law school personal statement format reddit

Sign up to our Newsletter

How to write a law school personal statement + examples.

Reviewed by:

David Merson

Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University

Reviewed: 3/18/24

Law school personal statements help show admissions committees why you’re an excellent candidate. Read on to learn how to write a personal statement for law school!

Writing a law school personal statement requires time, effort, and a lot of revision. Law school statement prompts and purposes can vary slightly depending on the school. 

Their purpose could be to show your personality, describe your motivation for attending law school, explain why you want to go to a particular law school, or a mix of all three and more. This guide will help you perfect your writing with tips and examples.

The Best Law School Personal Statement Format

Unfortunately, there’s no universal format for a law school personal statement. Every law school has a preference (or lack thereof) on how your personal statement should be structured. We recommend always checking for personal statement directions for every school you want to apply to. 

However, many law schools ask for similar elements when it comes to personal statement formats. These are some standard formatting elements to keep in mind if your school doesn’t provide specific instructions: 

• Typically two pages or less in length 
• Double-spaced 
• Use a basic, readable font style and size (11-point is the smallest you should do, although some schools may request 12-point) 
• Margins shouldn’t be less than 1 inch unless otherwise specified 
• Left-aligned 
• Indent new paragraphs 
• Don’t return twice to begin a new paragraph 
• Law schools typically ask for a header, typically including your full name, page number, LSAC number, and the words “Personal Statement” (although there can be variations to this) 

How you format your header may be up to you; sometimes, law schools won't specify whether the header should be one line across the top or three lines. 

This is how your header may look if you decide to keep it as one line. If you want a three-line header, it should look like this on the top-right of the page: 

 Remember, the best law school personal statement format is the one in the application instructions. Ensure you follow all formatting requirements!

How to Title a Personal Statement (Law) 

You may be tempted to give your law school statement a punchy title, just like you would for an academic essay. However, the general rule is that you shouldn’t give your law school personal statement a title. 

The University of Washington states, “DON’T use quotes or give a title to your statement.” Many other schools echo this advice. The bottom line is that although you're writing your story, your law school statement doesn't require a title. Don't add one unless the school requests it.

How to Start a Personal Statement for Law School 

Acing the beginning of your personal statement is essential for your narrative’s success. The introduction is your chance to captivate the admissions committee and immerse them in your story. As such, you want your writing to be interesting enough to grab their attention without purposefully going for shock value.

So, how do you write a personal statement introduction that will garner the attention it deserves? The simplest way to get the reader involved in your story is to start with a relevant anecdote that ties in with your narrative. 

Consider the opening paragraph from Harvard Law graduate Cameron Clark’s law school personal statement : 

“At the intersection of 21st and Speedway, I lay on the open road. My leg grazed the shoulder of a young woman lying on the ground next to me. Next to her, a man on his stomach slowed his breathing to appear as still as possible. A wide circle of onlookers formed around the dozens of us on the street. We were silent and motionless, but the black-and-white signs affirmed our existence through their decree: BLACK LIVES MATTER.”

The beginning lines of this personal statement immediately draw the reader in. Why was the writer lying on the road? Why were other people there with him, and why was a man trying to slow his breathing? We're automatically inspired to keep reading to find out more information. 

That desire to keep reading is the hallmark of a masterful personal statement introduction. However, you don’t want to leave your reader hanging for too long. By the end of this introduction, we’re left with a partial understanding of what’s happening. 

There are other ways to start a personal statement that doesn't drop the reader in the middle of the action. Some writers may begin their law personal statement in other ways: 

• Referencing a distant memory, thought, feeling, or perspective
• Setting the scene for the opening anecdote before jumping in 
• Providing more context on the time, place, or background 

Many openings can blend some of these with detailed, vivid imagery. Here's a law school personal statement opening that worked at the UChicago Law : 

“I fell in love for the first time when I was four. That was the year my mother signed me up for piano lessons. I can still remember touching those bright, ivory keys with reverence, feeling happy and excited that soon I would be playing those tinkling, familiar melodies (which my mother played every day on our boombox) myself.”

This opening references a distant memory and feeling, mixed with vivid imagery that paints a picture in the reader's head. Keep in mind that different openers can work better than others, depending on the law school prompt. 

To recap, consider these elements as you write your law school personal statement’s introduction: 

• Aim for an attention-grabbing hook 
• Don’t purposefully aim for shock value: it can sometimes seem unauthentic 
• Use adjectives and imagery to paint a scene for your reader 
• Identify which opening method works best for the law school prompt and your story
• Don’t leave the reader hanging for too long to find out what your narrative is about
• Be concise 

Writing a law school personal statement introduction can be difficult, but these examples and tips can help you get the attention your writing deserves.

How to Write a Law School Personal Statement

Now that you’re equipped with great advice and tips to start your law school statement, it’s time to tackle the body of your essay. These tips will show you how to write a personal statement for law school to captivate the admissions committee. 

Understand the Prompt

While many law schools have similar personal statement prompts, you should carefully examine what's being asked of you before diving in. Consider these top law school personal statement prompts to see what we mean: 

• Yale Law School : “The personal statement should help us learn about the personal, professional, and/or academic qualities an applicant would bring to the Law School community. Applicants often submit the personal statement they have prepared for other law school applications.”
• University of Chicago Law : “Our application does not provide a specific topic or question for the personal statement because you are the best judge of what you should write. Write about something personal, relevant, and completely individual to you.”
• NYU Law : “Because people and their interests vary, we leave the content and length of your statement to your discretion. You may wish to complete or clarify your responses to items on the application form, bring to our attention additional information you feel should be considered, describe important or unusual aspects of yourself not otherwise apparent in your application, or tell us what led you to apply to NYU School of Law.”

Like all law personal statements, these three prompts are pretty open-ended. However, your Yale personal statement should focus on how you’d contribute to a law school community through professional and academic experience and qualities. 

For UChicago Law, you don’t even need to write about a law-related topic if you don’t want to. However, when it comes to a school like NYU Law , you probably want to mix your qualities, experiences, and what led you to apply. 

Differing prompts are the reason you’ll need to create multiple copies of your personal statement! 

Follow Formatting Directions 

Pay extra attention to each school's formatting directions. While we've discussed basic guidelines for law school personal statement formats, it's essential to check if there is anything different you need to do. 

While working on your rough drafts, copy and paste the prompt and directions at the top of the page so you don't forget. 

Brainstorm Narratives/Anecdotes Based on the Prompt

You may have more wiggle room with some prompts than others regarding content. However, asking yourself these questions can generally help you direct your personal statement for any law school:

• What major personal challenges or recent hardships have you faced? 
• What was one transformative event that impacted your life’s course or perspective? 
• What are your hobbies or special interests? 
• What achievements are you most proud of that aren’t stated in your application? 
• What experience or event changed your values or way of thinking? 
• What’s something you’re passionate about that you got involved in? What was the result of your passion? 
• How did your distinct upbringing, background, or culture put you on the path to law school? 
• What personal or professional experiences show who you are? 

Keep in mind that this isn't an exhaustive list. Consider your personal and professional experiences that have brought you to this point, and determine which answers would make the most compelling story. 

Pettit College of Law recommends you "go through your transcripts, application, and resume. Are there any gaps or missing details that your personal statement could cover?” If you've listed something on your resume that isn't further discussed, it could make a potential personal statement topic. 

Do More Than Recount: Reflect

Recounting an event in a summarized way is only one piece of your law school personal statement. Even if you’re telling an outlandish or objectively interesting story, stopping there doesn’t show admissions committees what they need to know to judge your candidacy. 

The University of Washington suggests that “describing the event should only be about 1/3 of your essay. The rest should be a reflection on how it changed you and how it shaped the person you are today.” Don’t get stuck in the tangible details of your anecdote; show what the experience meant to you. 

Beth O'Neil , Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at UC Berkeley School of Law , said, "Applicants also tend to state and not evaluate. They give a recitation of their experience but no evaluation of what effect that particular experience had on them, no assessment of what certain experiences or honors meant." 

Consider What Qualities You Want to Show

No matter what direction you want to take your law school personal statement, you should consider which qualities your narrative puts on display. Weaving your good character into your essay can be difficult. Outwardly claiming, "I'm a great leader!" doesn't add much value. 

However, telling a story about a time you rose to the occasion to lead a group successfully toward a common goal shows strong leadership. "Show, don't tell" may be an overused statement, but it's a popular sentiment for a reason. 

Of course, leadership ability isn't the only quality admissions committees seek. Consider the qualities you possess and those you'd expect to find in a great lawyer and check to see the overlap. Some qualities you could show include: 

• Intelligence 
• Persuasiveness 
• Compassion 
• Professionalism 

Evaluate the anecdotes you chose after your brainstorming session and see if any of these qualities or others align with your narrative. 

Keep Your Writing Concise

Learning how to write a personal statement for law school means understanding how to write for concision. Most prompts won't have a word limit but ask you to cap your story at two pages, double-spaced. Unfortunately, that's not a lot of space to work with. 

Although your writing should be compelling and vibrant, do your best to avoid flowery language and long, complicated sentences where they’re not needed. Writing for concision means eliminating unnecessary words, cutting down sentences, and getting the point quickly.  

Georgetown University’s take on law school personal statements is to “Keep it simple and brief. Big words do not denote big minds, just big egos.” A straightforward narrative means your reader is much less likely to be confused or get lost in your story (in the wrong way). 

Decide the Depth and Scope of Your Statement 

Since you only have two (or even three) pages to get your point across, you must consider the depth and scope of your narrative. While you don’t want to provide too little information, remember that you don’t have the room to summarize your entire life story (and you don’t have to do that anyway). 

UChicago Law’s advice is to “Use your discretion - we know you have to make a choice and have limited space. Attempting to cover too much material can result in an unfocused and scattered personal statement.” Keep the depth and scope of your narrative manageable. 

Ensure It’s Personal Enough 

UChicago Law states, "If someone else could write your personal statement, it probably is not personal enough." This doesn't mean that you must pick the most grandiose, shocking narrative to make an impact or that you can't write about something many others have probably experienced. 

Getting personal means only you can write that statement; other people may be able to relate to an experience, but your reflection, thoughts, feelings, and reactions are your own. UChicago Law sees applicants fall into this pitfall by writing about a social issue or area of law, so tread these topics carefully.

Mix the Past and Present, Present and Future, Or All Three 

Harvard Law School’s Associate Director Nefyn Meissner said your personal statement should “tell us something about who you are, where you’ve been, and where you want to go.” 

Echoing this, Jon Perdue , Yale Law School's Director of Recruiting and Diversity Initiatives, states that the three most common approaches to the Yale Law School personal statement are focusing on: 

• The past: discussing your identity and background 
• The present: focusing on your current work, activities, and interests 
• The future: the type of law you want to pursue and your ideal career path 

Perdue said that truly stellar personal statements have a sense of “movement” and touch on all or two of these topics. What does this mean for you? While writing your law school personal statement, don’t be afraid to touch on your past, present, and future. However, remember not to take on too much content! 

Keep the Focus On You 

This is a common pitfall that students fall into while writing a law school personal statement . UChicago Law cites that this is a common mistake applicants make when they write at length about: 

• A family member who inspired them or their family history 
• Stories about others 
• Social or legal issues 

Even if someone like your grandmother had a profound impact on your decision to pursue law, remember that you’re the star of the show. Meissner said , “Should you talk about your grandmother? Only if doing so helps make the case for us to admit you. Otherwise, we might end up wanting to admit your grandmother.” Don’t let historical figures, your family, or anyone else steal your spotlight. 

Decide If You Need to Answer: Why Law? 

Writing about why you want to attend law school in general or a school in particular depends on the prompt. Some schools welcome the insight, while others (like Harvard Law) don't. Meissner said, “Should you mention you want to come to HLS? We already assume that if you’re applying.”

However, Perdue said your law school personal statement for Yale should answer three questions: 

• Why law school?

Some schools may invite you to discuss your motivation to apply to law school or what particular elements of the school inspired you to apply. 

Don’t List Qualifications or Rehash Your Resume 

Your personal statement should flow like a story, with an identifiable beginning, middle, and end. Simply firing off your honors and awards, or summarizing the experiences on your resume, doesn’t tell the admissions committee anything new about you. 

Your personal statement is your opportunity to show how your unique experiences shaped you, your qualities, and the person you are behind your LSAT scores and GPA. Think about how you can show who you are at your core. 

Avoid Legalese, Jargon, And Sophisticated Terms 

The best law school personal statements are written in straightforward English and don't use overly academic, technical, or literary words. UChicago Law recommends avoiding legalese or 

Latin terms since the "risk you are incorrectly using them is just too high." 

Weaving together intricate sentence structures with words you pulled out of a thesaurus won’t make your personal statement a one-way ticket to acceptance. Be clear, straightforward, and to the point. 

Don’t Put Famous Quotes In Your Writing 

Beginning your law school personal statement with a quote is not only cliche but takes the focus off of you. It also eats up precious space you could fill with your voice. 

Revise, Revise, Revise 

Even the most talented writers never submit a perfect first draft. You'll need to do a lot of revisions before your personal statement is ready for submission. This is especially true because you'll write different versions for different law schools; these iterations must be edited to perfection. 

Ensure you have enough time to make all the edits and improvements you need before you plan to submit your application. Although most law schools have rolling admissions, submitting a perfected application as soon as possible is always in your best interest. 

Have an Admission Consultant Review Your Hard Work 

Reviewing so many personal statements by yourself is a lot of work, and most writing can always benefit from a fresh perspective. Consider seeking a law school admissions consultant’s help to edit your personal statements to perfection and maximize your chances of acceptance at your dream school!

How to End Your Personal Statement for Law School 

Law school personal statement conclusions are just as open-ended as your introductions. There are a few options for ending a personal statement depending on the prompt you’re writing for:

Some of these methods can overlap with each other. However, there are two more things you should always consider when you're ready to wrap up your story: the tone you're leaving on and how you can make your writing fit with your narrative's common thread. 

You should never want to leave your reader on a low note, even if you wrote about something that isn’t necessarily happy. You should strive to end your personal statement with a tone that’s hopeful, happy, confident, or some other positive feeling. 

Your last sentences should also give the impression of finality; your reader should understand that you’re wrapping up and not be left wondering where the rest of your statement is. 

So, what's the common thread? This just means that your narrative sticks to the overarching theme or event you portrayed at the beginning of your writing. Bringing your writing full circle makes a more satisfying conclusion.

Personal Statement for Law School Conclusion Examples

Evaluating law school personal statement conclusions can help you see what direction authors decided to take with their writing. Let’s circle back to the sample personal statement openings for law school and examine their respective conclusions. The first example explains the applicant’s motivation to attend Harvard Law. 

Sample Personal Statement for Law School Conclusion #1

“…Attorneys and legal scholars have paved the way for some of the greatest civil rights victories for women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and (people living with disabilities). At Harvard Law School, I will prepare to join their ranks by studying with the nation's leading legal scholars. 

For the past months, I have followed Harvard Law School student responses to the events in Ferguson and New York City. I am eager to join a law school community that shares my passion for using the law to achieve real progress for victims of discrimination. With an extensive history of advocacy for society's most marginalized groups, I believe Harvard Law School will thoroughly train me to support and empower communities in need. 

Our act of civil disobedience that December day ended when the Tower’s bells rang out in two bars, hearkening half-past noon. As we stood up and gathered our belongings, we broke our silence to remind everyone of a most basic truth: Black lives matter.” 

What Makes This Conclusion Effective 

Although Harvard Law School states there's no need to explain why you want to apply, this law school statement is from an HLS graduate, and we can assume this was written before the advice changed. 

In his conclusion, he relates and aligns his values with Harvard Law School and how joining the community will help him fulfill his mission to empower communities in need. The last paragraph circles back to the anecdote described in his introduction, neatly wrapping up the event and signaling a natural end to his story. 

This author used these strategies: the motivation to attend a specific law school, stating his mission, and subtly reiterating what his acceptance would bring to the school. The next example conclusion worked at UChicago Law: 

Sample Personal Statement for Law School Conclusion #2

“Songs can be rewritten and reinterpreted as situation permits, but missteps are obvious because the fundamental laws of music and harmony do not change.

Although my formal music education ended when I entered college, the lessons I have learned over the years have remained close and relevant to my life. I have acquired a lifestyle of discipline and internalized the drive for self-improvement. I have gained an appreciation for the complexities and the subtleties of interpretation. 

I understand the importance of having both a sound foundation and a dedication to constant study. I understand that to possess a passion and personal interest in something, to think for myself is just as important.”

What Made This Conclusion Effective

This law school personal statement was successful at UChicago Law. Although the writing has seemingly nothing to do with law or the author's capability to become a great lawyer, the author has effectively used the "show, don't tell" advice. 

The last paragraph implements the focus on qualities or skills strategy. Although related to music, the qualities they describe that a formal music education taught her mesh with the qualities of a successful lawyer: 

• A drive for self-improvement 
• The ability to interpret information 
• The ability to learn consistently 
• The ability to think for herself 

Overall, this essay does an excellent job of uncovering her personality and relating to the opening paragraph, where she describes how she fell in love with music.

2 Law School Personal Statement Examples From Admitted Students

These are two law school personal statement examples that worked. We'll review the excerpts below and describe what made them effective and if there's room for improvement. 

Law School Personal Statement Example #1

This is an excerpt of a law personal statement that worked at UChicago Law : 

“The turning point of my college football career came early in my third year. At the end of the second practice of the season, in ninety-five-degree heat, our head coach decided to condition the entire team. Sharp, excruciating pain shot down my legs as he summoned us repeatedly to the line to run wind sprints. 

I collapsed as I turned the corner on the final sprint. Muscle spasms spread throughout my body, and I briefly passed out. Severely dehydrated, I was rushed to the hospital and quickly given more than three liters of fluids intravenously. As I rested in a hospital recovery room, I realized my collapse on the field symbolized broader frustrations I felt playing college football.

I was mentally and physically defeated. In South Dakota, I was a dominant football player in high school, but at the Division I level, my talent was less conspicuous. In my first three years, I was convinced that obsessively training my body to run faster and be stronger would earn me a starting position. The conditioning drill that afternoon revealed the futility of my approach. I had thrust my energies into becoming a player I could never be. As a result, I lost confidence in my identity.

I considered other aspects of my life where my intellect, work ethic, and determination had produced positive results. I chose to study economics and English because processing abstract concepts and ideas in diverse disciplines were intuitively rewarding…Gathering data, reviewing previous literature, and ultimately offering my own contribution to economic knowledge was exhilarating. Indeed, undergraduate research affirmed my desire to attend law school, where I could more thoroughly satisfy my intellectual curiosity…My efforts generated high marks and praise from professors, but this success made my disappointment with football more pronounced.

The challenge of collegiate athletics felt insurmountable. However, I reminded myself that at the Division I level, I was able to compete with and against some of the best players in the country…After the hospital visit, my football position coach—sensing my mounting frustrations—offered some advice. Instead of devoting my energies almost exclusively to physical preparation, he said, I should approach college football with the same mental focus I brought to my academic studies. I began to devour scouting reports and to analyze the complex reasoning behind defensive philosophies and schemes. I studied film and discovered ways to anticipate plays from the offense and become a more effective player. Armed with renewed confidence, I finally earned a starting position in the beginning of my fourth year…

‍I had received the highest grade on the team. After three years of A’s in the classroom, I finally earned my first ‘A’ in football. I used mental preparation to maintain my competitive edge for the rest of the season. Through a combination of film study and will power, I led my team and conference in tackles…The most rewarding part of the season, though, was what I learned about myself in the process. When I finally stopped struggling to become the player I thought I needed to be, I developed self-awareness and confidence in the person I was.

The image of me writhing in pain on the practice field sometimes slips back into my thoughts as I decide where to apply to law school. College football taught me to recognize my weaknesses and look for ways to overcome them. I will enter law school a much stronger person and student because of my experiences on the football field and in the classroom. My decision where to attend law school mirrors my decision where to play college football. I want to study law at the University of Chicago Law School because it provides the best combination of professors, students, and resources in the country. In Division I college football, I succeeded when I took advantage of my opportunities. I hope the University of Chicago will give me an opportunity to succeed again.”

Why This Personal Statement Example Worked

The beginning of this personal statement includes vivid imagery and sets up a relevant anecdote for the reader: the writer’s injury while playing football. At the end of the introduction, he sets up a fantastic transition about his broader frustrations, compelling us to keep reading. 

The essay's body shows the writer's vulnerability, making it even more personal; it can be challenging to talk about feelings, like losing your confidence, but it can help us relate to him. 

The author sets up a transition to writing more about his academic ability, his eventual leadership role on the team, and developing the necessary qualities of a well-rounded lawyer: self-awareness and confidence. 

Finally, the author rounds out his statement by circling back to his opening anecdote and showing the progress he’s made from there. He also describes why UChicago Law is the right school for him. To summarize, the author expertly handled: 

• Opening with a descriptive anecdote that doesn’t leave the reader hanging for too long 
• Being vulnerable in such a way that no one else could have written this statement 
• Doing more than recounting an event but reflecting on it 
• Although he introduced his coach's advice, he kept himself the focal point of the story 
• He picked a focused event; the writer didn’t try to tackle too much content 
• His conclusion references his introduction, signalling the natural end of the story 
• The ending also reaffirms his passion for pursuing law, particularly at UChicago Law 

Law School Personal Statement Example #2 

This law school personal statement excerpt led to acceptance at Boston University Law. 

“She sat opposite me at my desk to fill out a few forms. Fumbling her hands and laughing uncomfortably, it was obvious that she was nervous. Sandra was eighteen, and her knowledge of English was limited to “yes” and “hello.” While translating the initial meeting between Sandra and her attorney, I learned of her reasons for leaving El Salvador. She had been in an abusive relationship, and though she wasn’t ready to go into detail just yet, it was clear from the conversation that her boyfriend had terrorized her and that the El Salvadoran police were of no help…Eventually, Sandra was given a credible fear interview. The interviewer believed that she had a real fear of returning to El Salvador, and Sandra was released from detention with an Immigration Court hearing notice in her hand. She had just retained our office to present her asylum case to the Immigration Judge.

I tried to imagine myself in Sandra’s shoes. She hadn’t finished high school, was in a completely new environment, and had almost no understanding of how things worked in the US. Even the harsh New England winter must have seemed unnatural to her. Having lived abroad for a couple of years, I could relate on some level; however, the circumstances of my stay overseas were completely different. I went to Spain after graduating from college to work in an elementary school, improve my Spanish skills, and see a bit of the world…I had to ask hundreds of questions and usually make a few attempts before actually accomplishing my goal. Frustrating though it was, I didn’t have so much riding on each of these endeavors. If I didn’t have all the necessary paperwork to open a bank account one day, I could just try again the next day. Sandra won’t be afforded the same flexibility in her immigration process, where so much depends on the ability to abide by inflexible deadlines and procedures. Without someone to guide her through the process, ensuring that all requirements are met, and presenting her case as persuasively as possible, Sandra will have little chance of achieving legal status in the United States…

Before starting at my current position at Joyce & Associates, an immigration law firm in Boston, I had long considered a career in law. Growing up, I was engaged by family and school debates about public policy and government. In college, I found my constitutional law courses challenging and exciting. Nonetheless, it wasn’t until I began working with clients like Sandra that I became convinced that a career in law is the right choice for me. Playing my part as a legal assistant in various immigration cases, I have been able to witness how a career in immigration advocacy is both intellectually stimulating and personally fulfilling. I have seen the importance of well-articulated arguments and even creativity in arguing a client’s eligibility for an immigration benefit. I have learned that I excel in critical thinking and in examining detail, as I continually consider the consistency and possible implications of any documents that clients provide in support of their application. But most importantly, I have realized how deserving many of these immigrants are. Many of the clients I work with are among the most hardworking and patriotic people I have encountered…

‍I am equally confident that I would thrive as a student at Boston University, where I would be sure to take full advantage of the many opportunities available. The school’s Asylum and Human Rights Clinic and Immigration Detention Clinic would offer me invaluable experiences in various immigration settings…Given my experiences in an immigration firm, I know that I would have much to offer while participating in these programs, but even more to learn. And while I find BU’s immigration programs to be especially appealing, I am equally drawn to the Boston University experience as a whole…I hope to have the opportunity to face those challenges and to contribute my own experiences and drive to the Boston University community.”

This statement makes excellent use of opening with an experience that sets the writer's motivation to attend law school in motion. We're introduced to another person in the story in the introduction before the author swivels and transitions to how she'd imagine herself in Sandra's shoes. 

This transition shows empathy, and although the author could relate to her client's struggles on a more superficial level, she understood the gravity of her situation and the hardships that awaited her. 

