM on July 2

In law school, I relied on:

Highlighters!
Earplugs!
Printer ink.
Lavender chamomile "Sleep" aromatherapy lotion -- amazing.
Larabars.
A good water bottle.
Scarves of varying weights -- the temperature control in our building was ridiculous.
My yoga mat.
My heating pad (for study neck... I think that's a valid medical term).
iTunes.

Also, keep in mind that law students are plenty capable of having active social lives, once they adjust to the workload. I knew plenty of folks who spent as much time at the bars as they did at the library.
posted by the littlest brussels sprout at 10:07 AM on July 2

Maybe you can find all of the local places that are suitable for studying in the area (including the law school library), and put them on a map for her. Other local libraries, coffee shops with internet access, etc. The thing is, the law library gets stuffy, and overzealous co-students tend to get the best seats, and law students can be annoying. It's always good to have alternative places to study (or your own little secret spot).

If you know what her favorite type of pen is, buy her a box of those.

I never highlighted in my texts, but I did post-it like a madman, so a variety of post-its - the cellophane flag ones, and paper ones of all sizes - would be great.

A good set of in-ear headphones go a long way, if she doesn't already have some.

A lot of great ideas in this thread. I'm generally of the mind that you can't go wrong with a care package, no matter what's in it.
posted by jabberjaw at 10:38 AM on July 2

a slanket! super useful since she will be staying up late A LOT to read, either at home or the library (and remember: the slanket is better than the snuggie). and send her food every month or two.
posted by lia at 10:40 AM on July 2

Like everyone is saying, but it can't be stressed enough, HIGHLIGHTERS.

Water bottles, coffee-on-the-go cups with really good lids and bottoms that don't rock.

If not a gym membership, yoga or pilates dvds might be nice. If you live close by, maybe make yourself available to be a buddy for a yoga class or regular walks / workouts. It's imperative (but nearly impossible) to workout in law school to help keep the mind clear. Not that I'm practicing what I preach, but maybe your friend can heed the advice and get off to a good start!
posted by motsque at 10:40 AM on July 2

Excedrin.
posted by workerant at 11:05 AM on July 2

Mostly I'm nthing what was said above.

Wow, I could not love those little flags more in my life. They make up the basis of all that is my reading assignments (though I'm not in Law School, I am back to School). Also, they go along with highlighters. Those highlighters with the flags built in are fun for a minute but I prefer having access to many highlighter colors and many flag colors.

If your friend will be printing at home mostly I cannot emphasize enough what brussels sprout said above and say PRINTER INK!! God there have been days when I've been about to strangle someone for some damn ink.

I would also absolutely say instead of one big care package, maybe a couple small ones spread out. There is NOTHING like coming home from a particularly hard day of classes and studying to find a box of goodies and a note saying that someone cares. Everyone realizes that you are going off to do something hard when you first leave but it is so wonderful to feel that extra little bit of support from back home in the middle of the semester when you feel especially alone.
posted by magnetsphere at 11:18 AM on July 2

In grad school, I could've used food and a yoga DVD.
posted by debbie_ann at 11:27 AM on July 2

Otherwise, let me buck the trend a little bit, and recommend gifts that don't say "YOUR OLD LIFE IS OVER."

Yeah, that. When I was in law school, I studied more than I had ever studied in my life, sure - especially first year. But after the initial fear wore off, I picked back up some of my old social and recreational pursuits.

So, maybe a box of highlighters - label it "one month supply" - and then a gift of something fun to do after October or so. (Maybe tickets to a nearby amusement park or other attraction?) Because life does resume.
posted by mikewas at 12:01 PM on July 2

For myself, the best gift I could've gotten in my summer prior to law school would have been an elaborate ruse preventing me from going to law school. But barring that...

Highlighters! The ones with the post-it note flags! Seriously.

Index cards. Inform her that she will be making herself flash cards.

Mix CDs. She will be able to pull of a social life but will probably be completely sequestered from anything new that's coming out, so keep her up to date.

And yes, snack food. Lots of snack food.
posted by Navelgazer at 12:15 PM on July 2 [1 favorite]

Since everyone's suggesting highlighters, let me add that quite a few of us found multi-colored highlighters invaluable. During orientation, they'll probably be teaching her to categorize and pay attention to different parts of the cases she's reading - the disposition of the case, the legal precedent set, the factual background, etc. - and when she's called on she'll have to quickly jump to very specific information about these things. So at least in those first few weeks or months, "oh, look for the red text jumping out at me!" is a lot easier under pressure than thinking "which yellow highlighted text was that again?"
posted by naju at 12:37 PM on July 2

My friend in Toronto started up a magazine for young lawyers. You could get her a subscription.
posted by Sully at 1:13 PM on July 2

Coffee and nice travel mugs so she can bring it to class in the mornings. Starbucks gift certificate. A mud mask or some other type of nice facial thing, because she will almost certainly get some acne during her first year from the stress. A t-shirt or hoodie from her undergrad institution (in my experience it's not particularly cool to wear law school stuff at law school... it's kinda like wearing the band's t-shirt to the band's concert, but YLSMV ).

If you want to do a "second semester" care package you could give her resume paper, envelopes, and stamps for when she starts applying for jobs. Boring, but everyone I knew complained bitterly about how expensive it was to send out resumes.
posted by gatorae at 2:10 PM on July 2

There's particular type of highlighter that has a little set of tape flags built in. Awesome.

What about some low-impact fiction or a DVD set of her favorite TV show? She will have SOME downtime, and will need something entertaining that doesn't require too much brainpower.
posted by miss tea at 2:31 PM on July 2

I am not a law student but many of my friends are. Things they love:
Highlighters with the post-it flags built in (as miss tea suggested)
Coffee
Booze
Sturdy mugs
Gift cards to on-campus or near-campus food and drink places
Sweater/sweatshirt
I will be a law student this fall, and I wish I had a friend who was awesome and thoughtful like you, way to go!
posted by ishotjr at 4:25 PM on July 2

Previously.
posted by Orinda at 5:10 PM on July 2

An Oxo Good Grips LiquiSeal Travel Mug. I was constantly paranoid I'd spill coffee all over someone's laptop, and this one is completely klutz tested, klutz approved. And I have four now that I'm a klutzy law librarian. They're the best.

Also seconding itunes gift cards or mix cds. I'd also have loved a trashy usweekly-esque magazine subscription. I never had the energy to read anything substantive, and that's an easy, fun escape.
posted by LolaCola at 7:13 PM on July 2

If your friend doesn't have one, a laptop lock will come in mighty handy in a care package.

Though I'm more inclined to suggest a cyanide pill.
posted by greekphilosophy at 9:49 PM on July 2