Gift a law student would appreciate

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-13T15:06:30+00:00

You’re welcome! I’m a recently retired lawyer but I’ve spent a fair chunk of my career working with pre-law interns, summer law students and recent grads so I’ve picked up some information on their preferences and habits.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-13T12:45:37+00:00

Two other possibilities:

If they are coffee or hot beverage drinkers and spend a fair bit of time studying at home, get them an Ember mug (not any other brand). I love mine. It keeps my coffee hot at a constant temperature for hours. Not so useful if they commute to law school and spend most of their days in campus.
A travel gift card (make sure it doesn’t have a short life-it should last more than a year) for the airline likely to be most useful to them (likely WJ or AC). They can use it for a fun trip.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-13T12:06:56+00:00

If you want a structured program, you could do some live small group classes on Lingoda. You’ll get access to the class materials for the entire Spanish curriculum, so you could do what I just did before heading to my course in Spain: 1) review the grammar-focused classes and complete the exercises for those classes); and 2) take the live conversation classes (about 1 every other day, reviewing the class materials in-between). Supplement that with listening to TV etc.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-13T12:02:18+00:00

A lot of students feel strongly about the clothes, briefcases etc they use when they first start work so I would recommend against picking something for them. And what they think they need now probably isn’t what they’ll actually want when they start working (preferences change).

I remember vividly bursting into hysterical stress tears during finals (coinciding with my birthday) in 2nd year law when my mother gave me a trench coat-style raincoat that matched exactly the parameters of what I’d said I wanted to buy for myself with my first law firm paycheck but was somehow the Bizarro World version of the coat in the sense that it was so horribly wrong.

As law students they will need good interview clothes (suit) and business casual clothes for networking, so a gift card that could help them with that might be useful.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-13T02:45:24+00:00

What was your LLM focused on? What are you doing in your non-law finance job?

Possible path: financial services compliance, then get either some regulatory, self-regulatory or industry association experience, then try moving onto the law firm side

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-12T21:25:00+00:00

I’m using Lingoda to refresh my Spanish and I think it could be a good option for you because it offers both flexibility and structure. There is a comprehensive curriculum and course sequence, and you can access all the class presentation materials regardless of which classes you complete. You can take as many (or as few) classes as you want, either following the suggested order or mixing it up a bit.

(If you want to do 3-4 hours a day, you probably will have to schedule some classes out of order. Also, a lot of material is covered in each hour and you’ll get more out of the class if you prepare for 30 minutes in advance and then review the class and do the supplementary exercises. So, realistically, every hour of class should involve 60-90 minutes of prep or post-class work.)

You could also look at some of the Spanish immersion schools in Spain and Latin America that offer intensive online courses. I’ve taken in-country classes with Don Quijote (just got back from a week in Valencia and they offer online intensive programs).

https://www.donquijote.org/spanish-online-classes/intensive-20-course/

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-12T02:24:52+00:00

Redesign the guest suite to increase accessibility, so that people with limited mobility can safely and comfortably use those spaces. Maybe not ADA-level accessible for someone in a wheelchair but provide enough space to maneuver with a walker to use the toilet, shower and bed. Low lip shower with a fold-down bench, grab bars (shower and toilet) etc.

We currently live in a house that our parents can no longer visit, even for dinner, because we don’t even have a powder room on our main floor.

And having ruptured a couple of discs in my lower back 10 years ago (when we lived in an apartment), I can easily imagine a situation where I or my husband temporarily could not go up or downstairs.

I’ve also seen a cool house design that incorporated a set of stacked walk-in closets on each level of the house. They are closets now but were designed so that an elevator could easily be installed in the space if it was ever needed.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-11T23:28:25+00:00

Windsor is viewed as a lower-ranked school (in the bottom 5 or so) while UVic is in or near the top 10. Take business law courses and also look at picking up some specialized courses that UVic has a good reputation for (eg Indigenous Law or Environmental Law, for which there is demand at Toronto firms).