The author backpedals to show how she's cultivated an interest in law in college and explored this interest to know it's the right choice for her. The conclusion does an excellent job of referencing exactly how BU Law will help her achieve her mission. To recap, this personal statement was effective because: 

• She started her personal statement with a story 
• Although the writer focuses on an event with another person, she moves the focus back to her 
• The author’s statement shows qualities like empathy, compassion, and critical thinking without explicitly stating it 
• She connects her experiences to her motivation to attend law school 
• This statement has movement: it references the author’s past, present, and future 
• She ends her statement by explaining in detail why BU Law is the right school for her 

Although this personal statement worked, circling back to the opening anecdote in the conclusion, even with a brief sentence, would have made the conclusion more impactful and fortified the common thread of her narrative.

How to Write Personal Statement For Law School: FAQs

Do you still have questions about how to write a personal statement for law school? Read on to learn more. 

1. What Makes a Good Personal Statement for Law School? 

Generally, an excellent personal statement tells a relevant story, showcases your best qualities, is personal, and creatively answers the prompt. Depending on the prompt, a good personal statement may describe your motivation to attend law school or why a school, in particular, is perfect for you. 

2. Should I Write a Separate Personal Statement for Each School? 

Depending on the prompts, you may be able to submit the same or similar personal statements to different schools. However, you’ll likely need more than one version of your statement to apply to different schools. Generally, students will write a few versions of their statements to meet personal statement instructions. 

3. How Long Should My Personal Statement Be? 

Personal statement length requirements vary by school, but you can generally expect to write approximately two pages, double-spaced. 

4. What Should You Not Put In a Law School Personal Statement? 

Your personal statement shouldn’t include famous quotes, overly sophisticated language, statements that may offend others, and unhelpful or inappropriate information about yourself. 

5. What Do I Write My Law School Personal Statement About? 

The answer depends on the prompt you need to answer. Consider your experiences and decide which are impactful, uncover your personality, show your motivation to attend law school, or show your impressive character traits. 

6. Does the Personal Statement Really Matter for Law School? 

Top LSAT scores and high GPAs may not be enough, especially at the T-14 law schools. Due to the high level of competition, you should take advantage of your personal statement to show why you’re an excellent candidate. So yes, they do matter.

Writing A Law School Personal Statement is Easy With Juris

Writing a personal statement can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. Juris Education is committed to helping you learn how to write a law school personal statement with ease. We help future law school students develop their narratives, evaluate writing to ensure it’s in line with what law schools expect, and edit statements to perfection. 

A stellar personal statement helps you stand out and can help you take that last step to attending the law school of your dreams.

Schedule A Free Consultation

You may also like.

How to Get Into Law School With a Low LSAT Score (4 Tips)

Top Law Schools in Alabama

How to Format Your Law School Personal Statement

How do you write your law school personal statement? Well first of all, let’s make sure that we’re on the same page about what your personal statement is. Your personal statement is the one part of your law school application package and law school requirements that you have complete control over, so you’ll want to put your best foot forward. A personal statement will often focus on why you want to go to law school (or transfer law schools ), but it can also focus on a personal story or aspect of your life.

It shows what makes you unique and why a school should admit you. The personal statement should focus on you, your background, and your goals more broadly. Make sure that it adds something new to your application materials – the school already has your transcript, resume, etc. Think about what you really want the application committee to know about you.

Before anything else, a quick clarification: the law school personal statement is different from an optional essay , which can take on a variety of forms. This could include diversity statements, addendums, or other essays. Here are some examples of law school personal statements that may help you understand the task at hand better.

How do you format a law school personal statement?

In brief, here’s what your law school personal statement will need in terms of format:

• Overall : No title, 11- or 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins.
• Header : Your name, your LSAC number, and “Personal Statement” with a page number, formatted as either one or three lines. Check with your school’s requirements.
• Body : Double-spaced, left-aligned (or justified), paragraphs indented 0.5 inches and not separated with an extra line, single space after periods.
• Ending : End as you would a normal essay. This isn’t a letter; no signature is needed.

Personal Statement Header

The header of the personal statement deserves a closer look. There are two ways of formatting this: either on one line, or on three. One line gives you more space on the page, but can look busy. Three lines have the opposite effect. Weigh the pros and cons based on the length of your statement, then format accordingly.

If you choose the one-line format, be sure to space your information out equally or separate it with punctuation (commas, dashes, and slashes work well) so that it reads clearly.

If you use a three-line format, separate information by line like this:

Name, Page Number LSAC # Personal Statement

Law School Personal Statement Format: FAQs

What should be included in a law school personal statement.

• Who you are. Show readers that you’re an interesting person who brings experiences and skills that will benefit not only the campus community, but the larger legal community.You’re applying in a pool of thousands of candidates, so be sure to highlight what makes you stand out from your peers.  
• Your true voice. There’s a reason why the personal statement isn’t just called a statement or an essay. Sometimes applicants feel that they should write pieces about public policy or social issues, but these too often fall short of showing an applicant’s true voice. Have someone you know well review your personal statement objectively. If they can’t tell you were the one who wrote it, it’s probably time for a rewrite .  
• Specific information about that school. It’s not sufficient to say that you want to attend Santa Clara Law School for its good curriculum, strong faculty, and numerous clinic opportunities. Notice how you could replace “Santa Clara Law School” with any other law school’s name, and the sentence could still make sense? That tells Santa Clara admissions officers that you don’t know very much about their school. Which leads us to our next point…  
• Research on the school itself. Figure out what makes the schools you’re applying to different from others. This is a great opportunity to reach out to alumni, and talk to the admissions staff! You can also use the Internet, visit your local bookstore and check out some guide books, or search around on online forums. Some schools are known for their strength in a certain area of law (think international law or intellectual property law ). Some schools are known for their commitment to pro bono work . Some schools’ faculty are renowned for their research in a specific discipline. Others offer distinctive programs or fellowships to their students. Identify what really interests you about the school, and tie that back to the academic and career interests you discuss in your personal statement.  
• Reflections on the school’s environment. Perhaps you’re looking for a collegial law school environment that mirrors your own undergraduate experience at a small liberal arts school. Or perhaps you’re looking for a large law school so you can take advantage of the network and breadth of resources and alumni that a law school of that size can offer. And don’t forget about the environment outside the school building! Is it important that you have access to hiking trials? Or a ski slope to enjoy over winter break? Environment is often a key factor students consider when deciding on a particular law school, so don’t forget to mention it as a way to express your interest!  
• Concise writing. Check your school’s website to determine how long your personal statement can be, and take it seriously. Law schools are not only looking at whether you can write concisely and effectively, but also whether you can follow posted instructions. Most schools only allow 2-5 pages for personal statement submissions. As a lawyer, you’ll need to write briefs and be able to clearly present client cases. Now’s the time to show that you are capable of honing your communication skills.  
• Authenticity. Law schools aren’t asking you to establish your own NGO or be an Olympic athlete. Rather, they’re looking for candidates who help round out a class and contribute positively to their school. Plenty of people get admitted to law school each year who aren’t superhuman, so don’t feel a need to pretend you’re more accomplished than you are (or stretch the truth). Be yourself – and view this as part of helping the reader understand who you are.  
• Correct writing. Maybe for class assignments, you’ve been able to submit the first draft you write as final. Or maybe one edit is typically sufficient for you to call an essay complete. For the law school personal statement, you want to commit at least two rounds of edits to perfecting your writing. Not only should you review your work, you should also ask both a friend and a fully objective reviewer (like a career center counselor or a campus writing tutor) to give feedback. Once you have at least two rounds of edits, read it out loud to yourself. This will help you identify any awkward phrases and typos. The more time you spend editing your writing, the more confident you’ll be in the strength of your personal statement.

What should you not write in a personal statement for law school?

• Repetition . If your resume shows that you were vice president of your college’s botany club, general secretary of Basket-Weavers Anonymous, and founder of a campus-wide Pizza Appreciation Day, your personal statement need not repeat these things. Now, if founding Pizza Appreciation Day was such a transformative experience for you that you need to highlight it in your personal statement, be sure you’re telling admissions officers something new that your resume doesn’t already tell.  
• Your autobiography . Admissions officers don’t need a play-by-play of your entire life’s events from day one. Autobiographies become long and rambling – two things your personal statement shouldn’t be. Focus on aspects of your life that truly differentiate you from others in a meaningful way.  
• Academic issues . Law schools offer you space in a separate essay to explain academic discrepancies. Your personal statement is your chance to focus on the positive and show admissions officers you’d be an asset to their school. Don’t use your personal statement to go into detail about how your dog’s unexpected chronic migraines prevented you from getting a good GPA during your first year of college.  
• Legal jargon . No, you’re not a lawyer yet – and law school admissions officers are not going to be impressed by legal jargon that’s used incorrectly or used as a way to show off. Keep your tone and language simple. Remember that your personal statement is meant to show your own voice.  
• Cliches . Don’t be the student who bores admissions officers with another essay about how you want to be a lawyer because you like to argue. Avoid clichés – by definition, they’re overused and don’t add value. They make your personal statement generic, and you’ll fall flat when compared with other candidates.  
• Other people . Your personal statement should keep the focus on you. It’s great if you want to write about how your famous lawyer uncle inspired you to join the legal profession, but make sure the essay remains true to your story – not your uncle’s.  
• Slang . Admissions officers view the personal statement as a showcase of your best writing – so slang and casual English are best left behind. While you want your tone to be friendly, you don’t want to sound like you’re chatting with a best friend on a Friday night. Keep things professional.

How do I write a statement for law school?

There are three main steps to the writing process, and they’re no different here! Namely: brainstorm, write, and edit. In this case, though, we’ll add a fourth step: format and proofread.

• Brainstorming is one of the most crucial things you can do for your personal statement. You want to make sure your ideas are strong, following the guidelines above. It can be helpful to spend a little quiet time alone or in a cozy coffee shop to start brainstorming. Check out some of our law school personal statement examples to spark ideas!  
• Once you’ve brainstormed and organized your ideas, the writing itself will go pretty quickly. After you’ve written the first draft, leave the personal statement aside for a day or two (a week or more is better!). Then, come back. What parts don’t flow well? What ideas need more (or less) elaboration? Cut—and add—brutally! Editing is not the same as proofreading; this is the point at which you ensure the ideas themselves are sound.  
• Now, it’s time for the final line edit-format-proofread. In a line edit, you’ll work to make sure you’re using the best possible words correctly, rephrasing and rewriting as needed. Then, use the law school personal statement format discussed above to organize the writing. Finally, read through for errors in spelling, grammar, and formatting.

Voila! Your law school personal statement is now ready. If you’re planning to send it off to a T14 law school, check out our post on the top law schools for more tips and information. And no matter what, check out our post on how to get into law school !

Need more help?

Improve your LSAT scores with Magoosh LSAT , you can choose between a live cohorted class with an instructor (which includes all our lessons and practice questions) or access to the self-study option by itself.

Rachel is one of Magoosh’s Content Creators. She writes and updates content on our High School and GRE Blogs to ensure students are equipped with the best information during their test prep journey. As a test-prep instructor for more than five years in there different countries, Rachel has helped students around the world prepare for various standardized tests, including the SAT, ACT, TOEFL, GRE, and GMAT, and she is one of the authors of our Magoosh ACT Prep Book . Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from Brown University, an MA in Cinematography from the Université de Paris VII, and a Ph.D. in Film Studies from University College London. For over a decade, Rachel has honed her craft as a fiction and memoir writer and public speaker. Her novel, THE BALLERINAS , is forthcoming in December 2021 from St. Martin’s Press , while her memoir, GRADUATES IN WONDERLAND , co-written with Jessica Pan, was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Her work has appeared in over a dozen online and print publications, including Vanity Fair Hollywood. When she isn’t strategically stringing words together at Magoosh, you can find Rachel riding horses or with her nose in a book. Join her on Twitter , Instagram , or Facebook !

View all posts

More from Magoosh

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Ultimate Guide to Writing an Outstanding Law School Personal Statement

Dazzle admissions with your legally awesome personal story, introduction.

Let's face it: you've spent countless hours studying and acing the LSAT, and now it's time for the pièce de résistance – the law school personal statement. This is your golden opportunity to showcase your personality, and put your best legal foot forward. But don't worry, this guide has got you covered. In no time, you'll be writing a personal statement that could put John Grisham's early drafts to shame.

If you're ready to convince law school admissions committees that you're the next Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Thurgood Marshall, then buckle up and get ready for a wild ride through the world of crafting the ultimate law school personal statement.

1. Know Your Audience: The Admissions Committee

First and foremost, remember that you're writing for the admissions committee. These are the gatekeepers of your future legal career, and they've read more personal statements than there are citations in a Supreme Court decision. To avoid becoming a legal footnote in their memory, keep the following in mind:

• Be professional, but also relatable. You don't want to sound like a robot that's been programmed to spout legalese.
• Avoid clichés like "I want to make a difference" or "I've always wanted to be a lawyer." Unless, of course, you've been dreaming of billable hours since you were in diapers.
• Consider what makes you unique. Remember, this is your chance to stand out among a sea of applicants with equally impressive academic records and LSAT scores.

2. Choosing Your Topic: Make It Personal and Memorable

When it comes to choosing a topic for your personal statement, think of it as an episode of Law & Order: Your Life Edition. It's your moment to shine, so pick a story that showcases your passion, resilience, or commitment to justice. Consider these tips:

• Use an anecdote. Admissions committees love a good story, especially one that shows your problem-solving skills or ability to navigate tricky situations. Just be sure not to end up on the wrong side of the law!
• Reflect on a transformative experience. If you've had a life-changing event that led you to pursue law, share it! Just remember to keep it PG-rated.
• Discuss a personal challenge you've overcome. Nothing says "I'm ready for law school" like demonstrating your resilience in the face of adversity.

3. Structure and Organization: Your Legal Blueprint

Now that you've chosen your topic, it's time to draft your personal statement. Like a well-organized legal brief, your statement should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Consider the following tips for structuring your masterpiece:

• Begin with a strong opening. Start with a hook that will capture the reader's attention and make them want to keep reading. Think of it as your own personal Miranda warning: "You have the right to remain captivated."
• Develop your story in the body. This is where you'll expand on your anecdote or experience, and explain how it has shaped your desire to pursue a legal career. Remember to be concise and avoid meandering – this isn't a filibuster.
• End with a powerful conclusion. Tie everything together and reiterate why you're the ideal candidate for law school. Just like a closing argument, leave the admissions committee convinced that you're the right choice.

4. Style and Tone: Finding Your Inner Legal Wordsmith

When it comes to your personal statement, you want to strike the perfect balance between professional and engaging. After all, no one wants to read a 500-word legal treatise on why you should be admitted to law school. To achieve this delicate balance, follow these style and tone guidelines:

• Write in the first person. This is your personal statement, so own it! Using "I" allows you to convey your unique perspective and voice.
• Keep it conversational, yet polished. Write as if you were speaking to a respected mentor or professor. Avoid slang, but don't be afraid to inject a bit of your personality into your writing.
• Employ dry humor sparingly. A little wit can make your statement more enjoyable to read, but remember that humor is subjective. It's best to err on the side of caution, lest you inadvertently offend the admissions committee.
• Be precise and concise. Legal writing is known for its clarity and brevity, so practice these skills in your personal statement. Aim to keep it between 500 and 700 words, as brevity is the soul of wit (and law school applications).

5. Revision: The Art of Legal Editing

It's been said that writing is rewriting, and this is particularly true for your personal statement. Once you've drafted your masterpiece, it's time to don your editor's hat and polish it to perfection. Follow these tips for a meticulous revision:

• Take a break before revising. Give yourself some distance from your statement before diving into revisions. This will help you approach it with fresh eyes and a clear mind.
• Read your statement out loud. This technique can help you catch awkward phrasing, run-on sentences, and other errors that might not be apparent when reading silently.
• Seek feedback from others. Share your statement with trusted friends, family members, or mentors who can provide constructive criticism. Just remember, opinions are like law school casebooks – everyone's got one, but you don't have to take them all to heart.
• Edit ruthlessly. Don't be afraid to cut, rewrite, or reorganize your statement. Your goal is to make your writing as strong and effective as possible, even if it means sacrificing a clever turn of phrase or an endearing anecdote.

6. Proofread: The Final Verdict

Before submitting your personal statement, it's crucial to proofread it thoroughly. Even the most compelling story can be marred by typos, grammatical errors, or other mistakes. Follow these proofreading tips to ensure your statement is error-free:

• Use spell check, but don't rely on it entirely. Some errors, like homophones or subject-verb agreement issues, may slip past your computer's watchful eye.
• Print your statement and read it on paper. This can help you spot errors that you might have missed on-screen.
• Enlist a second pair of eyes. Sometimes, a fresh perspective can catch mistakes that you've become blind to after multiple revisions.

Crafting an outstanding law school personal statement may seem daunting, but with the right approach and a healthy dose of perseverance, you can create a compelling and memorable statement that will impress even the most discerning admissions committee. So go forth and conquer, future legal eagles! And remember, as you embark on your law school journey, may the precedent be ever in your favor.

Tech-focused creator of LSD.Law. I built LSD while applying to law school. I saw unequal access to knowledge and built LSD to level the playing field and help applicants make thoughtful, well-informed decisions in the application process.

• Data download

Help us make LSD better!

The University of Chicago The Law School

In their own words: admissions essays that worked.

Throughout this issue, countless examples show why we are so proud of the students at the law school. One might think that we get lucky that the students the admissions office chose for their academic accomplishments also turn out to be incredible members of our community, but it’s really all by design. Our students show us a great deal more in their applications than just academics—and we care about a lot more than their numbers. In these pages, meet five of our students in the way we first met them: through the personal statements they wrote for their law school applications. And through their photos, meet a sixth: Andreas Baum, ’12, the talented student photographer who took these pictures for us.

Tammy Wang, ’12

EDUCATION: Johns Hopkins University, BA in International Relations, concentration East Asian Studies, with honors (2007) WORK EXPERIENCE: AsianFanatics.net LAW SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: University of Chicago Law Review, Immigrant Child Advocacy Project Clinic, APALSA, Admissions Committee, Law School Film Festival I fell in love for the first time when I was four. That was the year my mother signed me up for piano lessons. I can still remember touching those bright, ivory keys with reverence, feeling happy and excited that soon I would be playing those tinkling, familiar melodies (which my mother played every day on our boombox) myself. To my rather naïve surprise, however, instead of setting the score for Für Elise on the piano stand before me, my piano teacher handed me a set of Beginner’s Books. I was to read through the Book of Theory, learn to read the basic notes of the treble and bass clefs, and practice, my palm arched as though an imaginary apple were cupped between my fingers, playing one note at a time. After I had mastered the note of “C,” she promised, I could move on to “D.” It took a few years of theory and repetition before I was presented with my very first full-length classical piece: a sonatina by Muzio Clementi. I practiced the new piece daily, diligently following the written directives of the composer. I hit each staccato note crisply and played each crescendo and every decrescendo dutifully. I performed the piece triumphantly for my teacher and lifted my hands with a flourish as I finished. Instead of clapping, however, my teacher gave me a serious look and took both my hands in hers. “Music,” she said sincerely, “is not just technique. It’s not just fingers or memorization. It comes from the heart.” That was how I discovered passion. Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn: the arcs and passages of intricate notes are lines of genius printed on paper, but ultimately, it is the musician who coaxes them to life. They are open to artistic and emotional interpretation, and even eight simple bars can inspire well over a dozen different variations. I poured my happiness and my angst into the keys, loving every minute of it. I pictured things, events, and people (some real, some entirely imagined— but all intensely personal) in my mind as I played, and the feelings and melodies flowed easily: frustration into Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique, wistfulness into Chopin’s nocturnes and waltzes, and sheer joy into Schubert. Practice was no longer a chore; it was a privilege and a delight. In high school, I began playing the piano for church services. The music director gave me a binder full of 1-2-3 sheet music, in which melodies are written as numbers instead of as notes on a music staff. To make things a bit more interesting for myself—and for the congregation—I took to experimenting, pairing the written melodies with chords and harmonies of my own creation. I rarely played a song the same way twice; the beauty of improvisation, of songwriting, is that it is as much “feeling” as it is logic and theory. Different occasions and different moods yielded different results: sometimes, “Listen Quietly” was clean and beautiful in its simplicity; other times, it became elaborate and nearly classical in its passages. The basic melody and musical key, however, remained the same, even as the embellishments changed. The foundation of good improvisation and songwriting is simple: understanding the musical key in which a song is played—knowing the scale, the chords, the harmonies, and how well (or unwell) they work together—is essential. Songs can be rewritten and reinterpreted as situation permits, but missteps are obvious because the fundamental laws of music and harmony do not change. Although my formal music education ended when I entered college, the lessons I have learned over the years have remained close and relevant to my life. I have acquired a lifestyle of discipline and internalized the drive for self-improvement. I have gained an appreciation for the complexities and the subtleties of interpretation. I understand the importance of having both a sound foundation and a dedication to constant study. I understand that to possess a passion and personal interest in something, to think for myself, is just as important.

Josh Mahoney, ’13

EDUCATION: University of Northern Iowa, BA in Economics and English, magna cum laude (2009) LAW SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: Student Admissions Committee, flag football, Tony Patiño Fellow The turning point of my college football career came early in my third year. At the end of the second practice of the season, in ninety-five-degree heat, our head coach decided to condition the entire team. Sharp, excruciating pain shot down my legs as he summoned us repeatedly to the line to run wind sprints. I collapsed as I turned the corner on the final sprint. Muscle spasms spread throughout my body, and I briefly passed out. Severely dehydrated, I was rushed to the hospital and quickly given more than three liters of fluids intravenously. As I rested in a hospital recovery room, I realized my collapse on the field symbolized broader frustrations I felt playing college football. I was mentally and physically defeated. In South Dakota I was a dominant football player in high school, but at the Division I level my talent was less conspicuous. In my first three years, I was convinced that obsessively training my body to run faster and be stronger would earn me a starting position. The conditioning drill that afternoon revealed the futility of my approach. I had thrust my energies into becoming a player I could never be. As a result, I lost confidence in my identity. I considered other aspects of my life where my intellect, work ethic, and determination had produced positive results. I chose to study economics and English because processing abstract concepts and ideas in diverse disciplines was intuitively rewarding. Despite the exhaustion of studying late into the night after grueling football practices, I developed an affinity for academia that culminated in two undergraduate research projects in economics. Gathering data, reviewing previous literature, and ultimately offering my own contribution to economic knowledge was exhilarating. Indeed, undergraduate research affirmed my desire to attend law school, where I could more thoroughly satisfy my intellectual curiosity. In English classes, I enjoyed writing critically about literary works while adding my own voice to academic discussions. My efforts generated high marks and praise from professors, but this success made my disappointment with football more pronounced. The challenge of collegiate athletics felt insurmountable. However, I reminded myself that at the Division I level I was able to compete with and against some of the best players in the country.While I might never start a game, the opportunity to discover and test my abilities had initially compelled me to choose a Division I football program. After the hospital visit, my football position coach—sensing my mounting frustrations—offered some advice. Instead of devoting my energies almost exclusively to physical preparation, he said, I should approach college football with the same mental focus I brought to my academic studies. I began to devour scouting reports and to analyze the complex reasoning behind defensive philosophies and schemes. I studied film and discovered ways to anticipate plays from the offense and become a more effective player. Armed with renewed confidence, I finally earned a starting position in the beginning of my fourth year. My team opened the season against Brigham Young University (BYU). I performed well despite the pressures of starting my first game in front of a hostile crowd of 65,000 people. The next day, my head coach announced the grade of every starting player’s efforts in the BYU game at a team meeting: “Mahoney—94 percent.” I had received the highest grade on the team. After three years of A’s in the classroom, I finally earned my first ‘A’ in football. I used mental preparation to maintain my competitive edge for the rest of the season. Through a combination of film study and will power, I led my team and conference in tackles. I became one of the best players in the conference and a leader on a team that reached the semi-finals of the Division I football playoffs. The most rewarding part of the season, though, was what I learned about myself in the process. When I finally stopped struggling to become the player I thought I needed to be, I developed self-awareness and confidence in the person I was. The image of me writhing in pain on the practice field sometimes slips back into my thoughts as I decide where to apply to law school. College football taught me to recognize my weaknesses and look for ways to overcome them. I will enter law school a much stronger person and student because of my experiences on the football field and in the classroom. My decision where to attend law school mirrors my decision where to play college football. I want to study law at the University of Chicago Law School because it provides the best combination of professors, students, and resources in the country. In Division I college football, I succeeded when I took advantage of my opportunities. I hope the University of Chicago will give me an opportunity to succeed again.