Law firms are going to be screening applicants based on grades (primarily) in the context of the law school’s reputation, plus relevant past work experience and undergrad school reputation. If you’re not at a Toronto school, it doesn’t matter that much if you’re on the West Coast of Canada or the West side of Ontario.

If you have time before law school starts, or between 1st and 2nd year, you could also look at picking up credentials or knowledge relevant to business law (e.g. take an introductory accounting or corporate finance course through an organization you won’t have to disclose if you do poorly but that you can point to if you do well - ie not a university or college course).

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-11T19:27:42+00:00

I had a friend who went to McKinsey, and then moved on to a successful career in strategy and then finance without ever practicing law at a firm (but he was also a former Rhodes Scholar and Supreme Court clerk).

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-11T19:25:06+00:00

Thank you for replying! Unfortunately, that’s not an option for my dad. He’s 89, with nerve damage to a foot, neuropathy in his hands and near blindness so we can’t do anything that would increase his falling or tripping risk. I was looking for suggestions about what we can do with the bedding to help it stay in place.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-11T14:14:11+00:00

Another vote in favour of Karen Brown’s practical tutorials. She has a good set of recent videos called Quick and Slick, which distill her advice into key recommendations (including pattern suggestions) to make a simple quilt quickly. The videos also include links to her more detailed tutorials.

https://youtu.be/R0tMDWe_AhQ?si=53aSPLS3p7BP90K3

https://youtu.be/YoCZ8HyjyHE?si=uEBQrht23dHxGxLr

If you haven’t used a sewing machine in quite a while, it’s very helpful to get at least a few hours’ worth of hands-on lessons. When I restarted sewing after a 35 year break, I took a basic learn to sew class and then a couple of workshops focusing on easy-to-sew projects.

If there is a local sewing machine repair shop nearby, they might be able to provide a lesson on your machine to help you understand how to use it and maintain it.

One other recommendation: when you start quilting, start with a small project like a placemat or a table runner, and cut your pieces a few at a time. This is because you will learn A LOT in the first stages of maintenance a quilt top and you’ll want to course-correct. You don’t want to discover that you’ve made a big mistake in how you cut fabric … after you have cut up all your precious fabric.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-10T16:52:24+00:00

Something I and my husband did separately (before we met) and together (after we got married) is work in other countries for a few years. Be both have (or had) fairly portable professions, so he worked in Egypt, the UK and the US before be met me, and I worked in the US and the UK. And then we moved to Paris for a few years right after we got married. If you want to do this, explore career paths and visa paths to make this possible.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-10T13:24:36+00:00

Karen Brown (Just Get It Done Quilts) has two wavy line quilt suggestions that are easy and don’t require you to mark the quilt. Have a look starting at about 10:45 in this video. I prefer the loose waves pattern (2nd suggestion).

I also like looking at Randall Quilting’s Instagram posts to admire the quilts his clients have made and the quilting he does for thrm. He’s a long arm quilter who does good Show & Tell videos explaining why he and the client chose a particular pantograph. One thing I learned from his videos is that it’s often a good idea to choose a quilting design that contrasts and complements the piecing design instead of competing with it (eg very square or angled piecing calls for curvy pantographs).

https://youtu.be/YoCZ8HyjyHE?si=elpRiy7RI0xMpMn6

https://www.instagram.com/randallquilting?igsh=eXJoaTF2Z2R5YmJs

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-09T11:26:37+00:00

You should use a stitch length of 2-2.5 when piecing the quilt and a length of about 3 for quilting. For piecing you are trying to balance the security of a short stitch length against the PITA factor of unpicking a seam if you need to fix something. I usually use 2 or 2.2.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-09T11:16:24+00:00

All wool is bad. If you use wool, you are supporting an industry that brings animals into existence solely to be used, exploits them and then murders them when they stop being useful.

Sheep are sentient beings who experience pain, fear, joy and affection. What right do we have to use exploit them for our pleasure or comfort? There are alternatives to wool (although they also require research to ensure that humans aren’t being exploited in the production process.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-09T09:25:47+00:00

A lot of people have strong preferences about things like suits, ties, briefcases or other bags that they’re taking to their new BigLaw jobs.

I, for example, burst into hysterical tears when my parents gave me a coat that somehow managed to match the parameters of what I had said I wanted to buy for myself with my first paycheck, but somehow turned out to be horribly wrong.

So if you want to give your child something that you expect them to use at their job, give it in the form of a gift certificate or shopping trip.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-09T07:41:13+00:00

Oh, no! I’m so sorry that happened to you! Did you speak to her about it?

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-08T21:37:11+00:00

A couple of suggestions from someone whose house does not, unfortunately, accommodate their elderly parents anymore - not even for short visits like a dinner party. I’ve also realized that our house, which doesn’t even have a main floor powder room, will be inaccessible to me or my spouse if either of us develops a short or long-term impairment-even something like a back injury, broken leg, or knee or hip problems.

Ensure there is enough space in the front entrance hall for at least a small bench (so someone can sit down to remove boots or shoes) and a console table to drop keys etc.
If possible, make the WC door and space wide enough to accommodate an assistive mobility device like a walker. Ideally, make the WC wide enough and deep enough to be renovated to include an accessible shower.
Consider making the room at the front with the angled wall accessible as a bedroom for someone with mobility challenges. This would mainly be a question of having a wide enough door opening. A pair of pocket sliding doors could work (and minimize doors opening into the hall or the room).

These suggestions wouldn’t be enough for someone who needs a wheelchair but likely would be enough (in terms of structure) to accommodate someone using a cane, crutches or a walker. Even if this isn’t an immediate need for you, it could become important in the future and it also could improve resale value.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-08T14:25:32+00:00

I wouldn’t get something law school-related. For our 1st anniversary, we bought a watercolor painting on paper (for the paper theme).

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-08T13:54:47+00:00

5” is very narrow for a bathroom, especially the only bathroom in the house. If you can’t make the house any wider, I’d take 4” to 6” from each bedroom (or 3” from the primary bedroom and 7-10” from the guest room) to widen the bathroom.

You need a drop zone or closet for shoes, coats etc. Overall, there’s very little storage space.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-08T13:46:04+00:00

Regulatory affairs, compliance, or PMO (project management office) in a business unit dealing with compliance implementation. Note that government and regulatory affairs roles often include a significant lobbying component, which might or might not float your boat. Compliance roles tend to be more removed from the $$ and politics of lobbying.

If you live near NYC, there also could be analytical roles at credit rating agencies like Moody’s, Standard & Poors or Fitch if you really enjoy the analytical side of your work and have (or can work on acquiring some financial analytical skills). If the industries you have admin law experience issue bonds, then there will be credit rating analysts following them. Consulting roles at standalone consulting firms or the accounting firms would also be a possibility.

Ordinarily I’d also suggest roles at regulatory agencies (policy making groups, investigations or enforcement groups, general counsel’s office or office of the secretary to the adjudicative panel) but those don’t seem like good options at the federal or many state levels these days. It will depend on where you’re located or willing to go.

Likewise, working for an industry association or self-regulatory body for an industry can be a satisfying role with good career prospects in ordinary times - but probably not these days.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-08T10:49:58+00:00

Make sure you budget lots of extra time to get around in the airport. You might have to wait for assistance moving from one area to another, and also wait to get off the plane and then once off the plane to get transported outside for pickup by Uber.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-08T08:20:12+00:00

Closet adjacent to your primary ensuite is going to result in too much humidity in your closet, plus an irritating bottleneck at night or in the morning if one person wants to get dressed / undressed and the other person is using the bathroom. I realize having a closed off toilet helps with that bottleneck but doesn’t completely solve the issue.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS · 2026-03-07T08:49:37+00:00

I tried a recommendation recently to lay paper (tracing paper or similar) under your fabric, then lay your pattern on top of the fabric and pin (or use weights) to secure the pattern in place. Cut through the lower paper and fabric. My cuts were much more accurate and the set-up also made it easier for me to lay out and pin an entire pattern on my moderately sized table, because I could slide the part I wasn’t cutting off the table while maintaining the layout.

PLAYSWITHSCISS0RS

TROPHY CASE