Osama Hamdy, '13

EDUCATION: University of California, Berkeley, BA in Legal Studies, AB in Media Studies (2010) LAW SCHOOL ACTIVITES: BLSA, Intramural Basketball I was a shy thirteen-year-old who had already lived in six locations and attended five schools. Having recently moved, I was relieved when I finally began to develop a new group of friends. However, the days following September 11, 2001, were marked with change. People began to stare at me. Many conversations came to a nervous stop when I walked by. However, it wasn’t until one of my peers asked if I was a terrorist that it really hit me. Osama, my name is Osama. I went from having a unique name that served as a conversation starter to having the same name as the most wanted man in America. The stares and the comments were just the beginning. Eventually I received a death threat at school. I remember crying alone in my room, afraid to tell my parents in fear that they might not let me go to school anymore. My experience opened my eyes up to racial and religious dynamics in the United States. I started to see how these dynamics drove people’s actions, even if some were not aware of the reasons. The more I looked at my surroundings with a critical eye, the more I realized that my classmates had not threatened me because of hate, but because of fear and ignorance. This realization was extremely empowering. I knew that mirroring their hostility would only reinforce the fear and prejudice they held. Instead, I reached out to my peers with an open mind and respect. My acceptance of others served as a powerful counter example to many negative stereotypes I had to face.With this approach, I was often able to transform fear into acceptance, and acceptance into appreciation. I chose not to hide my heritage or myself, despite the fear of judgment or violence. As a result, I developed a new sense of self-reliance and self-confidence. However, I wasn’t satisfied with the change that I had brought about in my own life. I wanted to empower others as well. My passion for equality and social justice grew because I was determined to use my skills and viewpoint to unite multiple marginalized communities and help foster understanding and appreciation for our differences and similarities alike. The years following September 11th were a true test of character for me. I learned how to feel comfortable in uncomfortable situations. This allowed me to become a dynamic and outgoing individual. This newfound confidence fueled a passion to become a leader and help uplift multiple minority communities. During the last two summers I made this passion a reality when I took the opportunity to work with underprivileged minority students. All of the students I worked with came from difficult backgrounds and many didn’t feel as though college was an option for them. I learned these students’ goals and aspirations, as well as their obstacles and hardships. I believed in them, and I constantly told them that they would make it. I worked relentlessly to make sure my actions matched my words of encouragement. I went well above the expectations of my job and took the initiative to plan several additional workshops on topics such as public speaking, time management, and confidence building. My extra efforts helped give these students the tools they needed to succeed. One hundred percent of the twenty-one high school juniors I worked with my first summer are now freshmen at four-year universities. I feel great pride in having helped these students achieve this important goal. I know that they will be able to use these tools to continue to succeed. Inspired by my summer experience, I jumped at the opportunity to take on the position of Diversity Outreach Ambassador for the San Francisco Bar Association Diversity Pipeline Program. In this position, I was responsible for helping organize a campus event that brought educational material and a panel of lawyers to UC Berkeley in order to empower and inform minority students about their opportunities in law school. In this position I was able to unite a diverse group of organizations, including the Black Pre-Law Association, the Latino Pre-Law Society, and the Haas Undergraduate Black Business Association. Working in this position was instrumental in solidifying my desire to attend law school. The lawyers who volunteered their time had a significant impact on me. I learned that they used their legal education to assist causes and organizations they felt passionate about. One of the lawyers told me that she volunteered her legal services to a Latino advocacy association. Another lawyer explained to me how he donated his legal expertise to advise minority youth on how to overcome legal difficulties. Collaborating with these lawyers gave me a better understanding of how my passion for law could interact with my interest in social justice issues. My experiences leading minority groups taught me that I need to stand out to lead others and myself to success. I need to be proud of my culture and myself. My experiences after September 11th have taught me to defeat the difficulties in life instead of allowing them to defeat me. Now, whether I am hit with a racial slur or I encounter any obstacles in life, I no longer retreat, but I confront it fearlessly and directly. I expect law school will help give me the tools to continue to unite and work with a diverse group of people. I hope to continue to empower and lead minority communities as we strive towards legal and social equality.

Eliza Riffe, '13

EDUCATION: University of Chicago, AB in Anthropology, with honors (2006) WORK EXPERIENCE: Sarbanes-Oxley coordinator and financial analyst, ABM Industries Harper Library, situated at the center of the main quadrangle at the University of Chicago, resembles a converted abbey, with its vaulted ceilings and arched windows. The library was completed in 1912, before Enrico Fermi built the world’s first nuclear reactor, before Milton Friedman devised the permanent income hypothesis, and well before Barack Obama taught Constitutional Law. Generations of scholars have pored over Adam Smith and Karl Marx in the main reading room, penned world-class treatises at the long wooden tables, and worn their coats indoors against the drafts in the spacious Gothic hall. Abiding over all of these scholars, and over me when I was among them, is an inscription under the library’s west window that has served as my guiding intellectual principle: “Read not to believe or contradict, but to weigh and consider.” Per this inscription, which is an abridgement of a passage by Sir Francis Bacon, we readers ought to approach knowledge as a means of enhancing our judgment and not as fodder for proclamations or discord. The generations of scholars poring over Marx, for example, should seek to observe his theories of economic determinism in the world, not immediately begin to foment a riot in the drafty reading room at Harper. The reader may contend, though, that too much weighing and considering could lead to inertia, or worse, to a total lack of conviction. The Harper inscription, however, does not tell its readers to believe in nothing, nor does it instruct them never to contradict a false claim. Instead it prescribes a way to read. The inscription warns us to use knowledge not as a rhetorical weapon, but as a tool for making balanced and informed decisions. On the cruelest days in February during my undergraduate years, when I asked myself why I had not chosen to pursue my studies someplace warmer, I would head to Harper, find a seat from which I would have a clear view of the inscription, and say to myself: “That is why.” On such a day in February, seated at a long Harper table with my coat still buttoned all the way up, I discovered how much I appreciated Carl Schmitt’s clarity and argumentation. I marveled at the way his Concept of the Political progressed incrementally, beginning at the most fundamental, linguistic level. As an anthropology student, I wrongfully assumed that, because Schmitt was often positioned in a neo-conservative tradition, I could not acknowledge him. That day in February, I took the Bacon inscription to heart, modeled its discipline, and was able to transcend that academic tribalism. I added the kernel of The Concept of the Political , Schmitt’s “friend-enemy” dichotomy, to an ever-growing array of images and ideas that I had accumulated, among them Marx’s alienation, C. S. Peirce’s indexicality, and Pierre Bourdieu’s graphical depiction of social space. This patchwork of theories and descriptive models, when weighed and considered, informs my understanding of new ideas I encounter. The academic dons who decided to place the Bacon quote under the western window intended that the idea would transcend the scholastic realm of its readers. Indeed, in my work as a financial analyst for a publicly traded company, it is often a professional touchstone. Though each day in the world of corporate finance is punctuated with deadlines and requests for instantaneous information, I am at my best as an analyst when I consider all of the data thoroughly and weigh the competing agendas. Like emulsified oil and vinegar that separate over time when left undisturbed, the right answer will emerge from among all of the wrong answers when I take the time to consider all of the possibilities. An extra hour spent analyzing an income statement can reveal even more trends than could a cursory glance. Moreover, the more I weigh and consider when I have the opportunity, the more I enhance the judgment I will need to make quick decisions and pronouncements when I do not have time.With inner vision sharpened by years of consideration, I am able to “see into the life of things,” as Wordsworth described in writing of “Tintern Abbey.” Wordsworth’s memory of the abbey provided him much-needed transcendence in moments of loneliness or boredom. The memory of the inscription under the west window at Harper—“Read not to believe or contradict, but to weigh and consider”—has a similar function. For Wordsworth, Tintern alleviated emotional anguish; for me, the Bacon inscription reaffirms a sense of intellectual purpose. The words under the window, their meaning, and the very curvature of the letters in the stone are fixed in my mind and will continue to be as I enter the life of the law. What intrigues me most about legal education is the opportunity to engage simultaneously in the two complementary processes the Harper inscription inspires in me—building a foundation of theories and descriptive models while enhancing my judgment with practice and patience.

Evan Rose, '13

EDUCATION: University of Otago (New Zealand), BA in Philosophy (1999) WORK EXPERIENCE: Ski and Snowboard Schools of Aspen/Snowmass, Eurospecs Limited (NZ) LAW SCHOOL ACTIVITIES: LSA 1L Representative, BLSA, Student Admissions Committee As I tumble through the air, time seems to slow. I have fallen hard many times before, but even before I hit the ground I can tell this fall is different. I complete one and a half back flips and slam shoulders-first into the slope. As I lie on the hill, the snow jammed into the hood of my jacket begins to melt, and icy water runs down my back. I do not yet know that the impact has broken my neck. I grew up only a short drive from some of New Zealand’s best ski resorts, but my family could never afford ski vacations. My first opportunity to try snowboarding came on a trip with my university flatmate.With expectations shaped purely by the media, I left for the trip assuming snowboarding was a sport for adrenaline junkies, troublemakers, and delinquents. Much to my surprise, I instead found that it provided me with a sense of peace that defied these preconceptions. Anxiety had been a constant companion throughout much of my childhood. I had not always been this way, but years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of my stepfather had taken their toll. My once carefree demeanor had changed, leaving me fearful, panicky, and timid. On a snowboard these feelings faded into the background for the first time in years, and the difference was profound. I never truly realized the pain I had endured until riding gave me the opportunity to escape it. I sought out every possible opportunity to go riding, and through the sport I pushed the limits of both my physical and mental courage. Snowboarding became a vehicle for regaining the confidence and self-worth that had been taken from me through the injustice of abuse. Even as I began to ride competitively in boardercross racing and halfpipe, launching myself into the air over sixty-foot jumps, the sense of peace I gained during my first day on a snowboard stayed with me. It did, at least, until that April afternoon. As I lay in a hospital bed a few hours after my accident, an overwhelming sense of fear replaced any confidence that snowboarding had instilled in me. I faced the prospect of a lengthy and complicated surgery, with no certainty about the outcome. I knew my shattered vertebrae could easily leave me paralyzed. I was lucky to be alive, but any sense of luck eluded me as pain sent me in and out of consciousness. Two days later, surgeons worked for seven hours to rebuild my neck. I awoke to learn that I had escaped any serious nerve damage. However, I would need to be immobilized by a brace twenty-four hours a day, and for over three months, before I could even contemplate rehabilitation. Those months passed slowly. When I was finally able to start the process of rehabilitation, I made recovery my full-time job. I quickly learned that pain was to become the central reality of that year. The first day I could walk to my mailbox marked a significant achievement. Determined to return to full health, and even hoping to eventually return to riding, I gritted my teeth through the daily therapy sessions. At each subsequent visit, my doctor expressed his surprise at the progress of my recovery. Only twelve months after my injury, he cleared me to make a few careful runs on an easy, groomed slope. While I made it through those first few runs safely, they left me shaking with fear. Since then, I have again found joy in riding, but no amount of determination will allow me to ride the way I had before. I won’t be attempting double back flips again any time soon. Rather than focusing on my own riding, I now direct my energy into coaching. My experiences showed me the transformative power of courage and self-confidence, and taught me to build these qualities in others. At the Aspen Skiing Company, I develop and implement teaching curricula for more than two hundred snowboard instructors. My goal is for my fellow coaches to recognize that snowboarding can offer much more than just a diversion. It has the potential to have a profound and inspiring impact on their students’ lives. In the ample time my recovery allowed for reflection, I found solace in the fact that the abuse in my childhood fostered in me not bitterness, but an enduring dedication to fairness and justice. As a college student, this dedication led me to seek out classes in ethics and morality. As a manager and leader, I strive to display both courage and enduring fairness. My interest in the legal profession stems from my belief that laws represent the concrete expressions of justice and fairness in our society. After discovering the salvation it held for me, I believed that I was reliant on snowboarding. Yet, being forced to face the grueling process of rehabilitation without it allowed me to take the final step to recovery from the trauma of my childhood. I realized I am much stronger and more resilient than I had previously believed. I realized that courage is not something that snowboarding gave me but something that has always been within me. These realizations have prepared me to broaden the scope of my dedication to justice. Secure in the knowledge that the courage and determination I have shown will help shape my future success, I am now ready to take on this new challenge: the study and practice of law.  

Application Toolkit: Written Statements

On this webpage, you will find our advice and guidance for approaching the two written statements in the application.

Beginning with the application for Fall Term 2024 enrollment, we now require that all applicants submit a Statement of Purpose and a Statement of Perspective. Although it is no longer an application component, much of the advice we shared about the personal statement may still be useful to applicants as they develop their Written Statements. We have preserved that information on this toolkit for your reference.

Changes to the J.D. Application Components

Instructions

Every applicant must submit both a Statement of Purpose and a Statement of Perspective, responding to the prompts below. Each Statement must be one to two pages in length, using double-spacing, one-inch margins, and a font size that is comfortable to read (no smaller than 11 point). We expect every applicant to use at least one full page for each Statement.

Statement of Purpose : What motivates you to pursue law? How does attending law school align with your ambitions, goals, and vision for your future?

Statement of Perspective : The Admissions Committee makes every effort to understand who you are as an individual and potential Harvard Law School student and graduate. Please share how your experiences, background, and/or interests have shaped you and will shape your engagement in the HLS community and the legal profession.

Blog Advice

• Visit the Admissions Blog
• View All Written Statements Blog Posts

Changes to the J.D. Program Application Components

August is here, and that means the J.D. Admissions Office is finalizing our application for the 2023–2024 cycle before it opens on September 15. One exciting change for this year: we have reworked our essay requirements and prompts.

August 4, 2023

Should you include a “why Harvard” statement in your application?

Each year at this time, we receive questions about how applicants should express interest in Harvard Law School. Include a “Why Harvard” essay? Talk about HLS in the personal statement? Maybe an addendum on this topic? The answer to all these questions is the same: no, that’s not necessary.  Let’s start with the separate “why

December 2, 2022

Overrated/Underrated Part 3

Continuing our Overrated/Underrated series, this week, we shift our focus to highlight some of the overrated approaches that we recommend applicants avoid as they craft their applications. 

November 17, 2021

Overrated/Underrated Part 1

The J.D. Admissions team recently came together to offer their thoughts on some underrated and overrated approaches that applicants might take towards their HLS application. We hope you’ll find some of these nuggets useful.

September 9, 2021

Real Talk: The Personal Statement

For our first entry in the Real Talk series, Associate Director Nefyn Meissner shares advice on approaching the personal statement.

August 6, 2020

Personal Statement Advice

The personal statement is “an opportunity to give the Admissions Committee a better sense of who you are as a person and as a potential student and graduate of Harvard Law School.” But what does that mean to us?

November 6, 2018

Podcast Advice

Navigating law school admissions with miriam & kristi.

Miriam Ingber (Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Yale Law School) and Kristi Jobson (Assistant Dean for Admissions at Harvard Law School) provide candid, accurate, and straightforward advice about law school admissions — direct from the source. They will be joined by guest stars from other law schools to discuss application timing, letters of recommendation, personal statements, and more.

• View All Episodes

Written Statements Workshop

Our Statement Workshop provides applicants with straightforward advice on how to craft essays with a reflective activity and guiding questions to consider.

We do understand mistakes happen. You are more than welcome to upload an updated document through your status checker. We will review the new material alongside what has been previously received.

Note that when you complete your application and hit “submit”, the information contained in your application may not be altered or deleted in any way by you as an applicant or by us as an admissions team.

Yes. Reapplicants will need to submit new written statements with their application.

We ask that transfer candidates also address the reason(s) for applying for transfer enrollment. Please visit our Transfer Applications Components for more information.

Modal Gallery

Gallery block modal gallery.

I Got a Full-Ride to Law School Using This Personal Statement

Law school admissions certainly are intimidating, especially when it comes to the rather daunting task of writing a personal statement with no real prompt. Generally, law schools will ask for no more than two pages of basically whatever you would like to talk about.

However, there are a few well-established principles for writing a successful personal statement. Here are 4 principles, along with my own personal statement, to help you hit a home run:

The personal statement should only drive your application forward. If it is holding it back in any way, it is not ready.

Your personal statement should explain your interest or purpose for studying the law.

This does not have to be the backbone of the entire piece, but it should be at least mentioned somewhere. It should also avoid legal jargon and should not be some sort of showcase for legal knowledge. It also should not be a regurgitation of your resume. The committee will already have your resume, so the personal statement serves as a supplement to it.

Spend the time making your personal statement better.

To get a competitive offer from whichever law school you may be applying to, it all starts with a good application package. The admissions committee is going to want to see a good LSAT score , a strong GPA, some recommendations, and a well-written personal statement. That much is clear. Your personal statement may never feel like it is just right, but it can only become better with consistent time and effort spent drafting it again and again.

Research examples of well-written personal statements.

To get some ideas about what a good personal statement could look like, I did a preliminary search to read a few successful ones. The University of Chicago had a few essays posted on  their site  from admitted students that gave me a good point of reference. Although there is tremendous flexibility in writing the personal statement, it should not be so wacky as to discourage the admissions committee in your abilities as a writer or in your seriousness about attending law school.

Take advantage of the resources around you to make your statement the best.

For my statement, I went through a couple of potential concepts and decided to do one on my life’s motto. And, no, it was not some cliché that I pretended was my motto; I picked words that I truly lived by and continue to live by to this day. I spent many hours writing and rewriting my personal statement. Thankfully, I had the invaluable help of my roommate, who is a strong writer himself, and he gave me useful feedback on many of my drafts (I promised him a nice dinner if I ended up getting admitted with a full-ride to somewhere). When I got close to a final draft, I took it to my school’s writer’s workshop to have someone I had never met before read it aloud. It allowed me to hear where someone might misunderstand something so that I could make changes accordingly for the final product.

Beginning in the spring, picking up in September, accelerating further in October, and finishing in November when I sent my applications out, the whole process produced something that I thought gave me a very strong shot at success. So here it is. Enjoy:

“Ball: outside!” declared the umpire.

“Come on now! Get ahead, stay ahead, kid!” demanded my coach.

I checked the sign: fastball. That pitch was just not there; I shook my head no. My catcher gave me the next sign: curveball. Yes, the get-me-over-curve, my signature pitch. I stepped back to begin my windup.

“Steeeeeriiike! One and one,” the umpire grunted.

“That’s the way, Duff! Just like that!” my coach exclaimed.

My catcher fired that ball back to me. I toed the rubber and focused on his signs: he flashed two fingers and motioned to the right—curveball, outside. I nodded affirmatively. He and I were on the same page. I began my windup again, picked up the leg, and spun my big overhand curve to the plate.

“Two! One and two.” The batter stood motionless as he watched my back door hook clip the outer edge of the strike zone.

“One more now, Duff! Come on, kid!”

The pitch count, or the current amount of balls and strikes in a given at bat, is perhaps the most impactful construct of baseball. After every pitch, the umpire declares it to be a ball or strike, subsequently adding it to the count. If the batter reaches four balls, he earns a walk, or a free pass to first base; if he gets three strikes, the batter is out. The batter’s goal is to reach a base before three strikes. The pitcher does everything that he can to stop that.

As I got the ball back, I knew I was in the driver’s seat. The batter was at a tremendous disadvantage and would have to react to my pitches on two strikes rather than just being able to lock in on one. I leaned in for the sign: one finger, right, up—fastball, high and outside. I liked it. Even though it was not my best pitch that day, I understood that I could still use it effectively to keep batters off balance since I was ahead. I stepped back into the windup and let the pitch fly.

The batter flailed at the pitch. “Three!” shouted the umpire, raising his fist in the air to call him out. He was sitting on the big, slow curveball and not the fastball, but he could not be selective because he was down in the count. On to the next one.

“Atta kid! That’s what happens when you get ahead!”

Get ahead, stay ahead.

While my organized baseball playing days may be over, that fundamental is still strong. A picture of all-star pitcher Max Scherzer hurling a baseball towards the plate sits above my desk with that same motto in bolded letters:  Get Ahead, Stay Ahead .

What does getting ahead provide? For one, it gives the peace of mind that comes with flexibility; there’s room to react in case something goes off course. In baseball, it gives the pitcher more room to work within the count because he has more options when the batter must play defensively. In short, he can do what he wants. One of the key differences between baseball and life, however, is that baseball has a simple, predetermined goal: score more runs than the other team! Life, on the other hand, allows for enormous flexibility in choosing a goal. Rather than be content with the usual four-year bachelor’s track, I pushed forward as hard as I could to graduate in three years. Many people are surprised when I tell them about my efforts to graduate early; they often wonder why I chose to accelerate my education. I usually explain that it saved me a significant amount of money while expanding my room for error. Most importantly, I tell them, by efficiently reorganizing my schedule, getting ahead actually  gave  me time to think.

The most successful people throughout history have all had an overarching goal, no matter how grand; with the time from getting ahead, I chose mine. Andrew Carnegie sought to provide affordable steel, Henry Ford wanted to create a universal automobile, and Elon Musk aims to put a city on Mars. After seeing their success, I think about how I can do the same. Simply put, I want to be a leader in sustainable real estate. More specifically, I want to make green living universal. Whenever I get the same surprised looks from this claim as when I tell someone that I am graduating early, I clarify that there are already some pioneers designing revolutionary apartments with trees planted on all of their floors, working to clean the air in polluted cities. Stefano Boeri, for example, has designed a thirty-six-floor building covered with trees on terraces jutting out from its sides, dubbed the “Tower of Cedars.” I want to take this premise further: my mission is to expand clean living to all, not just the elite who can afford it. The law is one of the most important tools that I will need to achieve this. The complexities of environmental and real estate law will be major challenges. Regardless, to lead the industry, I must get ahead. When I start my business, I will reflect on my experience in running the Trial Team as its president, the perspective on efficient business systems that I gained with American Hotel Register, and the tips that the CEO of Regency Multifamily shared with me for optimally running a large real estate firm, among many other things. But I will always be looking forward. While history shows that there are answers in the past, only the future knows them. Thankfully, controlling the present by getting ahead can make the future that much more certain.

I stepped back into the windup, again. As I drove off the rubber towards the plate, I extended out as far as I could to get as much control and power as possible. The big hook landed firmly over the outer third of the plate, right into my catcher’s mitt with a solid  phwump .

“Steeeeeriiike! Oh-and-one.”

“Atta kid!” My coach was elated to see my pitch command this inning.

Are you inspired to get ahead? Don’t you just feel a sudden urge to admit me into your program? Well thankfully, it made an impression on someone. I did my best to show my ambitions while showing a bit of my personality. The greatest risk that I took was that some of the baseball jargon may have been hard to understand for someone unfamiliar with the sport, but I made sure that it would not detract from the overall meaning of the piece. It served as a useful supplement to the rest of my application.

As of 2018, I am enrolled at Chicago-Kent College of Law with a full tuition scholarship. While it is no Ivy program, it is a respectable school with a strong regional reputation. The great thing about having the financial burden of law school off my shoulders is that I can now focus on getting the most out of my studies, rather than stress to figure out how I am going to pay off the debt that would have financed my education. And if it turns out that the program is not the best option for me, I can walk away with no financial strings attached.

The personal statement should only drive your application forward. If it is holding it back in any way, it is not ready. Keep it professional but do be creative and show the reader more of your personality than a resume alone would give. You are selling them your brand as a student, so do not let them gloss over your application without much of a thought.

Jack graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in May 2018 with a degree in Economics and History, and he currently works in property management while attending Chicago-Kent College of Law on a part-time basis. He hopes to use his law degree to enhance his career in commercial real estate and eventually lead sustainable large-scale real estate developments nationwide.

Come and join in the conversation on our social channels.

Cozy up with Westlaw to win an Amazon Fall Haul!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Westlaw for Law Students (@trlawschool.us)

Fuel Your Research with Key Numbers - Bonus Entries

Need some inspiration check out these key numbers by using the digest searches below., find your rhythm with black's law dictionary - bonus entries, need some inspiration check out these legal terms by using the the links below., westlaw's "no skips" tips playlist, real property, civil procedure, criminal law, constitutional law, show westlaw some love, statutes on westlaw - bonus entries, need some inspiration check out the statutes below., key numbers on westlaw - bonus entries, searching on westlaw - bonus entries, need some search inspiration for your entries check out the sample searches below.

Because neurodivergent people often need visual prompts or sensory tools, it is helpful to figure out what works best for you. Maybe you need a quiet fidget to use under your desk in class to help you focus. Maybe you need to incorporate the use of timers throughout your day. If you struggle with time blindness, you can use hourglasses to help you visualize time. Perhaps you struggle with extraneous sounds and need to use noise-cancelling headphones. More and more tools and gadgets are being made for neurodiverse individuals that can help you throughout law school.

Society can dictate when you are supposed to be most productive. See the traditional 9-5 work schedule. However, that model does not always work best for neurodiverse individuals. Some people are not morning people, and that is fine. Figure out when you have the most energy during your day to be your most productive self.

Find one system to use for organization and don’t change it. Trying too many organizational systems can become overwhelming. If your phone calendar works best, use that. If you are a list person, write all the lists. If you are a planner person, find the coolest one to use throughout the school year.

It would be nice to think that you can remember every task or deadline, but let’s be honest, that’s probably not true. Write down every deadline, every task, meeting, assignment, important date, etc. in the organizational system that you use.

Just like you can only put so much gasoline in a car, most neurodiverse individuals only have so much room in their focus tank. Figure out how long you can truly focus and apply yourself to a task before you need a break. That amount of time is typically shorter for neurodiverse individuals. If you can only truly focus for 20 minutes, study for 20 minutes, take a break, and then come back for another 20 minutes.

You may have started law school with your mind full of horror stories. Throw them out the window. Most of the people you attend law school with are genuinely kind and helpful people. Try to find a group or a couple of people that you can trust and lean on when necessary. Your law school friends can help you stay on task, body double, and even provide notes on the days you may be struggling. These friends can be one of your greatest assets throughout your law school journey.

Only discuss your neurodivergence with your professors to the extent that you are comfortable. If there are things you are concerned about related to your neurodivergence, it can be beneficial to make your professors aware at the beginning of the semester. Whether you are worried about cold calling or need a topic broken down, most professors love opportunities to discuss their area of law! They can’t know that you may need help if you don’t let them know. This is especially important if you aren’t successful in getting accommodations from your school’s Disability Services.

As a neurodivergent student, you may not fit the traditional mold of all the things a law student is “supposed to do” in order to be successful. You have been in school for years, and now is the time to trust yourself and not be afraid to be an “outside of the box” law student. There is no harm in trying new study methods, but never fear going back to your personal basics. If you need help figuring those out, see if your law school has a learning center or faculty member that can assist you.

Outlining with jury instructions.

• On your Westlaw Precision home screen, click on Secondary Sources and then Jury Instructions .
• On the Jury Instructions page, use the Jurisdiction filter to select your desired jurisdiction.
• Search for your cause of action. (Ex. elements of libel in Federal Jury Practice & Instructions )
• Open your relevant jury instruction and don't forget to check the related notes.
• To see more instructions, check out the table of contents to your left or click on View Full TOC.

Citation in a Click

• Highlight the text you want to copy. Try it out with Miranda v. Arizona
• Select "Copy with Reference" from the pop-up box.
• Paste into your word document...and you're done!

Black's Law Dictionary

Don't guess the meaning of a legal term. know it., by using black’s law dictionary, exclusively on westlaw , you’ll know the meanings of key terms that will help you understand your cases faster, be prepared for cold-calls and beef up your class notes. 1. access black's law dictionary on westlaw., 2. type your term into the dictionary term box. (ex. demurrer ) if your term contains multiple words, place the terms in quotes. (ex. "rule against perpetuities" ), 3. open up your desired term, copy it and paste it into your notes., looking for some inspiration here are a few legal terms to get you started contracts - collateral estoppel - consequential damages civil procedure - minimum contacts - in personam jurisdiction torts - negligence - invasion of privacy criminal law - mayhem - wobbler, where can i learn more about a firm so i can ask good questions in an interview, news is an excellent source for learning about a firm. you’ll see the clients and matters they represent along with the accolades they earned from their communities. 1. click on news under “specialty areas” on your westlaw edge home screen., 2. start by trying a plain language search for your firm. (ex. gibson dunn crutcher ), 3. to up your search game, consider running a terms & connectors search with an index field. (ex. gibson /2 dunn /s crutcher & in(law lawsuit legal) ), start writing your brief without starting from scratch, what is a brief, a brief is a summary of a case in your own words that includes the key facts, procedural history, issues addressed, along with the court's holdings. how can i find a case on westlaw, cases on westlaw contain a synopsis, a summary of the main facts, issues and holdings of a case, and headnotes, summaries of points of law organizes by topic. you can locate cases on westlaw in a variety of ways. find by citation: if you know your case's citation, just type one of the citations in the search box. (ex. 113 sct 2217 ), find by party name: if you know the names of your parties, just start typing them in the search box and select corresponding case from the drop-down menu. (ex. international shoe).

Note: If your case has common party names, you may need to enter more than one party.

Download your synopsis and headnotes: once you've pulled up your case, click on download under delivery options, select brief it under what to deliver and click on download..

The right search terms can make a difference. Here is an easy way to come up with smart search terms.

Rules, Codes & Restatements

Exporting tables of contents, exporting a table of contents is an easy way to get access to a list of rules, codes or restatements that you can reference on the fly and add to your outlines, as needed. locate your rules, codes or restatement: to export a toc (table of contents), you'll first want to locate your resource. restatement of torts restatement of contracts restatement of property federal rules of civil procedure ucc article 2 federal rules of evidence united states constitution, export your toc: click on download, select outline of current view under what to deliver and then click on download..

Strengthen Your Interview Discussions with News

• Search for a particular firm, attorney, or agency. (Ex. Kirkland and Ellis or Fourth Circuit )
• Or select a specific practice area (Ex. Mergers & Acquisitions )

American Law Reports

Your go-to secondary source, finding an a.l.r. (american law reports) article covering your topic is a great starting point for research. you'll get a quick summary of the legal issue you're researching and a table of cases, laws, and rules to see the law across all jurisdictions. you can also use annotations to find additional secondary sources, such as legal encyclopedias, treatises, and periodicals. no wonder they're nicknamed already done legal research see it in action: the legal discussion to compensate student athletes is heating up. check out this alr article to see how the legal picture for tomorrow’s student athletes comes together in one place., keycite graphical history, procedural history made easy, are you reading a case and not sure how you got there procedurally reversed, remanded or otherwise, we got you. just sign into westlaw and follow the steps below... 1. grab one of the citations you see in your case book and type it into the search box on westlaw . (ex. 480 u.s. 102), 2. click on your case in the drop-down menu., 3. click on the history tab to see your procedural history., keycite graphical history works best when you have a federal case and a complex issue. check out some additional examples from your classes below. contracts - koken v. black & veatch const., inc. - lamps plus, inc. v. varela civil procedure - national equipment rental v. szukhent - helicopteros nacionales de colombia, s.a. v. hall torts - palsgraf v. long island r. co. - kentucky fried chicken of cal., inc. v. superior court, law school resource center, flowcharts, overviews & more..

Scheduled Maintenance

Step 1 - create a new class, step 3 - invite your students, step 2 - assign lessons.

About this event

Love Your Lawyer Day

All the rules you need for class in one place.

Understand the procedural history of your case..

Don't guess the meaning of a term. Know it.

Copy the Code Below

You'll use this code to make a copy of the sample course.

Click on Copy Another Class

Go to the Knowledge Center and click on the Copy Another Class button.

Enter Your Copy Code

Enter your copy code in the Enter Class Copy Code box and click the Validate button.

4. Set Your Options

Change your course title, set your course dates and set your copy option to Assignments Only.

5. Click Copy Course

Click on Copy Course and you're all set to share your course with students.

1. Copy the Code Below

2. click on copy another class, 3. enter your copy code, set your options, click copy course, determining whether a federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over a non-class action case..

If the case arises out of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, rules or regulations, or a treaty signed by the U.S., and the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction, then the case must be litigated in federal court.

If the case does not arise out of the U.S. Constitution, U.S. laws, rules or regulations, or a treaty signed by the U.S., and there is not complete diversity between the plaintiffs and defendants (a.k.a they are both from different states or one is a citizen of a foreign country), then the case must be litigated in state court.

Restatement of Contracts 2d

Counter-offers.

(1) A counter-offer is an offer made by an offeree to his offeror relating to the same matter as the original offer and proposing a substituted bargain differing from that proposed by the original offer.

(2) An offeree’s power of acceptance is terminated by his making of a counter-offer, unless the offeror has manifested a contrary intention or unless the counter-offer manifests a contrary intention of the offeree.

Negligence Defined

Restatement (second) of torts 282.

In the Restatement of this Subject, negligence is conduct which falls below the standard established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. It does not include conduct recklessly disregardful of an interest of others.

Black’s Law Dictionary (10th ed.2014)

Demurrer: A means of objecting to the sufficiency in law of a pleading by admitting the actual allegations made by disputing that they frame an adequate claim. Demurrer is commonly known as a motion to dismiss.

(2) An offeree’s power of acceptance is terminated by his making a counter-off, unless the offeror has manifested a contrary intention or unless the counter-offer manifests a contrary intention of the offeree.

testing footnote

What is common law and is it written by the courts of law?

[ninja_form id=2]

School: West Academic Test Account Only

This email confirms approval of your order of Law School registration keys required on July 02, 2019. View your order in Password Access Central as needed. If requested, your keys are listed below. Keys are registered at lawschool.westlaw.com/register . Users will need to create their individual OnePass credentials (Username and Password) as well as complete a Law School Profile.

Law School Registration Key(s) to be assigned.

Registration Steps are as follows

1. Visit lawschool.westlaw.com/register

2. Create your OnePass credentials The email address you use for OnePass will be the same one used for TWEN communications.

3. Complete a Law School Profile

Please contact Technical Support at 800-850-9378 (WEST) or email [email protected] with questions about registration. For questions about PAC, please contact your Academic Account Manager.

Westlaw Academic Team

Negligence defined

Restatement (second) of torts § 282.

Login to your account

Remember Me

Register for a Free Account

Access sample lessons, a free LSAT PrepTest, and 100 question explanations today!

Password (twice) * password strength indicator

Law School Admissions Consulting and Editing Maximize your odds. Minimize your stress.

Admissions officers & award-winning writers.

We combine years of experience in law school admissions with the editorial talent of professional, published authors.

We know what it takes to get into top programs—our former admissions officers have reviewed applications at Columbia Law School , University of Michigan Law School , University of Virginia School of Law , Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law , and University of California Berkeley School of Law .

You truly brought out the best writer in me, and your guidance helped me get into a school that was a far-fetched dream. For that, I’m eternally grateful.

Our writing experts have graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop , written for The New Yorker , The Los Angeles Review of Books , Slate , Vogue , and The Atlantic , received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fulbright Program , and published critically acclaimed novels with imprints like Penguin Books . But we don’t impose our vision on your essays: we help your work become the best version of itself.

Sign up with 7Sage to make your story sing .

We Help Applicants Beat the Odds

During the 2021–2022 cycle, 7Sage consulting clients were four times more successful than the overall applicant pool to T14 schools.

Of our clients who got into T14 schools, 2 in 3 had a below-median LSAT score or GPA.

Over a third of 7Sage consulting clients who were admitted to Yale Law School got in with a below-median LSAT score or GPA.

Sign up with 7Sage to boost your chances .

What Package is Right for You?

For most students, Admissions Consulting Pro is the best value. You’ll be paired with both a professional writer and a former admissions officer, and they’ll work together to help you develop and articulate an individualized application strategy. They will help you develop a school list, decide whether to apply early decision, and contextualize character and fitness issues, unusual academic or personal circumstances, and gaps in employment. They’ll also give you start-to-finish help (yes, that includes brainstorming!) with every piece of writing you need to produce for up to five schools. That means:

• Personal statements
• Diversity statements
• Why “X” essays
• Optional essays
• Character and fitness addenda
• LSAT and low-GPA addenda
• Employment-gap addenda
• Scholarship essays that are included on law school applications
• Short-answer application questions
• Correspondence with admissions officers before submission

If you purchase Admissions Consulting Plus, they’ll help you with scholarship reconsideration, interview prep, and waitlist strategy as well.

Students who feel comfortable with their overall strategy should consider Admissions Consulting Lite, which includes strategic guidance but will emphasize editorial support. The custom window also enables you to mix and match smaller services to create a more personalized package. You might choose Unlimited Edits in order to work on your personal statement with a writer and then purchase an hour with an admissions officer in order to refine your school list.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Want to learn more about our program? Have questions? Schedule a free 30-minute consultation with one of our admissions consultants.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between admissions consulting pro and admissions consulting lite.

If you purchase Admissions Consulting Pro, you’re paired with both a writer and an admissions officer. If you purchase Admissions Consulting Lite, you work with a writer.

Can I purchase Admissions Consulting Lite and work with an admissions officer instead of a writer?

Yes! Just write to us at [email protected] or note your request in your response to the welcome email. A writer will concentrate more on your written materials; an admissions officer will concentrate on your overall strategy.

How does the “custom” window work?

The custom window enables you to purchase multiple services at the same time so that you can build your own personalized admissions package. You can choose any combination or number of the services listed. If you purchase a mix of writer- and admissions-officer packages, we’ll pair you with the same writer for each writer package and the same admissions officer for each admissions-officer package.

What’s the difference between Admissions Consulting Pro and Admissions Consulting Plus?

Admissions Consulting Pro covers you until you submit your applications to five schools. Admissions Consulting Plus offers after-the-application support that covers you after you submit to each school. Students commonly use it for interview prep, waitlist help, and scholarship negotiations.

Can I purchase a Consulting package and work on Transfer or LLM applications?

Yep. Just note that in your response to the welcome email and we'll pair you with consultants who are experienced with those application types.

Do I need After-the-Application Support?

Most students find themselves waitlisted at some schools and accepted at others, in which case After-the-Application Support may help. Law school interviews are also becoming more common, though many schools do not interview.

Can I purchase After-the-Application Support later?

Yes. After-the-Application Support costs $1499 if you purchase it with Admissions Consulting. It costs $1999 if you purchase it later.

How long do I get to work with you?

Admissions Consulting covers you until you finish submitting five applications. We require that you submit those applications in the same application cycle.

If you add After-the-Application Support, we’ll work with you until the last day of August that follows your applications.

Do you offer payment plans?

7Sage is pleased to offer affordable payment plans for our Admissions Consulting packages.

Here's how it works: we split the purchase price into six monthly payments. You pay the first today, and then we will reach out once a month to remind you to make your next monthly payment until you're paid up.

That's it! No interest, no shady terms, and no third-party companies you have to deal with.

Note: once you buy, you are obligated to complete all the payments.

What if I start working with you on my applications but decide to delay until next cycle?

If you’ve started working with us on two documents or fewer, we’ll finish what we started before you take a break and pick up later where we left off. Our philosophy is that once you purchase our services, you’re entitled to use them. The flip side is that we won’t repeat work. For example, if you finish your personal statement before you delay, we won’t be able to revise or replace it when you resume.

If you’ve started working on more than two different documents, though, we won’t be able to extend your package, and we’ll ask that you finish working on your applications now.

Is there a refund policy?

We have a qualified 6-day refund policy. If you change your mind, let us know within 6 days of payment to get a full refund less $250 per hour of our consultants’ work time and a 6% processing fee.

How will I get paired with a consultant?

Our pairing process isn’t random, but we don’t have a formula, either. After your purchase, we’ll send you an initial survey. When we see your responses, we’ll match you with consultants whom we think you’ll work well with.

You can see our team here:  https://7sage.com/admissions/about-us/ .

Is there a contract?

There sure is. You can see our consulting contract here .

For more answers, email [email protected] or schedule a free consultation with one of our consultants.

Check out a sample edit!

Three, Two, One, Gong! However, I almost did not hear any applause at the trade opening ceremony. It was all because of the huge 18.38 green figure, a 25% drop of XMan’s offering price, shown at the screen of the Bolsa de Montevideo, Uruguay’s stock exchange. As drafting counsel of the company, I have never imagined it would have such a deep down opening price followed by another 40% drop. That day was May 9th, 2015, another crash came into the casino-like Uruguayan stock markets.

The crash reminded me of my own investing experience five years ago, in a cold October, my first stock plunged likely from USD31 to USD23 in three trading days, which made all my former profits suddenly gone away and I was instantaneously suffering from huge loss.

Now I understand it’s mainly the markets lacking a buffering system, but then I naively thought my loss was all because I did not have a good investment portfolio, cannot figure out the technical sign before a crash and ignored the fact that no stock could go one-way growth. From then on, I decided to analyze the K curves, check on famous investors’ opinions and collected predictions from financial media every day. In the following months, I did short term trades and altered my holdings frequently – I did make some correct decision, which made me feel I was a genius, but for most of the other times, I was terribly wrong. Two months past and it turned out my effort did not work out – I was actually losing more. Tired, vexed and depressed, upon the coming Christmas, I cleared all my holdings to prevent further losses.

But I knew I was not a guy resigned to lose. After Christmas I started to read investment books. I read Buffett, Peter Lynch as well as Graham, hoping to find a universal truth in investments from their works. Many of their theories and techniques are very impressive, but it is the book The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham that gave me the core inspiration, and the most inspiring word to me was probability.

The word dawned on me – there is no perfect operation on stock market – no one can always buy at the low and sell at the high. Investment was all about the likelihood. The motive of go perfect is out of my greed and fear. I suddenly understood investment was not only dealing with the market but also myself. I have to control my emotions to think rationally and make timely response. In the long run, I can gain profits from the circumstances that I am probably sure about where the market is going. For other times, run, wait and most importantly, use the time to learn something new. Learning more can help me to upgrade my strategies and grasp next opportunity, which will ultimately benefit me in deciphering the market.

The Intelligent Investor taught me to grow out of my comfort zone, keep learning new knowledge and wait for the opportunity to strike, which mirrors my wish to apply for a prestigious US law school. Today, I want to go out of Uruguay to learn from the world’s most developed market system, I wish to learn how the US designed and improved its rules and I dream of helping my country in its way towards a more stable and mature market. I hope ___ will give me the opportunity.

After a 7Sage Edit

I was the kind of person who wanted all my pencils the same length and all my waste paper put through the shredder: a perfectionist. A newly hired paralegal at Baker Mckenzie, I was also a novice in financial markets. By buying at cyclical lows and selling at cyclical highs, I expected perfect results. My first quarter only exacerbated my naivety: I managed an eighteen percent gain, which I attributed wholly to my skill.

Then the market tanked. In October of 2011, in a span of just three days, my portfolio lost twenty-five percent of its value. The bitter loss left me sleepless and without appetite. I staggered around in a haze, purple bags under my eyes. It was hard not to take it personally.

I decided to reeducate myself. I read Buffett, Peter Lynch, and many other big names, hoping to find a universal answer, a foolproof trading strategy. Towers of books rose up on my floor, and still I couldn’t find what I was looking for.

Eventually, I came across The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, where I read a simple truth that changed my life: stock trading is a game of probabilities. There is no perfect method.

I realized that I couldn’t control the stock market, but I could control my own expectations. To be a competent investor, I had to regulate my emotions and bet on the percentages instead of chasing huge gains. The optimal strategy was to let go of my perfectionism.

I started investing not only in the market but in myself. I continued to read extensively, do internships, and take classes related to the market. Above all, I practiced being calm. I tried to take every gain and loss in stride.

But even as I became more comfortable with risk, I became more aware of how volatile the Uruguayan markets were. Outdated regulations meant that the markets lacked a modern buffering system. Working on a technology company’s $500 million merger in my capacity as Baker Mckenzie’s paralegal showed me how the American securities system values fiduciary duty and shareholders’ rights. Although America’s system is far from perfect, it could teach the Uruguayans a lot.

I, for one, am ready to learn more. At Universidad Católica del Uruguay, I studied Uruguayan financial regulation and economics, but I’ll need to study in the US before I can fully understand American financial regulations. My career goal is to become a leader of Uruguay’s central bank. I plan to use what I learn in America to make my country’s markets more stable and fair. I know it won’t be easy, but my investing experience has taught me to temper big dreams with modest expectations. I don’t have to make the Uruguayan system perfect. I just have to make it better.

Start-to-finish help.

Choose Admissions Consulting for expert guidance through every step of the admissions process.

We’ll begin by identifying your strengths and weaknesses. You’ll get a better sense of where you stand and how you might contribute to the incoming class.

We’ll talk about where, when, and how to apply. You’ll get a comprehensive checklist ordered by priority.

Write and Edit

We’ll help you brainstorm, revise, and proofread every document that you need for your applications. You’ll get essays that maximize your strengths, mitigate your liabilities, and represent your motivation.

We’ll review your documents to make sure that they’re not raising any questions or missing any opportunities.

Grammar Check

We’ll make sure all documents are free of errors.

💡 Every document gets proofread by two different professionals.

Application Review

Before you submit, we’ll do a series of final checks on your entire application.

Continuing Guidance

We’re always looking for opportunities to improve your odds, and we’re always available to answer your questions.

They Really Like Us 😊

Take a look at these unsolicited responses from our clients:

My stats >3.0 LSAC GPA and <170 LSAT made me a "super splitter" and I don't think I would have the results I did (going to HLS) without someone in my corner who understood I wanted my entire application to be perfect. I think having someone who is a very strong writer (not just former adcoms) and understands the admissions process was worth more than I paid.

u/LuckyLeftySC

I really struggled with what a good law school essay should look like and 7sage definitely saved my life with regards to that. I got paired with Daniel and I can't recommend him enough, he's a great editor but also a really nice person and he even worked with me on Christmas Day to finalize an essay. If you want editing help, I really recommend 7sage. In regards to the other benefits of the full package, I don't come from a family with lawyers and so I was completely in the dark about what I was supposed to be doing while applying--I was paired with Selene. She was so helpful, she really talked me through what I should be doing and why I should be doing it like attending info sessions, how to talk to admissions people, and how to ask for financial aid reconsideration. 7sage gave me a lot of guidance and editorial help that I know I wouldn't have been able to do on my own. I'm happy with where I ended up.

u/corpus_bride

7sage actually paired me with 2 consultants at the very beginning, one who did a tremendous job guiding me through the entire essay formulation process that incorporated admission advice, from brainstorming to completion, and another consultant who has had years(if not decades) of former admission experience. So you actually get the best of both worlds! Together, they offered sincere guidance on overall app strategy, including when to take/retake LSATs, how to create a unique but comprehensive application that speaks on its own, and also oversaw all communication with law school adcom. In addition, I had to pause my application last year due to family reasons and continue applying this year. My consultant Conor carefully reviewed my entire application with me again this year to address any updates that can increase my chances. (If you see this, thank you 7sage!)

u/sunch4ser

I worked with Sarah Cohen from 7Sage, and it was 100% worth the money. My LSAT score was 156, and my GPA was 3.65, and I received big scholarship offers from reputable schools. Sarah knew what admissions would be looking for and helped me make my application unique, so I would stand out amongst the other applicants. If I had to do it on my own, I’m not sure I would have received the same offers. Spending a few thousand dollars now can potentially save you over 100,000 in student loans. That's a pretty good deal!

u/appalachian8351

7Sage Admissions Reviews

About 7sage consultants.

Aaron Thier

Director of admissions services.

Aaron received a BA in Literature from Yale University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Florida, where he taught both creative and expository writing. He is the author of three novels: The Ghost Apple (a semi-finalist for the Thurber Prize), Mr. Eternity (a finalist for the same award), and The World is a Narrow Bridge . His essays and criticism have appeared in The Nation, The New Republic , The Los Angeles Review of Books, Lucky Peach , and other magazines, and in 2016 he received a Literature Fellowship from the National Endowment from the Arts.

Dan Grossman

Admissions sales manager.

Dan Grossman holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Florida and a BA from Williams College, where he graduated summa cum laude and won the Arthur Kaufmann Prize in English. He has published short stories, book reviews, travel pieces, and cultural essays in a variety of publications such as Jewish Currents , Marginalia, and The Millions . His hobbies include baseball, chess, and old films.

Susan Cersovsky

Admissions officer.

Susan has worked in admissions at Columbia Law School for the last five years, where she served on the Admissions Committee, conducted candidate interviews, reviewed and rendered decisions on thousands of applications each year, oversaw merit-based scholarships, and designed recruiting strategies. She began her law career in New York at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in the reorganization and restructuring department, and worked in-house at New York Life Insurance Company. She also has litigated on a pro bono basis for Sanctuary for Families in Bronx Family Court.

Susan holds a JD from Columbia Law School, where she edited the  Human Rights Law Review  and the  Jailhouse Lawyer’s Manual , and participated in the Harlem Tutorial Program. She received a BA with distinction and MA in English from Emory University. Currently, Susan resides with her family in Harlem and New York’s Hudson Valley. When she is not helping law school applicants gain acceptance to their dream schools, she can be found developing her mediation skills, serving on the New York City Bar Association’s Sex & Law Committee, co-chairing the Columbia Law School Reunion Committee, painting and doing ceramics, or spending time with her family’s dogs.

Tajira McCoy

Tajira worked in law school admissions for ten years, most recently as the Director of Admissions and Scholarship Programs at Berkeley Law. At Berkeley Law, her primary responsibilities included recruiting and advising prospective law school applicants about the application process, evaluating applicants for admission and for incoming scholarship opportunities, managing the scholarship reconsideration process, and supporting diversity recruitment efforts.

During her tenure in law admissions, her recruitment efforts spanned JD and LLM programs at four law schools, including public and private institutions, a Jesuit institution, and an HBCU. Tajira built and cultivated relationships within the law school and pre-law communities, often speaking on panels about the admissions process, diversity in law schools, personal and diversity statement workshops, and financial aid talks. For the Law School Admissions Council, she served on the Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admissions Process Subcommittee, the Subcommittee on DiscoverLaw Plus Programs, the International Outreach and Recruitment Work Group, the Annual Meeting Planning Work Group, and the Diversity Committee. She also evaluated submissions to the LSAC Diversity Writing Competition, and she presented at several Annual Meeting Conferences and numerous LSAC Forum events.

Tajira received her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Northridge and her JD from Southwestern Law School. She currently serves as the Director of Career Services at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she cultivates employer relationships and advises students and alumni on career planning and job search strategy. Tajira is also the debut author of a rom-com forthcoming from MIRA Books of HarperCollins in early 2022. When she’s not advising students or writing, you might find her testing out new recipes and hosting Supper Club meals for close friends.

Josh Brooks

Josh served on the admissions committee for Cornell Law School, where he read applications, conducted interviews, and advised the committee on candidates. Josh holds a JD from Cornell Law School, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees from other institutions. In law school, Josh served as general editor of the  Cornell Law Review  and was one of the few students to be published in an elite law journal. Josh started his legal career at a Vault number-one labor and employment law firm, but quickly transitioned to an academic focus when he was awarded the e-Government Fellowship of Cornell Law School. As the e-Government Fellow, Josh taught law students, managed research projects, published multiple articles, and represented Cornell University’s interests in legislative initiatives in New York City. Josh has been featured on NBC New York and in  Ezra Magazine  and  Politico  for his work in NYC. Josh then accepted a position as head of the Office of Distinguished Graduate Fellowships at Arizona State University, where he built what started as a small unit into one of the largest and most successful graduate student advising programs in academia, significantly increasing prestigious fellowship grants university-wide. Josh also served as the development chair for the Chicano/Latino Faculty & Staff Association and advised undergraduates in the honors college on law school admissions. Today, Josh owns two successful businesses and is presently writing a book about the wonderful, surreal, and disturbing history of the southwest United States.

Brigitte Suhr

Brigitte holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. For two years, she worked in admissions at the University of Virginia School of Law. As she assessed prospective JD files, she often thought about how the applicants could have done a better job of conveying their strengths and contextualizing their weaknesses.

Prior to her work as a consultant, Brigitte traversed the globe as an international human rights lawyer, advocating for truth, justice, and reparations in post-conflict societies. Working for organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, she carried out fact-finding, training, and advocacy missions to more than two dozen countries, meeting with stakeholders from presidents to survivor collectives. She feels honored to have had a hand in the legal reforms of over fifty countries ranging from Costa Rica to South Africa. Brigitte also spent several years working in Guatemala, first as counsel to a human rights NGO and then as an investigator of the atrocities committed during the country’s thirty-six-year armed conflict.

Brigitte continues to consult with foundations and non-profits on human rights programs and research covering issues such as justice reform, LGBTQ advocacy, and anti-slavery initiatives. When she’s not working, you can find Brigitte hiking the trails of the Santa Monica Mountains with her ball-crazy Labrador named Milo.

RL Goldberg

RL Goldberg is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Dartmouth College. They earned an AB from Harvard College, an MFA in fiction from the University of Florida, and a PhD from Princeton. RL's first book,  I Changed My Sex! Pedagogy and Trans Narrative , is forthcoming from Columbia University Press. RL has taught in prisons in Massachusetts and New Jersey for the last decade.

Lei has at various times been a science journalist in Hong Kong, a happiness researcher in Florida, a private investigator in San Francisco, and a life coach and translator in Shanghai, where she was born (though she grew up in a tiny immigrant town in New Jersey). She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Yale and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Iowa, where she designed and taught classes to undergraduates that combined creative writing, literature, philosophy, and life lessons.

Her work has been recognized by the Vermont Studio Center, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Iowa Arts Fellowship, and the Marcus Bach Graduate Fellowship for writing that “fosters intercultural communication and the understanding of diverse philosophies and religious perspectives.” She is currently writing a book about consciousness hacking, a work of creative nonfiction/literary self-help that explores the possibility of a reality in which everything is perfectly okay, right now.

Selene Steelman

Selene holds a BA with Distinction in English from Swarthmore College and a Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law where she was Senior Managing Editor of the Cardozo Women’s Law Journal.

For the last 14 years, she evaluated LL.M. and JD applications as a member of the Admissions Committee for Cardozo School of Law. As Director of LL.M. Admissions, she admitted and welcomed 27 new classes of LL.M. students from over 25 countries. Prior to joining Cardozo, she was a structured finance associate at a top-tier Manhattan law firm. Before she decided to pursue a legal education, she worked at a New York City literary agency, editing book proposals, negotiating subsidiary rights in the pre-digital era, and searching for the Great American Novel in the slush pile.

She resides in northern New Jersey. When she is not helping law school candidates achieve their dreams, she spends her time playing the violin and ballroom dancing.

Jacob Baska

Jacob has worked in undergraduate and law admissions for over a decade and has reviewed tens of thousands of applications. He most recently served as the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Notre Dame Law School. In that role, he was responsible for all matters related to recruitment strategy, file reading and decision making, yield programming, scholarship modeling, and connecting admitted students with faculty, alumni, and current students. Additionally, Jacob has been active in the law admissions community, serving on panels and subcommittees for the Law School Admissions Council. Despite a great deal of experience working on macro strategy for law schools, his most rewarding moments have always been connecting directly with students to help them achieve their goals, especially those from non-traditional backgrounds and marginalized communities.

When not working, Jacob spends a great deal of time with his family, coaching one daughter's Girls on the Run team and serving as the cookie manager of another's Girl Scout troop. He is an avid BBQ aficionado and never shies from sharing his strong opinions about the St. Louis Cardinals.

Elizabeth Cavallari

Elizabeth Cavallari spent nearly six years as a senior and assistant dean of admissions at William & Mary Law School and three years in undergraduate admissions at Bucknell University. She has evaluated thousands of law school admissions files, interviewed hundreds of applicants, coordinated the waitlist, and advised both domestic and international candidates on the law school admissions process. She has also presented at the LSAC annual conference and at multiple prelaw advisor conferences on subjects ranging from waitlist strategies to resources for LGBTQIA students. Elizabeth is passionate about building relationships with her students as she guides them through the application process. When she’s not thinking about law school admissions, she advises a sorority at William & Mary, supporting collegiate leaders, and coordinates a 40+ Career Club to assist older job seekers. You can often find Elizabeth running through Colonial Williamsburg, pushing a double jogging stroller.

Patrick Liu

Patrick (he/him) is a recent JD graduate of Yale Law School and received his BA in Economics from the University of Chicago (Phi Beta Kappa). He was accepted to the top law schools in the country and was offered several full-ride awards, including the Root-Tilden-Kern and Hamilton scholarships. While at Yale Law, Patrick worked in the Admissions Office as an Admissions Representative, where he counseled prospective and admitted applicants, served on admissions panels, and worked extensively with the team to welcome incoming classes. He also served as Political Action Chair for the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association and as a coordinator with the National Lawyers Guild. Patrick was designated a 2020–21 Connecticut Bar Foundation Fellow for his commitment to public interest work. 

Patrick started his legal career as a trial attorney at the Public Defender Services for the District of Columbia, representing juvenile clients facing felony charges. Before law school, Patrick worked with expert scholars at the Brookings Institution, researching issues related to employment, poverty, and education. His interests center around harm reduction, restorative justice, and abolition.

Jennifer Kott

During a law admissions career that has spanned over twenty-five years, Jennifer Kott has worked at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, Tulane University School of Law, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, where she served as Director of Admissions.

Jennifer enjoyed counseling, coaching, and advising alumni and students about law schools, the admissions and application process, scholarships, and the overall strategic approach to getting into the law school of their choice. She holds a BA in Sociology from Elon University and is a founding sister of the Theta Nu Chapter, Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity. She has been active in national admissions organizations, including the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), serving as a panelist at multiple annual meetings and conferences and as a member of the LSAC’s Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admissions Process Subcommittee and the National Recruitment Calendar Workgroup.

Kott is an advocate of animal-assisted therapy and participated at law school student service functions with her service dog, Sara. When not enthusiastically helping others to reach their goals, Kott is wickedly cheering on all Boston (pronounced “Bahstin”) sports teams and fruitfully enjoys spending time with her family in North Carolina and floating on the James River.

Samuel Riley

Dr. Riley worked in law school admissions for seventeen years at the University of Texas School of Law. For most of that time, he served as the Senior Director of Admissions Programs. In that position, his duties included recruiting, advising prospective JD applicants about the application process, organizing prospective and admitted student programs, and reviewing and making decisions on JD and transfer applications.

In his last few years at Texas Law, he helped create the Pipeline Program and its Cohort Program, which is for prospective law school applicants. As the Director of Pipeline Programs, he assisted Cohort Program students with every aspect of the admissions process, including school selection, interviews, and scholarships, and he reviewed their résumés and personal and optional statements. He also continued to review an average of 2,500 JD applications per year.

Dr. Riley served in several different positions within the law school community including, in 2015 and 2018, as the Interim Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Texas Law. Outside the law school, Dr. Riley served on the following committees for the Law School Admissions Council: the National Recruitment Work Group (two terms); the New Admission Personnel and Faculty Members Workshop (faculty member); the DiscoverLaw.org PLUS Subcommittee; and the Finance and Legal Affairs Committee.

Dr. Riley is considered a triple Longhorn. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the School of Education. In his spare time, he loves following Longhorn sports and trying to improve his golf game whenever he can.

Christie Belknap

Christie holds a BA in history from the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from Emory Law School, where she served as an editor on the Emory Law Review . She worked at two top-tier law firms in New York City, but after getting her fill of late nights, fancy lunches, and (perhaps most importantly) paying off her student loans, she shifted gears and landed a job in the admissions office at Cardozo Law School. There, she reviewed applications, met and counseled prospective students, spoke on admissions panels, and travelled to such exotic locales as Pittsburgh and Columbus. She returned to practicing law as the real estate counsel for the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where she helped move the Fulton Fish Market from South Street Seaport to a refrigerated, state of the art facility, and got to use the term “fishmonger” on a regular basis. In her latest role as an admissions consultant at 7Sage, she’s happy to draw upon her past experiences as an admissions officer and lawyer to help advise prospective students in the law school application process.

Jenifer Godfrey

Jenifer worked in law school admissions for nearly ten years, most recently as Assistant Dean for Admissions & Scholarships at the William H. Bowen School of Law, University of Arkansas | Little Rock, where she served as first reader and had sole discretion on recruitment scholarship awards. Prior to that, she worked at the University of Idaho College of Law and the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University.

Jenifer has demonstrated expertise in diversity pipeline programs and has served on LSAC’s Diversity Committee. She is skilled at helping future law students of all backgrounds understand how to best frame their values, experiences, and other attributes to showcase their unique contributions to diversity and the celebration of differences. She also served on LSAC’s Services & Programs Division Working Group, LSAC’s Information Services Division Working Group, and various LSAC Forum panels in addition to presenting twice at the LSAC Annual Meeting and Educational Conference.

Jenifer earned both her bachelor’s and JD from West Virginia University and her PhD in Educational Research & Leadership at Louisiana State University. Jenifer is published in The Review of Higher Education and the Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership , and she teaches graduate- and professional-level courses at a large research university. When she is not working, you can find her enjoying her family’s zoo membership and sharing her love of animals with her children.

Amy Bonnaffons

Amy holds a BA in literature ( magna cum laude ) from Yale University and an MFA in fiction writing from New York University, where she won the Goldwater Teaching Fellowship and an Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. She taught in the Expository Writing Program at New York University for four years before deciding to pursue a PhD in English at the University of Georgia. Her story collection THE WRONG HEAVEN was published in 2018 by Lee Boudreaux Books at Little, Brown, and will be followed by THE REGRETS, a novel about the afterlife. Her writing has appeared in publications ranging from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal to Kenyon Review and The Sun , and has won awards and fellowships from Yale University, Open City magazine, Bread Loaf, and The MacDowell Colony, among others.

Amy is a founding editor of 7x7 , a literary journal promoting collaboration between writers and visual artists, and has served as international editor of Washington Square Review. She has also helped many students hone their personal statements to gain admission to college, law school and business school.

Brian Booker

Brian received a PhD in English and American Literature from NYU, and an MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow and, in his third year, a Schulze Fellow. He has been the Grace Paley Fiction Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and the James C. McCreight Fiction Fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing.

Brian’s fiction has been published in Conjunctions, One Story, New England Review, Tin House, Vice , and other magazines; his stories have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the National Magazine Award. His debut short story collection, ARE YOU HERE FOR WHAT I’M HERE FOR?, was published in 2016 by Bellevue Literary Press.

Brian has ten years of experience teaching expository writing and literature courses at NYU; he has also taught creative writing workshops at the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Most recently, he has been a Lecturer in the Program in Creative Writing at the University of Chicago, designing and teaching workshops for both undergraduate and graduate students on topics such as Literary Horror.

Daniel Castro

Daniel has worked as a writing consultant for over a decade. He holds a BA in English from Indiana University-Bloomington, where he worked as a tutor at the campus writing center, and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he received a Dean’s Graduate Fellowship and taught undergraduate writing. He is a former Fulbright scholar in Spain, and his work has appeared in Tampa Review , Miami Herald , Gambit Weekly , and Salon . He was awarded the Cintas Fellowship in Literature in 2014 and the Faulkner Society’s novel prize in 2015. He was a resident at the MacDowell Colony in 2016. He teaches classes and does manuscript consulting for Sackett Street Writers’ Workshop in Brooklyn, and is a co-founder of the Berlin Writers’ Workshop.

Kristen Gleason

Kristen holds a BA in English with Honors from the University of California, Berkeley, where she was a Regents’ and Chancellor’s scholar, and an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the University of Montana. She studied linguistics in Tromsø, Norway on a High North Fellowship. She is currently a doctoral student in English at the University of Georgia.

Her fiction has appeared in Boston Review , Fence , Prairie Schooner , and elsewhere. She was selected as an A Public Space Emerging Writers Fellow and was the winner of BOMB ’s Biannual Fiction Contest and the North American White Review Short Story Prize in 2017. Recently, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to Norway for the 2018-2019 academic year.

She has taught creative writing and composition at the University of Montana, Montana Tech, and the University of Georgia, where she received an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. She was the managing editor of the University of Montana’s literary journal, CutBank. She has also worked in the Oakland, California public school system, edited for an academic publisher, instructed students in GRE and SAT test prep, and tutored in the University of Georgia’s Writing Center.

Conor Ahern

Based out of Washington, D.C., Conor is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia. Conor has been a law school admissions consultant for six years and has worked with dozens of prospective law students to achieve and exceed their admissions goals. In addition to his law school consulting work, Conor tutors the LSAT and works as a civil rights litigator in the employment space, with a focus on race, gender, and disability discrimination. He enjoys reading fiction, cooking, and making bad puns.

Jocelyn Glantz

Jocelyn Glantz is a graduate of George Washington University and Brooklyn Law School. After practicing law, she returned to BLS to serve as the Assistant Director of Admissions. 

To give herself more flexibility while raising her three girls, Jocelyn began consulting for a test prep company. She provided guidance to prospective undergraduate and law students, conducted essay and admissions workshops, and moderated law forums with panels of career and admissions professionals. Twenty years and hundreds of clients later, her individualized approach ensures that her clients present an application that highlights their achievements along with their personal and professional goals.

To balance her life, Jocelyn works as the Associate Director and Staffing Director of an all-girls sleepaway camp, which enables her to enjoy the outdoors during the summer while mentoring campers and staff. As the fall application season begins and she switches from an iced tea to a chai latte, you can find her immersed in law school admissions, working diligently for her clients.

Meghann Banacki

Meghann spent nearly a decade as an admissions officer at Cardozo School of Law. As the Associate Director of Admissions, she was involved in every aspect of the admissions process, including oversight of transfer admission. She has reviewed thousands of JD applications, interviewed hundreds of applicants, and counseled countless prospective students on the law school application process and the law school experience. Meghann also served two terms on the Law School Admission Council’s Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admission Process Subcommittee.

Before transitioning to a career in admissions, Meghann was a litigation associate at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York City.

She received a BA, with honors, from Lehigh University, and a JD from Boston University. At BU, Meghann wrote on to the  Law Review  and later served on the editorial board as a Note Development Editor, guiding 2L students through the lengthy note-writing process.

Meghann is a life-long reader and a mother of three young children. She loves exploring the beautiful parks and beaches of Monmouth County, New Jersey with them.

Jeremy Klemin

Jeremy Klemin is a writer and editor based in New York. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, he has also lived in Portugal, Scotland, and Brazil, where he taught at the Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná as a Fulbright Fellow. He received grants from Phi Beta Kappa, Santander Bank, and the University of Edinburgh itself to pursue an MSc in Comparative Literature, and also received a scholarship from the Disquiet International Literary Program to support his creative nonfiction writing. He is a Contributing Editor at Help4Refugees, a Jordan-based humanitarian nonprofit.

His nonfiction is published or forthcoming in publications like The New York Times Book Review , Literary Hub , Redivider , Highsnobiety , Joyland , Post Road , and The Common about countries as diverse as Palestine, Ukraine, Serbia, and Brazil. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese, occasionally writing in the latter, and is currently working on an essay collection about skateboarding and cerebral palsy.

Lulu holds a BS in Society and Environment from the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA in writing from the University of Iowa, where she received fellowships in Rhetoric and Nonfiction as well as the Karl Claus Teaching Award.

She has designed and taught creative writing and composition courses at the Buckley School and the University of Iowa on subjects ranging from the rhetoric of food to humor writing, environmental writing, and writing about fashion. She has also worked as a technical writer in Silicon Valley and was an archivist at the Berkeley Folklore Archive.

Her essays, stories, and journalism have appeared in or are forthcoming from The Los Angeles Review of Books , DIAGRAM, Iowa Public Radio, and others. Her essay “Dams in Distress” was a 2020 finalist for the Pinch Page Prize. She is currently at work on a collection of humorous essays.

Ethan Madore

Ethan Madore received a BA in History from Vassar College and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program, where he was the 2017–2018 Provost’s Visiting Writer in Nonfiction. He has taught literature and personal writing courses for over five years, including classes on environmental, political, and travel writing, as well as graduate classes in journalism and cultural studies at the University of Dortmund in Germany. At Iowa, he designed a new series of courses for the Iowa Publishing Track and won an Outstanding Teaching Award. In Germany, he was a guest of honor at the national celebration of Walt Whitman’s 200th birthday.

A former editor of The Essay Review , his writing appears online in The Iowa Review and Guesthouse . He is at work on his first two books of nonfiction, a collection of essays about prehistory and a love song to the year 2011.

Susannah Davies

Susannah attended Barnard College, where she studied English and visual arts, and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she received a teaching fellowship to study fiction. At Iowa, she taught literature and creative writing courses. In 2016, Susannah was a finalist for the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing Fellowship. She is currently based in New Orleans and is at work on a collection of short stories.

Lee Cole holds an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Louisville. He’s a 2020 Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellow. His work has appeared in the  Cimarron Review , where it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and he’s earned an honorable mention in Oxford American’s debut fiction contest. For the last two years, he’s taught creative writing at the University of Iowa.

Ariel Katz holds a BA in English from Yale and an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she won the Richard Yates short story contest. As a student there, she taught undergraduate English and creative writing courses, and upon graduation was awarded a Meta & George Rosenberg screenwriting fellowship. She’s published essays and interviews on the Ploughshares blog and at Bookforum , and is at work on a novel.

Catherine Meeks

Catherine holds an MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College—where she was the Rona Jaffe Fellow—an MS in environmental studies from the University of Montana, and a BA in English ( summa cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi, Presidential Scholar) from Berry College. She has taught expository writing, creative writing, environmental writing, scientific writing, and literature at the college level for fifteen years, as well as for Duke University’s Talent Identification Program field study at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico. She is currently a lecturer at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and has twice been recognized as the lecturer of the year.

Catherine has received an Artist’s Grant from the Vermont Studio Center and the Emerging Writers Award from the Southern Women Writers Conference, and was invited in 2016 to be writer-in-residence at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in Ecotone , Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, and other publications. In addition, Catherine is the co-founder of the Fall Line South Field Institute—an outdoor education school based in the Southeastern US—and a certified yoga instructor, most recently teaching at state and federal women’s prisons.

Dawn Corrigan

Dawn holds a BA in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Florida, where she served as President of the English Graduate Organization and as a writing tutor for the Athletic Department. She taught academic and creative writing at UF and at the University of Utah, where she was on the masthead at Western Humanities Review . She’s done copy editing for an array of clients including the University of Utah’s Tanner Trust and Free World Associates, a human rights organization. She was a researcher and strategist at IMS Consulting, a legal services provider for Am Law 100 firms. Currently she works in the affordable housing industry, with expertise in Fair Housing, VAWA, and the HUD-VASH program for homeless veterans. Her debut novel, Mitigating Circumstances , an environmental mystery about Florida wetlands, was published by Five Star/Cengage, and her shorter prose and poetry have appeared widely in print and online journals including The Good Men Project , Hobart , New England Review , New World Writing , The Paris Review , Poetry , and storySouth.

Jonathan Gharraie

Jonathan Gharraie holds degrees in English Literature from the University of Leeds and St. Catherine’s College, University of Oxford. In 2014, he graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and stayed on as a Post-Graduate Teaching Fellow. He has written for The Atlantic , n+1 , The Paris Review Daily , The New Statesman , Review 31 , and Vogue , and is currently at work on his first novel. He lives in South Derbyshire, England.

Django Ellenhorn

Django Ellenhorn holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of Florida and a BA in English from the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts. At UF, he taught a course on the intersection of politics and literature in the twentieth century as well as multiple workshops in fiction. He also worked as an assistant editor at the literary magazine Subtropics . He is currently at work on his first novel.

Nica Franklin

Nica Franklin received an MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he taught literature and creative writing, and a BA in Philosophy from Harvard University, where he was awarded the Edward Eager Memorial Prize in English and an Artist Development Fellowship. His writing and poetry have appeared in places like Colorado Review , Religious Studies Review , and Leavings .

Gina Cecchetti

Gina worked in law school admissions for eight years, most recently as the Director of Admissions at Duquesne University School of Law. At Duquesne, her responsibilities included evaluating applicants for admission and managing the scholarship process—including the reconsideration process.

During her time in law school admissions, Gina served on admission panels with the Law School Admissions Council when they hosted law school forums. Gina also built relationships with pre-law advisors by hosting workshops, speaking on panels, and planning pre-law advisor conferences at both Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Duquesne Law.

Currently, Gina is an Associate Director of Admissions at a nationally ranked top MBA program. Gina holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Westminster College and a master of arts degree in higher education management from the University of Pittsburgh. Gina was a competitive figure skater at the Senior Ladies level, the highest competitive level, and you can find her at the ice rink coaching her figure skaters and hockey players.

Will Smiley

Will developed his editorial skills as a university writing center tutor. He has worked one-on-one with hundreds of faculty and student clients to improve their writing. He received his BA with Honors from the University of Chicago, studied medieval English literature at University College London, and completed an MFA in poetry at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he was a postgraduate Provost Writing Fellow, and a Ph.D. in English at the University of Utah, where he was a Vice Presidential Fellow. Along the way, he has been a supervisor at Boston University’s Pappas Law Library and a cultural resource intern with the National Park Service in Anchorage, Alaska. He enjoys helping people become better writers. (His cat, Cathy, occasionally makes a cameo on Zoom calls.)

Tracy Simmons

Tracy Simmons is the Assistant Dean, Admissions, Diversity Initiatives and Financial Aid at University of San Diego School of Law. She received her JD from Golden Gate University School of Law and her MA in Education with an emphasis in Multi-Cultural Counseling from San Diego State University.

Tracy has worked in law school admissions, financial aid, and diversity initiatives for more than 22 years. She has reviewed thousands of applications, counseled hundreds of prospective law students, awarded millions of dollars in scholarships, and served on panels with admissions professionals from a significant number of ABA law schools. Prior to attending law school and working in law school administration, Tracy worked as a social worker for FamiliesFirst, Inc. in Northern California.

Tracy has been active with the Law School Admission Council on a variety of committees. She is currently the Chair for the Annual Meeting of Law School Professionals. She has served on the Board of Trustees. Past committee work includes serving on the Services and Programs Committee twice, the Forum Review Work Group, the Chief Diversity Officer Search Committee, the Diversity Initiatives Committee, the Finance and Legal Affairs Committee twice, and the Annual Planning Work Group, and serving as Chair of the New Admission Personnel and Faculty Members Workshop Planning Group.

Previously, she served as the Law Chair for the Access Group Advisory Board and the Access Group Advisory Committee. She recently served on the ACCESS LEX LexCon ’21 Planning Committee.

Additionally, Tracy has served as a consultant for the Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) Achieving Success in the Application Process program for over 12 years. She is a member of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), serving as the Chair of the Pre-Legal Education and Admissions to Law School Section twice, and as the Chair for the Part-Time Section. Tracy has also served on the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) Consumer Information and Law Student Information Task Force. Tracy has served on an ABA site inspection team and will serve on another site team next spring.

Tracy has served on the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) since March 2014, is immediate past Board President, and is current Chair of the Program Committee. Most recently, Tracy has joined the Sacramento State University Division of Criminal Justice Community Advisory Committee and the California System Involved Bar Association Advisory Board.

Jenny Davis

Jenny holds a BA in English from Wesleyan and is an MFA candidate in nonfiction writing at the University of Iowa, where she was an Iowa Arts Fellow. Her essays have been published in  Los Angeles Review of Books, Washington Square Review,  and  Speculative Nonfiction.  She is the author of the novel  Everything Must Go  and has two more novels forthcoming from Henry Holt. 

Tony Andrews

Tony holds a BA in Philosophy and Film Studies from Amherst College, where he graduated with honors and won the Film Studies Award, and an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Iowa, where he designed and taught courses in literature and creative writing and won the Carl Klaus Teaching Award. His approach to admissions consulting is student-centered, focused on helping each student package and articulate their unique perspective across their essays. He has worked with clients from a broad range of demographic backgrounds, from Zen Buddhists to first-gen graduates to trauma survivors, listening carefully to their stories and helping them craft the most sincere and authentic version possible. He has served as an editorial assistant for  The Iowa Review  and an assistant editor for the  London Review of Books , and has consulted for both law and business school applicants, with past law school clients accepted to T-14 programs with significant aid, including Harvard Law, Yale Law, UChicago Law, Penn Carey Law, Columbia Law, and UC Berkeley, among others. His business school clients have been admitted to MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Berkeley Haas, and the London Business School, among others. Tony is a contributor to  The Surfer's Journal , a literary magazine about the art and culture of surfing.

Will Carpenter

Will holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Florida (Alpha Epsilon Lambda), as well as BAs in Philosophy and Political Science from Penn State (Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude), where he received awards in philosophy, poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. At UF, Will taught classes in expository and argumentative writing, rhetoric and academic research, creative writing, and other areas, and designed a “Special Topics” course in American literature. Will won an English Department Teaching Award for the 2021–2022 academic year, during which time he also served as an Editorial Assistant for  Subtropics , a Style Editor for  ImageTexT , and a panelist at several conferences. He currently serves as a Staff Contributor for  New Square , the literary magazine of the Sancho Panza Literary Society. Will has received a scholarship from the New York State Summer Writers Institute, and his criticism has appeared in the  Denver Quarterly Review . You can find his poetry if you look hard enough, or gain access to the “Notes” app on his phone.

Ren Arcamone

Ren Arcamone holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Sydney and an MFA in Fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was awarded the College of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Fellowship and a postgraduate teaching fellowship. She's taught introductory courses in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry, and upper-level undergraduate courses on sci-fi and fantasy, as well as online and in-person writing courses for the Iowa Young Writers' Studio. She's served as an admissions reader for the Iowa Writers' Workshop and the Iowa Young Writers' Studio, and she's currently an editorial assistant for the Iowa Review. Before moving to the US, Ren lived in Sydney, Australia, where she worked at Writing NSW, an educational arts organization for emerging and established writers. Her fiction is published or forthcoming in Gulf Coast, Heat, and Electric Lit. She lives in Iowa City, where she's at work on a short story collection and a novel.

Sarina Redzinski

Sarina Redzinski holds a BA in English and Writing Seminars from Johns Hopkins University and an MFA from the University of Florida. In undergrad, she was on the inaugural board of the Johns Hopkins Undergraduate Law Review , led a number of writing workshops, and received the Jacob H. Hollander prize upon graduation. She also interned with the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of New Jersey program. While in Florida, she taught classes in expository writing, argumentative writing, fiction, and poetry. This past summer, she received a scholarship to the New York State Summer Writers Institute. Her writing credits include criticism for Full Stop magazine and poems forthcoming in Salmagundi magazine.

Drew Dickerson

Drew Dickerson holds an MFA in Fiction from the University of Florida as well as a BA from Brown University, where he graduated magna cum laude . He is a former Writing Fellow and current Features Writer for The Onion . He was the recipient of a 2017-2018 Fulbright fellowship to Germany, and his work has appeared or is forthcoming at n+1 , ClickHole , and The Point .

Janice Whang

Janice earned her AB from Harvard College and her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Florida, where she won a teaching award and served as an associate editor for  Subtropics . She enjoys running, cooking, and translating Korean literature. Her translation of a Korean short story, published in  The Denver Quarterly,  was nominated for the  Best Literary Translations Anthology.  Her own short stories can be found in  The /tƐmz/ Review, Oxford Magazine , and the forthcoming  Reunion: The Dallas Review .

Alicia C. Miles

Alicia has been working in law school admissions since 2016, most recently as Assistant Dean of Admissions at the University of Oregon School of Law. She has had leadership and responsibility for all aspects of the process including annual enrollment forecasting, implementing scholarship and pricing strategies, creating and implementing enrollment marketing material and strategies, national and international recruiting, and the evaluation of all applications to the J.D. program. During her time in law admissions, she served as the Minority Network Facilitator for the Law School Admissions Council.

Prior to law school admissions work, Alicia received her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Guilford College, and then her Juris Doctor from Valparaiso University Law School. She also served for six years in the United States Navy Reserve as an Electronics Technician. She received the AALS 2023 Section on Pre-Law Education and Admission to Law School Up-and-Comer Award. 

Alicia is currently living in Louisiana where she can typically be found zydeco dancing, spending time with her family and dog Beauxmont, listening to true crime podcasts, or reading a book from her ever-increasing TBR pile.

Ara Hagopian

Ara Hagopian is a writer. He holds a BA from Cornell University as well as an MFA from the University of Florida. As a grad student he taught Beginning Fiction Writing, Intermediate Fiction Writing, Expository and Argumentative Writing, Rhetoric and Academic Research, and Writing for Engineers. He’s done editing work for several journals including  Subtropics ,  New Square , and  Let’s Stab Caesar . He enjoys meditation and Irish folk music. He’s working on a novel.   

Savannah Horton

Savannah Horton is a fiction writer with an MFA from the University of Florida and a BA in English from Bowdoin College. She has five years of teaching experience at the undergraduate, high school, and elementary school levels. She was the 2021-2022 Writer in Residence at St. Albans School and a graduate of the University of Florida’s fiction MFA program, where she received the Porter Fellowship. She has published in The Drift, Subtopics, Raleigh Review , and The Cincinnati Review , where her story was selected as a Distinguished Story for the Best American Short Stories 2020 collection, and she was longlisted for both the 2021 CRAFT First Chapters Contest and the First Pages Prize.

Chris Schlegel

Chris Schlegel is the author of two books of poetry:  ryman  (2022) and  Honest James  (2015). He holds a PhD in English from Harvard, where he wrote on 20th-century American poetry; an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop; and a BA from Princeton. He studied in Berlin on a Fulbright grant, taught a summer ESL course in rural China, and served as a dorm counselor for young writers in Iowa City. He now teaches English and Creative Writing at Pierrepont School, a K-12 institution in Westport, CT, and lives in New Haven.

Liz K Emerson

Adria Kimbrough

Adria Kimbrough has advised law school applicants for more than 10 years. In 2013, she pioneered the Dillard University Pre-Law Program, which received the 2018 American Bar Association Diversity Leadership Award for its success in helping diverse law school applicants develop winning strategies. In 2018, she founded LEAD, a diversity pipeline program that helps students from three of Louisiana’s historically Black universities gain admission to law school. She is also committed to helping students pursue careers as civil rights attorneys through her work at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Marshall-Motley Scholars Program, where she has reviewed almost 1,000 applications.

Adria began her professional career at Cornell University as an Assistant Dean of Students. She later practiced employment law throughout the South for 15 years, having successfully passed the bar examinations in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Louisiana     .

When she’s not working, you might find Adria walking her two French bulldogs, cooking a HelloFresh meal, on the AAU basketball circuit with her son, or debating world events and pop culture with her daughter and husband.

Allison Nash

Ali has worked in law school admissions since 2009, where, as Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Arizona College of Law, she evaluated applications, assisted in making merit-based scholarship decisions, and counseled prospective law students. She’s spent the past several years working as a law school admissions consultant, using everything she learned in the admissions office to help students discover then strategically articulate their strengths in law school applications. Prior to her admissions work, Ali obtained her JD, with distinction , from the University of Iowa College of Law, where she was selected as a Journal of Corporation Law writer and a Van Oosterhout-Baskerville Appellate Advocacy competitor. She practiced real estate law at Warner Norcross & Judd LLP(Am Law 200) for several years, where she also helped make hiring decisions and mentored new attorneys. She writes every chance she gets and has authored numerous legal and law school admissions publications. In Ali’s spare time, she volunteers as a CASA, runs a little cookie shop, teaches the occasional yoga class, and tinkers around on her ukulele.

Micky Hill graduated with honors from Wesleyan University and holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. While in Iowa, Micky taught several undergraduate creative writing courses and facilitated independent adult poetry workshops. They were awarded the Truman Capote Fellowship in 2018 and served as the postgraduate Provost Writing Fellow during the 2019–2020 school year. Their work has been published by  The Rumpus  and the Academy of American Poets.

Currently, Micky teaches African American and Latinx Literature, as well as other courses, at an honors high school in Springfield, MA. 

Writing Consultant

Joy Wang is a graduate of Harvard Law School (JD). She also holds an MFA from Hunter College in Fiction, and a DPhil in Postcolonial Literature from Oxford University where she was a Rhodes Scholar. She is currently a senior attorney at the Legal Aid Society in New York City, where she represents defendants from arraignments to jury trials. Prior to becoming a practicing lawyer, Joy published in a wide range of academic journals including  Race & Class ,  South Asian Review , and  Journal of Postcolonial Writing . She taught English Literature as an Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College, NYU in London, and the University of Stellenbosch. Most recently, she helped to train Indonesian lawyers in criminal and civil matters as a Fellow for the International Legal Foundation. Joy has a decade of experience helping students write essays for applications to law school and other graduate programs. She especially enjoys pondering the connections between literature, humanities, and public interest law. In her spare time, she plays tennis and cooks. 

Ziva has been the Associate Director of Admissions and Director of Admissions Communications at Cardozo School of Law for almost two decades. She was an Assistant Adjunct Professor of Legal Writing at the law school, holding grammar workshops and providing individual academic support, among other roles. In her Admissions role, Ziva read thousands of JD and transfer applications, conducted almost as many interviews with prospective students, and counseled and recruited prospective applicants across the country. Ziva is regularly invited to participate on admissions panels in local universities and national forums. She also served two terms on the Law School Admission Council’s Subcommittee on Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admission Process.  

Prior to entering law school admissions, Ziva practiced commercial litigation in a midtown Manhattan law firm for three years. Before pursuing law, she enjoyed a career in journalism for ten years, holding positions in print, television, and radio, as a news writer, field producer, and reporter. She worked for major news organizations including CNN, ABC, and NBC, while based in Jerusalem, Moscow, and New York City.

Ziva received a JD from Cardozo School of Law and a BA from New York University in English Literature and Creative Writing. She enjoys exploring New York City cultural sites with her daughter, and they both love to attend theatre and dance performances.  

Daniel Hwa-Sung Ryu

Daniel was admitted to the law schools of Yale, Harvard, Stanford, UChicago, and more. He has direct experience with every step of the process, including interviewing and writing personal/diversity statements, school-specific prompts, and addenda. 

He is a first-generation immigrant from Korea and a first-generation professional. Daniel holds a BA in Philosophy from Richmond College where he received a music scholarship and an MSt in Ancient Philosophy from Oxford. He then worked in national public service as an AmeriCorps member and cohort leader. In his spare time, he is fascinated by journalism, fiction, and nature documentaries. Daniel is finishing a novel provisionally titled  Shell Game  (thankfully, unrelated to the LSAT). He is also trying to pick up the violin again to awaken dormant brain parts, and at any given time, he and his family care for over a dozen cats. 

Lauren Pena

Lauren earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Political Science from Indiana Wesleyan in 2010 and completed her J.D. at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2013. She spent over 7 years in law school admissions as the Associate Director of Student Recruitment for Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. In her position, she recruited and advised prospective law candidates on how to create the best application and made admissions and scholarship decisions as a member of the review committee. Lauren has a strong passion for helping law students achieve their goals and spent her spare time advising current law students as well. Her passion for advising and mentoring students led her to present at recruitment conferences and serve on panels.

She has returned to practice and is now serving as an estate planning attorney for Stevens and Associates, PC. Still motivated by her love for law students, Lauren is excited to share her knowledge, insight, and encouragement. In her free time, Lauren enjoys spending time with family and friends, and getting involved in her continued work with disability advocacy.

Sam Allingham

Sam Allingham's writing has appeared in  The New Yorker  and  n+1,  along with many other magazines, and he is the author of the short story collection  The Great American Songbook.  He has professional experience as a speechwriter for C-suite clients and as a copywriter for educational and non-profit institutions. He has more than ten years' experience teaching writing at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Successful Law School Personal Statement Example (’24 Guide)

What is a great example of a personal statement for law school? 

A personal statement can massively improve your chances of getting accepted to a top law school. And today, you get a real example from an applicant with a low GPA who got admitted to a T-10 law school. 

Example personal statement: Emily

Here’s a real example of a personal statement my client Emily wrote (her name is changed to protect her privacy, everything else is true). 

Emily had a serious drawback when she applied to law school; her GPA was significantly below all T-14 law school medians. So her personal statement  really  had to shine. 

And by focusing on her statement, Emily was able to get admitted to a T-10 law school – a far better law school than what she “should” have been able to get admitted to if she’d only focused on her stats. 

Here below, I first break down her background and admissions outcome and then share her admissions strategy. Last, we’ll look at her initial draft and then the final, reworked draft that helped her get accepted to a top law school.

• 3.2 GPA, 171 LSAT 
• Out of undergrad for two years. Worked as a Visitor Services Associate at a major art museum in New York for the first 18 months after undergrad, then worked as a paralegal at a well-known plaintiffs’ environmental litigation law firm for the six months leading up to her application to law schools. 
• In undergrad, she was involved in primarily personal extracurriculars, including as captain of the club tennis team and the orchestra. She also participated in some community service, though it was a low-time commitment, primarily tutoring elementary students.
• During undergrad, she also interned at various art museums. 
•  Emily knew she wanted to go to law school to work in art restitution. This had been a long-held passion of hers: she majored in history to be able to study this, interned with various museums while in undergrad, and wrote her thesis on the restitution of Nazi art. 

Law School Goals

• T-14 law school with opportunities specific to art restitution. 
• GPA significantly below all the T-14 schools’ medians
• Trouble finding recommenders 

Admissions Outcome 

• Will be attending the University of Michigan Law School, a T-10 law school with specific opportunities in art restitution. 
• Emily was admitted despite her 3.2 GPA being significantly below Michigan’s median 3.84 GPA, and her LSAT just reaching their 171 median. She killed it!

Admissions Strategy 

With Emily, the main thing she had to overcome was her low GPA. She had a solid LSAT score, but not a score that was so elevated that it would automatically excuse her GPA.

And without having people she undoubtedly knew would write her outstanding letters of recommendation, we had an uphill battle making sure her application materials offset the low GPA.

These are the main pieces of her law school application we worked on to make up for her low GPA. 

1. Addendum 

Whenever a client comes to me with a low GPA, I look for every opportunity to help them show law schools that their GPA is not indicative of their academic capabilities. So we first analyze their transcript and I inquire whether there is any explanation for their low performance.

For Emily, there was a possible explanation, in that something difficult happened to her in college, but she wasn’t sure how much it had impacted her or whether there was a significant enough pattern in her grades where she could blame it on the incident. She was also very cautious of sharing it, as it was extremely personal and traumatic to her.

We eventually both agreed that it made sense for Emily to write an addendum. While her experience may not fully excuse her grades in the eyes of an admission officer, it was serious enough that it provided context for Emily’s performance. Admission officers want to know this.

The key to writing a  law school addendum  that doesn’t sound like you’re making an excuse, which was Emily’s biggest concern, is to just state the facts. She didn’t need to say that her GPA was entirely a result of this incident, but she was able to share the details of what happened and how it affected her and her ability to do well in school. It was valid and real.

2. Letters of Recommendation 

Emily struggled with figuring out who to ask for her letters of recommendation. She had some professors in mind but hadn’t kept much in touch since graduating in the past two years. And given her grades weren’t great in many of the courses, she didn’t feel she had many professors to ask. 

When a client has a low GPA, it is really important to get strong letters of recommendation that talk about how the applicant can handle rigorous academic work. And when an applicant like Emily is only a few years out from undergrad, without any intervening schooling, getting recommendations from undergrad professors is really important. 

Many applicants think they can only ask professors where they received an A or the top grade in the class. But if you feel that you excelled in a really tough course, even though you didn’t get an A, and that a professor for that course could actually talk more personally and specifically about your ability to handle rigorous academic work than a professor where you received an A, that will be a stronger letter of recommendation. 

That was exactly the case with Emily. She excelled in a History course where she wrote a 300-page paper—no small feat while in undergrad! While she didn’t receive an A in the course, the professor had thought enough of her work to recommend she try to get her essay published. That was clearly a professor who respected Emily, respected her ability to think analytically and write well—both skills needed as a lawyer. The professor was more than thrilled to write her a letter and ended up writing her a really outstanding recommendation. 

I helped her gather the courage to ask her super busy, intimidating boss at her paralegal job to write her another letter. The boss asked Emily to write the first draft. This can be so tough! Applicants often feel like this gives them control, but usually, the letters come out worse. And it is often very obvious to admissions officers that you wrote it yourself.  Read my advice here on how to write your own letter of recommendation.

With my guidance, Emily was able to use this opportunity to highlight the incredible amount of responsibility she was given, and how much she thrived in the role. This was another way to show law schools that she could handle the responsibility of law school and being a lawyer, as she was doing some pretty high-level legal work already. She also highlighted the intensity of the role she was in, and the demanding hours and expectations. 

This was strategic in that it helped combat any assumptions that her undergrad GPA was because of laziness. She clearly showed through her paralegal role that she was willing and able to go above and beyond, even in a very stressful environment. 

Finally, given that Emily wanted to go to law school to pursue a degree in art restitution, it was important she have a recommendation that speaks to that passion. Whenever you intend to talk about wanting to go into a specific area of law, especially one as niche as art restitution, you want to show proof of that passion through your experiences. Having a recommendation that can speak to what you have done in that arena can be very persuasive. Emily ended up asking a former supervisor at a prestigious art museum. 

Overall, the strategy behind Emily’s letters of recommendation was to show that she (1) could handle rigorous academic work, (2) had already mastered important legal skills of analytical thinking and writing abilities, (3) could thrive in a demanding environment, and (4) had a genuine and proven passion for art restitution.

3. Personal Statement 

The most important piece of Emily’s application was undoubtedly going to be her law school personal statement, and (albeit to a lesser extent) her supplemental essays.

Emily’s interest in such a niche area of law—art restitution—was a major advantage she had. And it was a genuine and long-standing interest that she had proof of her through her various internships, jobs, and thesis.

Law schools want a diverse class, which includes interest areas. They don’t want a school of lawyers all practicing the same kind of law; that doesn’t help them look as good. So having a niche interest, and one that you can talk about with deep insight, can make you stand out . . . a lot. 

So I knew that having a personal statement that spoke to this interest in a  personal and powerful way  could go a long way to helping offset Emily’s low GPA.

In the next section, I show you where Emily started with her personal statement and where we got to for her final version so you can see for yourself the difference between an essay that sounds like someone who has some idea why she wants to go to law school, to an applicant whose passion and deep insight into her motivation to go to law school can be felt through the page.

I always say: you want to make the admissions officer reading your personal statement understand and feel your passion to become a lawyer. 

I’ve included my comments on Emily’s first draft so you can see my own thinking. But know that there were A LOT of drafts in between this first version and Emily’s final. Emily’s personal statement probably took longer than most to get final, and that was because we both wanted it to be perfect, and also because I knew from talking with her that she had so much more depth and power in her than was coming across on the page. So I kept pushing. (Sorry I’m not sorry!)

In Emily’s own (maybe exaggerating) words:  “You forced me to write and rewrite my personal statement maybe 20 times. But I forgive you because there is absolutely no way it would have turned into the masterpiece I think that it is if it were not for you.”

The main differences I want you to notice between the first draft and Emily’s final version are:

(1) the cohesive narrative surrounding her passion for art restitution and her desire to attend law school—the final essay reads more like a single story than her first draft’s series of disjointed stories,

(2) a grounding of her passion in the personal—she uses a personal story about her family to explain the origins of her passion for art restitution. This helps ground the narrative a bit more, keeps it from feeling too much like an academic paper.

(3) the global insight Emily shares about the importance of art restitution—she shows not only why she cares, but also why we should care about the work she is going to do. And she shows that she can think critically about her experiences and how they apply in the real world, an important skill for lawyers.

(4) a specific and thought-out plan for how she’ll get to her legal goals—shows maturity and insight into the legal field that most applicants don’t have.

Sample Personal Statements: Before & After 

Emily’s Initial Draft 

Emily’s Final Personal Statement 

        “I grew up feeling connected to my parents but detached from cultural roots. My parents came from Jewish and Catholic traditions, so they raised me with a little of both. When it came time to do family trees in elementary school, I was lost beyond my grandparents’ generation. My mother reached out to my great-aunt Terry, the matriarch of my mother’s side, and thanks to her I know the story of one branch of my family tree: the Lauterbachs, Austrian Jews who fled after a pogrom, leaving behind their successful hotel. This is the oldest story that I have about my ancestors, and I cling to it as part of my identity.

        In college, I pursued a degree in history to learn and tell other people’s stories, and in small ways, to find my own. Given my long-held interest in art and museums, I explored art history, but the academic perspective felt too detached, and I preferred using art as evidence or context in history papers, rather than as the subject.

        I was always grasping at things tangentially related to my weak sense of family history, so when I learned about the famous Adele Bloch Bauer I— the painting at the heart of a struggle between a Holocaust victim’s heir and a national Austrian museum, depicted in the “Woman in Gold” film—I clung to the story. I struggled to understand why there had been so much resistance to do what clearly seemed like the right thing. I was perplexed that there had been no clear avenue for families hoping to recover their looted art, searching to find a piece of their lost identity and stolen pride. Why had it taken decades for the pride of the Belvedere Museum in Vienna to be recognized by her real name and returned to her rightful owner? 

        I felt this same frustration when visiting 21 Rue de la Boétie, an exhibition in homage to French Jewish art dealer Paul Rosenberg—who represented Léger and Matisse among others and was forced to flee Paris in WWII, leaving behind many paintings to be stolen, destroyed, or sold by the Nazis. The last room of the exhibit contained a painting that had just been returned to his estate from a Norwegian museum a year earlier, and the plaque spoke about the ongoing efforts to find and recover additional works. Reading about how heirs were still, decades later, having to fight to recover what was rightfully a part of their family history, a part of their identity, left me furious. It felt like fate; as I was nearing the end of my quest for a senior thesis topic, I had found something that combined history, art, and justice, along with my personal search for identity.

        Hoping to get a quote for my senior thesis on the upward trend of restitution in cases of Nazi-looted art, I met with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, who track down looted antiquities from war-torn or impoverished countries. The head of the unit told me that the landmark international agreement to return stolen works, known as the Washington Principles, was unenforceable and not self-policed, in his blunt words, “useless.”

        Another problem that I encountered in my research was that the people holding these works often fail to appreciate their symbolic value. For a museum, these paintings are valuable works by famous artists. But for those whose heritage, ancestors, or past, is tied to an object, the value is primarily its history. A work of art cannot be separated from its past, and as a physical object, it comes to represent the people who cherished it. For me, restituting a work is a way of honoring those people. Choosing not to restitute a work legitimizes the direct and intentional dehumanizing of the Nazi regime. This result and its implications are unacceptable.

        It is to this end that I am seeking a law degree. I intend to be an attorney who represents heirs of stolen, looted, and missing works. While restituting art can never bring back the millions of lives lost in the Holocaust or hold accountable those who were guilty or complicit in the looting, it can still provide a small glimmer of hope, a way to honor the dead along with the survivors and repair a missing piece of an heir’s identity. It remains a way to disrupt the results of the original looting, a small right in the face of unspeakable wrongs.

        I envision starting my career as a litigator in an art recovery practice group. Through these cases I will bring to light the stories of the individuals tied to these works and ensure that their stories are always told when their works are displayed. I intend to spend my career contributing to the eventual paradigm shift at which point museums and individuals will always feel obligated to restitute looted works.”

How do you write a good personal statement for law school? 

Now you know what Emily’s personal statement looked like and why. 

And by now you also know that your GPA and LSAT score aren’t the only things that determine whether you’ll get accepted or not. 

Many applicants with amazing GPA and LSAT scores don’t get into top law schools, while plenty of applicants without those same scores do get in. (Just like Emily.)

The secret to getting admitted to law school is to  tell a cohesive story . 

Don’t try to include everything and anything. Instead, form a story around many or individual experiences. 

Your personal statement also needs to answer  why you want to go to law school . You don’t have to know what type of lawyer you want to become, but you should be able to answer  why . 

Finally, one of the most important parts of your personal statement is to show admissions officers  how you think . After all, they’ll want to know if you have what it takes to thrive as a lawyer.

Get law school personal statement prompts 

There you have it! You now have a highly insightful example of a personal statement for law school.

And as you know by now, the topic you choose is one of the most important parts of your statement.

To help you create YOUR personal statement, I’ve created a list with prompts to brainstorm your topic. 

Download it here: 

Frequently asked questions about personal statement examples

What should be the opening sentence of a law school personal statement.

How should you start your personal statement? The key is to introduce your topic fast and then build your story. If you include a lengthy introduction, you won’t have as much space to fill in your story… And frankly, you’ll lose the admission officer’s attention.

Start with an engaging introduction that clearly shows the reader what you will be talking about and keep them interested in reading the rest of your statement. 

What not to say in a law school personal statement?

You’ll generally want to avoid any overused personal statement topics. These are historical or political events (unless you were personally affected by them in a meaningful way – just like Emily had a family history that made her interested in Nazi art lootings), athlete stories, generic study abroad stories, high school events, creative writing-type essays, or relying on a difficult story as a “crutch” instead of using it to build your cohesive story.  

How long should a law school personal statement be?

The length of your personal statement depends on the law school, but the typical length is two pages. Check what law schools state about their requirements to understand how long your personal statement should be. 

Hope you enjoy this blog post! Want to know how to use the power of your personal statement to get into your dream law school, even if you aren’t the “perfect” applicant?

Get the three exercises that have helped countless law school applicants craft a wildly successful personal statement

How to kickstart your personal statement and get into your dream law school

Where can i send your pdf.

Privacy Policy: We hate spam and promise to keep your email address safe.

How to Stand Out & Get Admitted to the Law School of Your Dreams

• Personal Statements
• Dean Interviews
• TLS Stats
• TLS Programs

Personal Statement Examples - Sample Law School Personal Statements

It requires a lot of effort and thought to write a personal statement that effectively captures your greatest qualities and stands out to admissions committees. While we have an entire article on writing personal statements , one of the best ways to assist and inspire your writing is reading and learning from several personal statement samples. Although writing personal statements requires that you reflect upon what is unique and exemplary about your background, the following personal statement samples will provide insight into how other applicants have successfully crafted their statement. Below you can find 31 personal statement examples found in the TLS Guide to Personal Statements book, which has sections on why these personal statement samples are strong and also how they could have been improved upon. More personal statement samples can be found in the personal statement forum .

See the following articles for more information:

• How To Write An Effective Law School Personal Statement?
• Why Aspiring Law Applicants Must Submit Personal Statements With Law School Applications?

31 Example Personal Statements

• Silicon Valley Start-Up
• Senior Design
• Stay-at-Home Dad
• Happy Camper
• Belorussian Lawyer
• Mormon Conflict
• New York Artist
• PR Agency Builder
• Alice in Casinoland
• Kentucky Governor’s Scholar
• South Dakota
• Magazine Industry
• Russian Grandfather
• Kenyan Immigrant
• Surviving Rape
• Parental Disability
• Resisting the Label “Muslim”
• Muumuus and Moving On
• Hurricane Katrina
• First to Attend College
• High-Stakes Law Experience
• Uganda and Cambodia
• UK Study Abroad
• Delmarva Shorebirds
• Debate Skills
• Korean American

Below are 2 of the 31 Personal Statement Samples

Sample Personal Statement #1 - Silicon Valley Start-Up  

Eighteen months ago, I was sitting at my computer, wedged between a dripping coffee maker to my left and the company’s CFO five feet to my right. Every keystroke shook the flimsy foldout card table that served as my desk, on loan to the company from another employee’s garage. We were packed in the largest of three rooms in a 2,500 square foot space baking in the heat generated by ten co-workers in close quarters, fifteen running computers, and an abnormally warm summer. On the glass doorway was etched the ghostly lettering of the former company occupying the space, serving as a grim reminder of the ever-present possibility of failure.

Two weeks earlier, I had been in my company’s small conference room sitting at the table surrounded by familiar faces from my last employer. Silicon Valley is incestuous: teams migrate from one company to the next, so I was not surprised to find myself recruited to join my old boss’s newest project. They were selling another David versus Goliath story, featuring a small rag-tag team of engineers defeating a seemingly insurmountable industry leader. Despite my skepticism, I still had a free-running imagination fed with nostalgic thoughts of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard working on their first audio oscillator in a Palo Alto garage. But at my last start-up company, we had challenged a corporation for a piece of the industry pie, and nine years and $330 million dollars later, the company was a hollow shell doing mostly engineering contractor work. I was lucky enough to join that company late in the game and sell my stock options early, but many others spent a significant portion of their career at a company that came close to glory but ultimately fell short: Goliath 1, David 0.

This time they were telling me it was going to be different; they were always saying this time would be different. I asked them how a small, poorly funded start-up company could go against a giant corporation, which was also the undisputed king of our market, with nearly $400 million in quarterly revenue. After signing a non-disclosure agreement, I was let in on the big secret, the meaning of the “C” in the company name: we were going to use recent innovations in carbon nano-tubes to revolutionize the industry. These nano-scopic cylindrical fibers that allow unparalleled circuit density would be David’s tiny, secret sling.

With the financial incentive of stock options and the confidence gained by working with a crack technical team, everyone was working at full capacity. There were scribbled drawings with names and dates taped up on a wall. These were the jotted ideas from our team of electrical engineers and physicists with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from schools like Harvard, Stanford, and M.I.T. One posting was my recent workings of a carbon nano-tube electro-mechanical configuration bit, an idea that a co-worker and I had developed that I would write up and the company would push through the patent process. By packing a dozen well-caffeinated physics and electronics geniuses into a pathetic three-room rental that resembled a low-budget movie studio, we had created the primordial soup of intellectual invention. As a result of our collective ideas, our seasoned team, our innovative ideas, and nano-technology being the latest buzzword in investment, we were soon funded by venture capitalists for $10 million. It was immensely exciting to be the tenth employee in a growing start-up company that would have to upgrade offices and dramatically expand staff in an up-scaling war against the industry titan. The increased design responsibility and unbounded architectural creativity that comes with working for a start-up is unparalleled. However, the necessity of sidestepping our competitor’s patented intellectual property, which covered all aspects of our design, from manufacturing to testing, placed a heavy burden on the design team. This danger was extremely real, as a similar start-up had collapsed following an infringement lawsuit related to unauthorized reproduction of a bit stream. As the designer of three different components, I examined our competition’s sixteen patents related to the memory aspect of the device.  It was immensely satisfying to study, absorb, and then circumvent patent claims as I designed a conceptually similar but un-patented version of three memory blocks.

I am interested in serving as general counsel for a corporation focused on advanced semiconductor technology. My diverse work experience and master’s degree provide a perfect foundation to tackle the issues faced by a general counsel. I am drawn to the challenges I will find at the intersection of intellectual property, product liability, and corporate law. At this juncture in my life, I seek more challenge and personal growth in a field that calls on my written skills, attention to detail, and love of technology. My background in nano-technology will bring a unique perspective to the NYU classroom and will make me extremely marketable upon graduation. By pursuing a law degree, I intend to enter a profession that aligns with the interests and aptitudes I have discovered and developed through real work experience. It is through deep personal reflection that I have decided that law is the natural extension of my training, personality, and talents.

Commentary 1:  Silicon Valley Start-Up

Structure: Personal Narrative Topic:   Internet Start-Up Thesis:   I led a multi-million dollar design team; I can succeed in law school. Elements of Style:   Comparison to David & Goliath Committee Appeal: Tangible Impact, Real World Experience, Pro-Active Starter, Good Leader Success Rating:   A/9

What’s Strong: This is an excellent personal statement because it shows this candidate has had a tangible impact on organizations, and probably on the global economy.  The statement keeps the reader engaged by giving a meaningful story with background, context, conflict, and resolution.  It also provides a peek into the mysterious and increasingly legendary world of Silicon Valley start-ups.  This is a good model for someone who has been out of college for a while, but who hasn’t been working in a law firm.  The essay is focused on career goals, with career history to back up the writer’s plans.  This person is a doer, not a dreamer.  The writer shows a depth of technical knowledge and strong analytic reasoning skills that go far beyond linear thinking, especially in the description of finding new solutions to highly technical problems that do not violate patents.  The statement creates desire in the admissions committee to admit this person because other companies seek to hire the applicant and venture capitalists are willing to support the applicant with substantial funds.  This statement will inspire members of the admissions committee to act on the applicant’s behalf because he has successfully reached beyond the safety net of college. 

This applicant demonstrated his strong written communication skills by writing a compelling statement that uses several kinds of rhetorical appeals.  Logic is used to show how his analytical ability helps to keep the company afloat in the same waters where others have foundered.  He uses touches of pathos when he describes the “primordial soup of intellectual invention” inside the cramped office.  The analogy in which he compares his small start-up and the industry leader to David and Goliath uses both pathos and mythos to excellent effect: The story is one everyone knows, and so just by invoking the names, the writer brings a powerful story into his narrative without using valuable space.  This mythic story becomes a theme woven throughout the essay.  It is a rhetorical device that establishes a connection in the reader’s mind between this candidate and David, a leader known for his compassionate ethos. This writer has also composed the statement so that he comes across as an authoritative, competent, thoughtful, and honest leader. This statement helped earn the applicant acceptance to NYU and Columbia Law Schools.

What’s Wrong: This essay is too focused on the details of the story and fails to give sufficient evidence for why this person is a good candidate for law school.  This essay is structured as a personal narrative, and the topic is the applicant’s professional experience.  The first paragraph is well written but is wholly descriptive prose that has very little to do with why this person is a good candidate for law school.  The first paragraph lacks a thesis or a direction for the essay.  Ideally, the reader should find a microcosm of the essay in the first paragraph.

The second-to-last paragraph packs in the most value to the admissions committee for the space used, but the background story is important for this paragraph to be so powerful.  To make the background story do more work for him, the writer could plant more indicators of his positive qualities and characteristics in the early part of the essay.  For example, he could mention how he used his oral communication skills to communicate with his design team and supervisors, so that the admissions committee knows he feels that mastery of oral communication skills is important.

The last paragraph is where the applicant draws together his themes with his self-assessment and goals.  He should mention what his master’s degree is in.  This writer commits the common error of throwing in the name of the school receiving this statement as a token.  Any law school program could fill that place.  The writer doesn’t appear to have done research about the law program at NYU.  Does the applicant feel that being in New York City will put him in contact with East Coast technology specialists who will give him an edge up in his career?  Or, is the applicant focusing upon NYU because of their strength in intellectual property law? The writer needs to persuade the NYU admissions committee that NYU is the only school for him, and he can do this by interpreting how the school’s particular strengths will advance his goals.  Despite these quibbles, though, this is overall a fantastic personal statement.

Sample Personal Statement 2 - Minimalist

I am a thinker, but not one to think out loud. I love myself, but am not in love with the sound of my own voice. I want to be loved, but not at the cost of not loving myself. I want to know everything, but realize that nothing can ever be known for sure. I believe that nothing is absolute, but I can absolutely defend my beliefs. I understand that chance is prevalent in all aspects of life, but never leave anything important to chance. I am skeptical about everything, but realistic in the face of my skepticism. I base everything on probability, but so does nature...probably.

I believe that all our actions are determined, but feel completely free to do as I choose. I do not believe in anything resembling a God, but would never profess omniscience with regard to such issues. I have faith in nothing, but trust that my family and friends will always be faithful. I feel that religion is among the greatest problems in the world, but also understand that it is perhaps the ultimate solution. I recognize that many people derive their morals from religion, but I insist that religion is not the only fountainhead of morality. I respect the intimate connection between morality and law, but do not believe that either should unquestioningly respect the other.

I want to study the law and become a lawyer, but I do not want to study the law just because I want to become a lawyer. I am aware that the law and economics cannot always be studied in conjunction, but I do not feel that either one can be properly studied without an awareness of the other. I recognize there is more to the law than efficiency, but believe the law should recognize the importance of efficiency more than it does. I love reading about law and philosophy, but not nearly as much as I love having a good conversation about the two. I know that logic makes an argument sound, but also know that passion makes an argument sound logical. I have philosophical beliefs informed by economics and economic beliefs informed by philosophy, but I have lost track of which beliefs came first. I know it was the egg though.

I always think very practically, but do not always like to think about the practical. I have wanted to be a scientist for a while now, but it took me two undergraduate years to figure out that being a scientist does not necessarily entail working in a laboratory. I play the saxophone almost every day, but feel most like an artist when deduction is my instrument. I spent one year at a college where I did not belong and two years taking classes irrelevant for my major, but I have no regrets about my undergraduate experience. I am incredibly passionate about my interests, but cannot imagine being interested in only one passion for an entire lifetime.

I love the Yankees, but do not hate the Red Sox. I love sports, but hate the accompanying anti-intellectual culture. I may read the newspaper starting from the back, but I always make my way to the front eventually. I am liberal on some issues and conservative on others, but reasonable about all of them. I will always be politically active, but will never be a political activist. I think everything through completely, but I am never through thinking about anything.

I can get along with almost anyone, but there are very few people without whom I could not get along. I am giving of my time, but not to the point of forgetting its value. I live for each moment, but not as much as I worry about the next. I consider ambition to be of the utmost importance, but realize that it is useless without the support of hard work. I am a very competitive person, but only when competing with myself. I have a million dreams, but I am more than just a dreamer. I am usually content, but never satisfied.

I am a study in contradiction, but there is not an inconsistency to be found.

Commentary 2:  Minimalist

Structure: Personal Narrative Topic:   Self-portrait Thesis:   I am a clever risk-taker. Elements of Style: Literary play with contradiction and a variety of verbal punning Committee Appeal:   Intellectual Excellence, Multiple Perspectives Success Rating:   A-/8

What’s Strong: This personal statement is constructed like a poem:  there is a rhythm to it that draws the reader in; there is also verbal play and the construction of a somewhat mysterious self-portrait.   This applicant had an impressive 4.0 GPA and 178 LSAT, so he could be a risk-taker with the personal statement.  This essay stands out because it is more artfully designed than other statements.  This is a good strategy if you are sure of your standardized scores or if you are applying to a reach school and so are trying to get yourself noticed.  An experimental personal statement such as this is just as likely to succeed as to flop, because some admissions committee members value creativity while others will be put off by the lack of specific details.  In its uniqueness, it is unclear how difficult this statement was to write; most admissions committee members will probably give the candidate the benefit of the doubt and see it as highly original rather than a series of clichés. 

This statement works by a clever rhetorical trick:  The author will repeat a word in the same sentence but shift the meaning to a different, often contrary, usage.  For example, the author writes, “I believe that nothing is absolute, but I can absolutely defend my beliefs.”  Most of the sentences are linked in a daisy chain of associative ideas.  For example, the first paragraph moves through the author’s views on thinking, loving, and doubting.  The author then gestures towards interests in philosophy, morality, law, economics, music, sports, and politics.  In the third paragraph, the applicant tells us he is good at synthesizing diverse information.  The admissions committee will like this ability, as well as the humor that concludes the paragraph with the chicken-and-egg joke.  The statement ends with a character sketch indicating the author is friendly but ambitious and complex.  And finally, there is an important punch when the piece ends:  “I am a study in contradiction, but there is not an inconsistency to be found.”  This statement worked for the applicant because this person was accepted everywhere, including Yale and Stanford, and was offered a $63,000 scholarship to NYU.

What’s Wrong: Although this statement is put together like a poem, it lacks the internal logic and consistency that would make it an outstanding example of the personal statement genre.   The author starts out very well, linking each sentence to the previous one, but upon close analysis, the chain link falls apart rather quickly.  In the first paragraph, talking connects quiet thinking to self-respect, and then love connects self-respect to healthy relationships, but after this, the author enters stream-of-consciousness mode.  We learn the author is not religious.  He or she writes, “I know that logic makes an argument sound, but also know that passion makes an argument sound logical.”  The problem with a sentence like this is that it does not give the reader specific evidence that this person is either logical or passionate.   This personal statement encases the author behind a rhetorical wall that does not allow his personality to emerge.  We do not have a sense of whether this person is trustworthy because we have no specific stories or examples to evaluate for the author’s ethical appeal.

The fourth paragraph is somewhat damaging to the author when we learn, “I spent one year at a college where I did not belong and two years taking classes irrelevant for my major.”  The admissions committee will wonder:  Why didn’t you belong at that college?  Why did you take random classes for two years? Can you be trusted to maintain your focus in law school?  The word play at this point waffles between clever and stale.  This statement would do better to begin and end with the verbal play, but to have a solid paragraph or two in the middle of personal narrative, in which the admissions committee really get to know the person behind this rhetorical show. 

Closing Remarks on Sample Personal Statements

We hope the free personal statement samples with critique assist you with creating your masterpiece. But for more direction on how to write a personal statement please read our article on Writing Personal Statements  and the complete TLS Personal Statement Book . While these resources convey information on personal statements for law school, they can also apply to other graduate programs. For even more free personal statement examples, visit the personal statement forum  with over 200 personal statement samples.

Just how important is effectively writing personal statements? So critical that the personal statement is the first item in an application that is read by Ed Tom, the Dean of Admissions at U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. In our exclusive interview , Dean Tom states that “[P]utting together an entering class is like organizing a choir; we want distinct voices. There are hundreds of similar applicants, but only one of you; so take the opportunity provided by the personal statement to let us hear your voice.”

What else did Dean Tom say about how to write a personal statement? “Personal statements for law school are the applicant’s opportunity to distinguish himself from hundreds of other applicants who have the same numbers, and the same major, and come from a similar school. The personal statement is an applicant’s opportunity to describe the distance they’ve come in their lives.” “Most everyone is a very different person now than they were in high school and along that journey they develop a voice that they will be bringing into the classroom. I want to learn about the journey that developed that voice, and to the decision to apply to law school. We are looking for intellectually curious people, and we are looking for people with a diverse array of experiences. So, the ideal personal statement would bring all of that out.”

For editing of your personal statement, you can either swap your statement with someone on the personal statement forum for free or pay to have your statement edited by a professional editing service.

• Law School Admissions
• Law Schools
• Law Students
• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Policy
• Career Coaching

Harvard Law School Personal Statement Samples

Reading Harvard Law School personal statement samples is a great way to learn how to write your own for your application to law school. As arguably the best law school in the world, Harvard has extremely competitive law school acceptance rates . Your personal statement for law school is a tricky challenge and writing one for Harvard requires superb writing skills and following specific directions. In this blog, our law school admissions consulting experts provide 6 samples to guide you on how to write a personal statement that will impress the admission committee at Harvard Law School.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free strategy call here . <<

Article Contents 14 min read

Writing a law school personal statement.

Writing a personal statement for law school is always a challenging task. Writing a statement for your Harvard Law School application might seem even more intimidating, but reading sample law school personal statements can help you understand what is needed to write your own.

In this blog, we’ve included several Harvard Law School personal statement samples to help students like you prepare to write your own. Reading these samples is useful even if you are preparing an application to other law schools, or if you’re applying for other elite programs like Stanford Business School . Harvard Law School, as one of the best law schools in the world, is selective about its applicants, and has specific instructions in writing a personal statement. So whatever program or school you’re applying to, using guidance from Harvard personal statement samples can help you craft a stellar statement for your application.

Want to learn about the top Harvard law school personal statement examples? Check out this video:

Personal Statement Requirements for Harvard Law School

Most importantly, Harvard is looking for authenticity. The school believes that applicants themselves are the best persons to determine the content of their statement. So, after reading the prompts provided for your application\u2014or if you\u2019ve chosen to write on a topic of your choosing\u2014be sure to start brainstorming and use the strongest idea or details to include in your personal statement. In other words, write about what stands out most to YOU in your interests or background. Think hard about your reason for pursuing a career in law, or why a degree from Harvard is so important for you and your future. "}]">

You can read our Harvard Law School personal statement samples below, but you can also read some Harvard personal statement examples for medical school too, to get more ideas of how to write a fantastic statement.

Harvard Law School Personal Statement #1

There’s more than one way to lose your home. Tragedy is sudden and its traumatic effects linger long after the original incident. But when you feel a slow, steady disconnect between yourself and the place you grew up, it’s another kind of loss.

In recent years, I’ve noticed this loss more than ever before. As we grow up, there’s bound to be some disillusionment. But my hometown is just the same, only some of its uglier sides have been brought into the light.

This pandemic has taken a huge toll, but I’ve never imagined it would stir up hatred and resentment in a place I always considered friendly and open-hearted. When I walked past the first anti-mask protest outside my local legislature, I was surprised by the vehement emotions from the crowd. I didn’t understand their anger over very light restrictions from officials.

We all have a childhood memory about our favorite treat. Maybe it’s getting ice cream from the roving neighborhood ice cream truck or stopping at a corner store for an ice-cold popsicle. For me, the sweetest treat was running by a local mom-and-pop bakery after school.

The place was practically an institution. Cupcakes of every flavor, with the fanciest icing and the biggest choice of sprinkles and toppings to go with. It had been in the neighbourhood for 20 years, at least, catering every child’s birthday and local celebration. I went there once a week with my friends.

When I was in high school, I still visited once in a while. Around this time, a bakery in another city became overnight famous for refusing to bake a cake for a gay wedding. The internet backlash was incredible. Many establishments, in support of the bakery, began putting up signs in their windows advertising themselves as Christian-owned businesses that wouldn’t cater to the LGBT crowd. A few places in our town did the same.

A year later, I moved away to attend university, and the issue dropped out of the news for a while. Over summers, when visiting home, I would stop in for a delicious cupcake and say hi the owners to make small talk. On one such occasion, I was visiting when a family friend stopped in to make an order for her daughter’s birthday. The owners’ faces dropped the moment they saw my friend, and they busied themselves with other customers.

As I chatted to my friend about her daughter’s birthday and how she wanted to get cupcakes from the local bakery as was tradition, I couldn’t help but notice the cold treatment from the owners. My friend confided to me that they’d refused her service last time because she’d come into the shop with her wife in tow and asked for cupcakes for a birthday celebration. This time, she wanted to try again and ask for generic cupcakes for an event, without her partner there. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. That my friend had to outright lie to be served, and served with subpar service at that, was appalling. After attempting to order cupcakes for the second time that day, my friend was actually told by the owners they would call 911 if she entered their shop again and refused her service. I have not been back to their bakery since.

As the kind of kid who always liked standing up to bullies, I’d thought about being a lawyer before, but experiencing this exchange confirmed my decision for me. My friend should be able to enter a business and be served like any other customer. She was not disrupting their business in any way or infringing on their rights as business owners. She just wanted some personalized birthday cupcakes for her child.

These may seem like small incidents, but together they add up to a disturbing pattern. And unfortunately, there are too many in the LGBT and other marginalized communities that don’t get to have their voices heard on issues like this. I think the world needs more people who are willing to stand with them and speak up about what’s right.

Coming from a family of immigrants, I’m not a stranger to discrimination, injustice, and hate. I understand the silent inner struggle. My parents left Lebanon in the years after civil war broke out, taking my infant brother with them. I was born once they landed safely in Canada.

My mother was always tight-lipped about home, preferring not to talk about it. My father believed we should know about our culture and history at home. Hearing about the atrocities my parents witnessed and the things they experienced has given me a divided view of my ancestral home. My mother often says how much she wishes to go home again, but she never will.

Growing up, with the weight of my parents’ experiences and memories, I used to think that those ghosts would not follow my family to our new home. For the most part, we were content and peaceful. Yet there have been incidents. I vividly remember the man who shouted at my mother in the supermarket for speaking in her native language, asking me to hand her a can of beans from the shelf. My mother never took us back to that store.

My mother especially has been sensitive to the plights of others like her. She knows that often, no one will speak up or speak out. Some are too afraid. But the one thing we can all do is volunteer our help and our kindness. The past several years, my brother and I have gone with her to our local mosque to help refugee families from Syria acclimate to their new home. Speaking with them, I often see my mother’s face in my mind’s eye. I try to offer my help and compassion, but I know there is only so much I can do. I cannot undo what they have gone through. I cannot fix the injustices that were done.

My father likes to say that we are not alone in our fight. That there are many of us, but we can always use one more soldier of faith and love. This is how I view my dream of being a human rights lawyer. As being a soldier in this enormous fight for peace. I view it as my duty and my privilege to take on some of the work that is so needed. When I think of those, like my mother, who need someone in their corner, who don’t have anyone to defend them, I realize how important this work is. And it is monumental, but we are not alone. I feel that it is my calling to do my part and stand up and speak up.

Want to revisit those Harvard Law School personal statement requirements before reading the rest? This infographic is for you:

Harvard Law School Personal Statement #4

I’ve always been a drama fan. Whether it’s my mother’s latest soap opera, a medical show, a forensics thriller, I always found them entertaining and stimulating to my investigative mind. I was that annoying person who tried to figure out who the killer was before the episode ended. It was secretly on my bucket list to witness a real live courtroom drama.

In reality, being in court is not as dramatic as it’s portrayed on TV. And it’s nowhere near as exciting or fun. When my mother was diagnosed with a rare disorder, we explored all our options. We finally landed on a drug trial that looked promising. We did our research, everything checked out. We were told the initial studies were promising. It was our last option.

Everything started well enough. My mother’s condition improved, and our hopes were rising for the first time in a while. Then came the night we had to rush her to ER after she suffered unforeseen side effects from the trial, and she was left partially paralyzed. The response we got from the drug trial company was disappointing to say the least. They hadn’t disclosed the side effect, and many of the other patients we’d met experienced similar side effects, fortunately none as drastic as my mother’s.

As the case became a lawsuit and we wound up sitting on those hard benches, it was harder to watch the procedure unfolding at the front of the room. I wished I could be the one up there, arguing on behalf of the other patients, telling the jury about their experiences and how these undisclosed side effects had changed my mother’s life forever. There were a lot of emotions I couldn’t process in the courtroom. And the settlement we won wasn’t enough to cover my mother’s medical bills and the care she now needs for the rest of her life at 57.

Watching those old shows, I used to think being a lawyer was a dramatic and exciting job. And I’m sure it can be. But from experience, I now realize how crucial it is, and how serious. You’re not just arguing about the law or questioning witnesses. You’re advocating for people’s lives. It’s definitely not a soap opera. It’s real life.

My mother’s story is something no one else should have to go through. And if they do, hopefully there’s someone there like our lawyer, like me, to care enough to do something about it. I wanted to become a lawyer, so I could stand up and take on what looked like an exciting role. Now, I want to become a lawyer, so I can stand up for others who are suffering and right the legal wrongs they’ve experienced. And nothing could be more exciting than that.

Harvard Law School Personal Statement #5

On cool springtime mornings, when the sun is barely crawling over the horizon and the water is still grey with a streak of fire, you can spot them. It’s easy to mistake them for shadows or ripples on the water, just a trick of the eye. But they’re there. Sometimes you can hear them, crying out to each other with shrill, echoing bursts.

It used to be common to see orcas in the waters around Vancouver Island. Five minutes from where I grew up, I used to be able to walk along the shore and see them every morning. Their fins are so black, they look like the shadows of birds swooping. But then you catch a peeking patch of white when they come out of the water, and you can see them in all their majesty. It’s hard not to be entranced by something that awesome. And, like every other kid in my neighbourhood, I thought about being a marine biologist. Learned everything I could about orcas and humpbacks and all the other fantastic creatures of the island.

As their numbers dwindled over the years, my mind turned to conservation efforts. There’s no shortage of volunteer opportunities for a high school and undergrad wanting to do their part to clean up the oceans. I started volunteering with local groups before finding the Surfrider Foundation, which cleans up shoreline on the island to prevent plastic waste from entering our waters. This experience, while rewarding, hasn’t been without reminders of how important it is.

Having to see an orca slowly dying on a beach instead of slicing through the waves is a harsh reminder of the impact of human pollution on our planet. You can hear the difference in their cries in those moments. And you can see the change in their eyes. Somehow, morning walks on the beach aren’t the same after that.

My desire to protect these beautiful creatures evolved the more I educated myself on current events and kept up to date on what was happening in the news. Last year, there wasn’t much I could do as a conservationist except continue to advocate and perform solo beach cleanups in my backyard since we couldn’t gather together. But after 12 months of this same routine, I went out one chilly April morning and saw a surprise.

I looked out to the bay that had been empty for so long. Sightings were rare now, and I was growing more used to the quiet. But that morning, there was an entire pod of orcas swimming there, their voices loud and echoing. It was no shock that I had to take a minute on the beach before I continued my cleanup.

Without human interference, even with smaller cleanup efforts, they had rebounded just fine on their own. And they weren’t the only ones to return, as humpback whales are becoming more frequently sighted again, too. It reaffirmed for me that conservation was only one goal. Protection for these creatures was still needed. And if this pandemic had taught us anything, it was that we can’t go back to the way things were.

We need to change the patterns and policies we have in place. We need to implement policies of protection. We need to be the voices of these animals. At its heart, I believe this is what environmental law should be. The protection and conservation of our world and all that inhabit it.

Harvard Law School Personal Statement #6

When you grow up in a low-income neighbourhood, you expect to have your stuff stolen sometimes. I have more than one missing backpack. A bicycle my parents saved up 6 months to buy me for Christmas, I never saw again. They’re things, and things get stolen sometimes when you have something others want. I learned to expect this, but I also learned to stand up to thieves when I saw them.

My dislike of thieves is still strong, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized they could steal more than stuff. As a high school student, we were told not to cheat, not to plagiarize. I think probably most of us didn’t understand that. And we certainly didn’t know what copyright law was. When I went to college, the anti-plagiarism slogan was drilled into me again, and I had a passing understanding of intellectual property laws. A case study on stolen intellectual property and corporate spying piqued my interest—it was like one of my favorite heist movies told in the form of a less dramatic, real-life story.

The example went from marginally interesting right back to dramatic when my own work was stolen from me. In my spare time, I’d written a short story for another class submission. I’d, perhaps foolishly, posted it on a student forum to get some feedback. A few weeks later, a friend tipped me off that it had been published in an outside short story contest and even won a prize. Unfortunately for me, I was never able to do much about it. I reported it to the school, and the student who stole my work did face consequences. But my work was never returned, as they had changed just enough from my original story that it still passed the contest’s anti-plagiarism check.

I still write short stories, but I rarely share them with others now. To me, my intellectual work is not just a backpack or a bicycle that can be replaced if you have the money. Writing and other creative works aren’t so easily replicated. And having them stolen is a feeling I’d never experienced before. I wasn’t sure what the proper procedure was for getting my writing protected and what to do if copyright was violated.

I ended up going back to that professor who’d taught the case study, and we discussed copyright laws and intellectual property rights. As he pointed out, there are some gaps there. There are complex situations and arguments to be made. Protecting intellectual property from thieves is a little different than busting someone cutting locks at the bike rack.

The experience made me realize my desire to protect things could have a lot of benefits if I become a lawyer. And it could prevent people from experiencing what I did with my stolen short story. And the truth is, I kind of always wanted to be the cop chasing down the bad guys in those old heist movies.

To write a superb personal statement for your Harvard Law School application, it’s most important to follow the provided directions, answer the prompt if you’re provided with one, and create a well-written essay full of pertinent details.

Harvard Law School asks students to submit a double-spaced, 11-point, two-page personal statement. This equals about 500 words.

Yes; Harvard may provide applicants with a prompt for writing their personal statement. Although these prompts can be vague and open to interpretation, students should focus on answering the question in their own way.

Harvard’s admissions committee stresses authenticity. They are seeking students who can write clearly about themselves and demonstrate deep thinking. They expect students to provide strong evidence of why they will be a good addition to their school.

Harvard is one of the most competitive law schools in the world, with a notoriously low admissions rate. The school admitted 12.9% of applicants in recent years. But submitting a well-written personal statement can help improve your application considerably.

Law schools are extremely competitive. Writing a good personal statement for law school requires being able to write well, follow instructions, provide solid evidence, and tell a compelling story. And above all, be genuine in presenting yourself and your background.

Harvard Law School does provide a prompt asking students why they chose to apply. However, if you do write on this prompt, it’s important to give a unique, personal reason why you chose Harvard other than “it’s the best law school in the world”! The admissions committee has heard this many times before, and they are looking for more compelling reasons.

Yes; the personal statement is a required component of your application to Harvard Law School.

Want more free tips? Subscribe to our channels for more free and useful content!

Apple Podcasts

Like our blog? Write for us ! >>

Have a question ask our admissions experts below and we'll answer your questions, get started now.

Talk to one of our admissions experts

Our site uses cookies. By using our website, you agree with our cookie policy .

FREE Training Webinar:

How to make your law school application stand out, (and avoid the top 5 mistakes that get most rejected).

Time Sensitive. Limited Spots Available:

We guarantee you'll get into law school or you don't pay.

Swipe up to see a great offer!

Spivey Consulting Sample Personal Statements

Below are several sample law school personal statements. Each of them helped their writers achieve results superior to those their numbers might predict, but they are very different statements. Some are the sort that end up being among the most memorable essays admissions officers read throughout the cycle or even their career — truly unique experiences — while others are examples of clear, effective statements about the writers' life paths and goals in the absence of unusual or extraordinary life experiences. Please note, though, that personal statements are not read in a vacuum, and though these essays were all extremely successful, the strategy behind them involved not just a personal statement, but a full, well-rounded application. For example, a personal statement that does not address the applicant's interest in law in any way may have been accompanied by an application that otherwise showcased or made apparent their legal interests. A personal statement that was very lighthearted and casual in nature might have been accompanied by other essays or application components that were quite serious and dealt with extremely grave matters. Etc. Personal statements are one part of a full application package, and a topic that works for one applicant would not necessarily work for other applicants.

When reading these essays, also please keep in mind that admissions officers are individuals, and what may stand out to one person may not stand out to all. That said, our team has over 250 years of collective experience reading and making decisions on law school applications, and these are essays that we feel represent excellent examples of different types of personal statements.

Personal Statement Example #1

This is one of Derek Meeker's top 3 favorite personal statements ever in 17 years of working in law school admissions, including his time as Dean of Admissions at Penn Law. This applicant's results were also phenomenal.

The Bow is a traditional cattle ranch in a remote section of Montana’s Rocky Mountains. Each spring the snows retreat, and life—wild and domesticated—returns from the lower valleys to its rich pastures. During summers in college, I would leave my studies of early-modern philosophy on the east coast and return there as well, together with two middle-aged cowboys, Luis and Manuel, who came from a small town in western Mexico. As the ranch’s sole human inhabitants and proprietors, we worked 4,800 acres and tended 850 cattle. Through this experience, I forged a bond with the Bow’s land and way of life, a bond that inspired my first photographs.

Although I had no prior experience with cows, my youth in rural Montana spawned an interest in cattle ranching. It also gave me an adeptness for riding horses and doing manual labor, something I reinforced with my high school construction job. But, most importantly, I went to the Bow because it allowed me to engage a different way of life and to do so from the inside. I lived, socialized, and worked with Luis and Manuel, all in Spanish. Their traditions as migrant cowboys shaped every aspect of our lives on the ranch. In the spirit of the Mexican rodeo, or charreada, we focused on elegance of technique in our riding, often competing with one another to see who could extract a sick cow from the herd with the least disturbance. On Sundays, our one day of rest, we rose early and made the three-hour trip down to a small, Latino Catholic parish. There we attended mass, ate, and socialized with other migrant workers.

Jumping into this new world demanded significant personal growth. Most basically, I had to learn and adapt to the practice of cattle ranching at the Bow. As a philosophy major who made the persistent search for explanations a habit of mind, I copied Luis and Manuel’s methods and sought to grasp the reasons behind them, so that I could apply them on my own initiative and in novel situations. I also toughened myself to the physical intensity and unpredictability of the work. Laboring ten hours a day, we fixed miles of barbed-wire fences; irrigated huge pastures with nothing but gravity, ditches, and shovels; tended, moved, and medicated cattle; and made roughly 3,000 bales of hay. Every day we endured the capriciousness of ranching in a remote alpine environment. Sunny weather could quickly darken into sleet. A falling tree could break a fence in a remote corner of the ranch, allowing fifty cows to disappear into a dense, unbounded pine forest from which we had to locate and extract them one by one.

More abstractly, I had to learn how to forge a friendship with Luis and Manuel, which required opening myself up amidst cultural differences. I initially tailored my behavior to what I thought would fit into my colleagues’ worldview. As a young American from a small, conservative town who now studied Descartes and Hume in college, I worried my life beyond the Bow would alienate them. By contrast, I discovered they held no similar worries towards me. They treated me like they treated each other, speaking of their lives back in Mexico; of their wives, children, houses, and land, and how they missed them; of their previous jobs, rodeo triumphs, and brushes with death; all interspersed with dirty jokes they had been collecting for years. Much of their experience was difficult for me to imagine. Yet their openness allowed me to connect with them as individuals, and I realized I needed to repay their honesty in kind. I had to respect them enough to trust in their ability to form a bond of friendship across a cultural divide. When I did, the distance my reticence had created disappeared, and our differences made the relationship more fulfilling.

By labor, I gave myself to the Bow’s land. By responding to my toil, the land gave itself to me. And by cultivating a friendship, Luis, Manuel, and I gave ourselves to one another. As time passed, I began to express this bond in black and white photographs.

The light was best in the mornings—pale and glittering. After we would wake and feed the horses, I’d often set up my camera and tripod outside the old barn. From there, I could comprehend the entire ranch. Rolling pastures fall away on all sides, their tall grasses blown about in gentle waves and dotted with cows of black and brown. Further out, dark forests of aspen and pine run to high peaks jutting up into a huge blue sky. Bright white cowboy hats shade Luis and Manuel’s weathered faces. They methodically tack up their horses for another day. Looking out over this expansive sweep, carried in uncountable rays to the surface of my lens, I would open the shutter.

Personal Statement Example #2

This one produced some of the best results we have seen, and accomplished so much. It's also in Karen's top 3 all time, and Karen spent 12 years at Harvard Law, so that is high praise. Note that this applicant's other essays highlighted their specific legal interests and goals.

My feet skid on the ground, one after the other. It was clumsy, but it succeeded in stopping the bike. As I craned my neck to look behind me at the long, tree-lined road, the helmet I had haphazardly buckled fell to the right side of my face, letting the breeze pass through what felt like a heat wave just north of my forehead. I had covered maybe 250 feet, roughly the length of a city block, in a mere 30 seconds. It wasn’t quite a success, but it was progress. I picked up the bike and repositioned it so that it faced the abandoned road that had become my training ground for the day I spent teaching myself how to ride a bike, and I embarked down it again. This isn’t a tale from my childhood; this was a little over a year ago. At 22 years old, I taught myself how to ride a bike.

When I was seven, I asked for my first bike for Christmas. On Christmas morning, my dad rolled in a pink bicycle with a white basket and shiny bell. Five years later, he rolled that very same never-been-ridden bike out the front door, and into the Goodwill store. At 12 years old, I begged for another bike, and my parents begrudgingly gave me an all-black roadster they had intended me to grow into. I just gave that bike away last week, the tags and plastic casing still intact. That I asked for bikes but never asked to learn how to ride them, and that my parents gave me bikes but never taught me how to ride them, can be explained by one simple fact: I lived on a hill, one of San Francisco’s famous seven hills no less; riding a bike outside just wasn’t appealing. As active as my family was growing up, bike riding had simply never been a part of my childhood.

It was not until the week before my first day as a legal assistant at Google when I committed once and for all to finally learn how to ride that baffling apparatus. Having just graduated from college and returned from a post-grad travel excursion, I began to prepare for my first day. While daydreams of meeting my team drifted through my mind, I realized that I hadn’t considered one important thing: the Google bikes. With a campus that spreads over a mile, the Google bikes are the primary mode of transportation on campus. When I interviewed, I remember seeing dozens of Googlers perched on these bikes, breezing down Charleston Avenue with their laptops occupying the basket in front.

With a pit in my stomach, I decided to no longer just accept what I had once thought to be my non-cycling fate. I got in my car, and drove up to Sonoma County, to a town with which I was very familiar but where no one would recognize me. When I arrived, I rented a bike from the nearest bike shop and walked it two blocks away to a quiet road deeply hidden within a surrounding vineyard, strapped on my helmet, and kicked off.

For those first few pedals, I played it safe. My palms were already sweaty from nerves and as soon as I felt myself gaining speed, I immediately put my feet on the ground. After thirty minutes of this, I was flustered. Learning to ride a bike was harder than I expected; I was frustrated with my lack of any real gains, and I was embarrassed to be in this position in the first place. Up until this moment, I had succeeded in accomplishing practically anything I set my mind to with relative ease. Riding a bike presented a challenge that was going to take considerable effort, and I’d have to keep at it long after that day ended. This was almost enough to get me to quit right there, but I contemplated what it would mean if I went home: further evidence that I wasn’t capable of something I desperately wanted to learn.

From that point on, my attitude changed. I grew more patient, acknowledging that each unsteady pedal was progress. The intuitions I lacked for how to balance began to come together as I learned that speed actually increased stability; a common understanding for most, but an intuition I had to develop. I found myself a little more fearless with each pedal, trusting my body to keep me upright just a little longer each time. The result was a few pedals at a time, then a few more, until finally I was able to take what I considered my first bike ride.

Riding down that tree-lined street felt exhilarating, and I savored both the sense of accomplishment and sense of freedom I felt on the bike. I’m sure that whatever image I had of myself in those moments, riding through the wind, effortlessly peddling on the bike, more closely resembled someone attempting to bike after a day of wine tasting. Nevertheless, it felt good. After a few hours and more than a few scrapes, I wheeled the bike back to the shop and proudly reported that I had actually learned. I drove back to San Francisco feeling ready to face my first day, knowing that even though it would take time before I felt truly confident on a bike, I had proven to myself that I was capable of something that I never thought possible.

Personal Statement Example #3

This personal statement is from an applicant whose results were exceptional for his numbers!

“Miss, if I do my work, can I have a Snickers bar?” It was my first day of school as an 8th grade English and Language Arts student teacher, and Manuel was looking up at me from his computer with a mischievous grin on his face. I made the classic rookie educator mistake of responding to his bargain with, “I’ll think about it.” He giggled with his friends for a moment, then returned his attention to his online reading assignment. Before I knew it, the dismissal bell sounded, the kids stampeded out the door, and I had survived Day One.

My mentor teacher and I lingered in the library to debrief. I was hesitant to reward Manuel for meeting what I deemed to be bare minimum expectations; nevertheless, I asked Ms. P about the school policy on candy. She acknowledged that sugary incentives were permissible, but not without a notable eye roll. “I wouldn’t spend my money on that kid . He never does his work.” It astonished me that in just the third week of school, she had already formed pervasive negative judgments of this child. Apprehension knotted in my stomach as I realized I was being challenged to do exactly what drove me into education in the first place: fight for a challenging student who was so often dismissed by other educators.

On Day Two, Manuel sauntered into our classroom at the beginning of 8th period with a smirk and a “Miss, where’s my Snickers bar?” I regretfully informed him that I had forgotten to go to the store. Disappointed, Manuel took his seat at the back of the room and promptly went right to sleep. Despite my unskilled but earnest efforts to get him on task, he napped all 50 minutes of class. Again, the bell buzzed, the students bounded out and down the hall, and I sank into a chair, exhaling my frustration into the empty room. Ms. P’s expression was smug as we made eye contact. I could practically hear her eyes screaming, “I told you so!”

That gaze lit a fire in me. Here is the thing: Manuel is not dumb, lazy, or any other negative trait so often unfairly ascribed to him. He is just far too accustomed to adults whose promises constantly fall through. Weeks passed as I watched him wear the same clothes to school every day and heard “this phone number has been disconnected” every time we tried to call his family. Why did this 12-year old have no adults looking out for him the way parents and teachers should? I committed to changing this cycle. From then on, every day I camped out at his desk, perpetually challenging and encouraging him. I spent every last ounce of patience I had until his grades, slowly but steadily, trended upward. On Halloween, he finally worked hard enough to earn his Snickers bar from me; his face lit up with pride like a Christmas tree.

My experiences this semester reminded me why I decided last year to pursue law school instead of a career in teaching. While I entered education to be an agent of opportunity for disadvantaged students like Manuel, during my student teaching, I have been increasingly frustrated by the limits of my ability as an educator to make the difference that I desired. Through studying education law in my coursework and working for a local attorney, I realized the power lawyers hold to further educational equity by creating better legal outcomes for children whose lives have been destabilized by crime and disruption of the family. Instability at home stunts students’ abilities to learn effectively before they even walk through the schoolhouse doors, exemplified by how the unreliable nature of Manuel’s home life influenced him to be skeptical of teachers and quick to give up on himself. Teachers can only do their best to repair the damage done, but attorneys are capable of addressing these problems at their roots by ardently representing children and families embroiled in legal conflict.

I believe that my passion for government, dedication to child welfare, and natural intellectual curiosity will be better used to serve vulnerable children and families as an advocate in the courtroom than as a classroom teacher. Our justice system needs attorneys who not only relish in the philosophical challenge of the law, but are driven by the real, diverse individuals whom it serves. I was attracted to the (Redacted) Law School while visiting last January because I believe it shares this perspective, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue my education in (Redacted) at a school whose values I cherish.

Personal Statement Example #4

“Welcome Guys… and Gal,” my project manager said as he turned to raise an eyebrow directly at me. It was 7:30 am, nearly an hour into my first day on the job site. Most of our team recently relocated to build a new project, and I assumed this early team gathering would welcome many of us. However, my manager continued the kickoff meeting by next announcing that I was “obviously a woman.” Puzzled, I scanned the room and quickly realized that, in the excitement of my first day, I failed to notice I was the only woman on site, the singular “gal” in his opening remarks.

My mind raced as my coworkers shared policies they brainstormed in preparation for my joining the team: a separate bathroom for me, minimizing cursing, and avoiding derogatory comments about women. I tried to shake off this unusual introduction, hoping they only meant to make me feel welcome.

Unfortunately, as the months of the project rolled by, my status as “the gal” continued to impact my everyday interactions. Clients regularly mistook me for the team’s administrative assistant instead of an engineer, men frequently apologized to me only for cursing in meetings, and coworkers constantly approached my male counterpart with questions about my work instead of asking me.

Despite this atmosphere, I grew into a critical role on the team and excelled at drafting and negotiating contracts for our clients. I enjoyed analyzing project drawings to evaluate proposals and discovered my ability to translate technical terminology to different people, from tradespeople who speak English as a second language to government officials with minimal engineering experience. While some incidents still bothered me, particularly when a client inferred a problem arose because of “women like me,” I learned to navigate them while focusing on my work. In that case, I asked the client to take a break and return to the meeting when prepared to work together toward a solution. I slowly created a more comfortable environment for myself. Additionally, I continued to partner with female colleagues in our corporate office to cofound a women’s resource group. Through this group, what my male colleagues deemed a “glorified book club,” we bond over shared discriminatory experiences and work to enhance the culture for female employees by advocating for paid maternity leave and flexible return-to-work policies.

While maneuvering and supporting women through the gendered obstacle course at work, I noticed the industry is also disrespectful to our planet. Within the first weeks on site, I found it odd our trailer did not have a recycling bin. I brought one in, offering to empty it at my home weekly. Each week I found the bin filled with old lunches and half-full coffee cups. For months, I sorted through the trash to salvage the cans and bottles. Over time, my teammates’ mockery of and resistance to participate in even this minor effort to help the environment disturbed me and motivated me to find other ways I could increase our project’s recycling efforts and reduce hazardous waste. I recommended diverting a larger amount of the site’s byproducts to a facility that separates waste from recyclables, initiated an effort to procure materials that would minimize our carbon footprint, and worked with the architect to ensure we exceeded the sustainability design goals. My project manager rejected my initiatives, insisting these changes would not make a difference. I even offered detailed explanations of how recycling facilities operate pulled from my undergraduate sustainable design courses, but my manager refused to budge.

Today, after three years in construction, I see how much the industry’s practices regarding and common behaviors toward women and the environment differ from my personal values and educational interests. Growing up, my parents pushed my sisters and me to join any sports and activities, even if exclusively offered to boys. They raised us to believe women and men are equal and that your drive and how you treat others define your success in life. These values carried me through my undergraduate experience while I studied in engineering classes of mostly men and competed for an athletic department centered on the men’s teams. My parents’ encouragement also led me to explore interdisciplinary electives in environmental engineering, where I passionately researched methods we can use to mitigate climate change and help stabilize the environment through sustainable design.

Accordingly, these recent experiences as a woman in construction with the desire to improve sustainability practices on the job site made me reevaluate my career path. I now want to join the legal profession because it aligns with my skill set, values, and desire to promote inclusivity. In combination with my civil and environmental engineering background, a law degree would enable me to pursue a career as an environmental attorney and be a part of the climate crisis solution. While I will no longer be “the gal” sorting recyclables on the construction site, I want to help build a more sustainable and dependable future for our planet with a law degree.

Personal Statement Example #5

This personal statement, from an international student applying to U.S. law schools, helped the applicant overperform their numbers.

I will never forget my first visit to Hong Kong at age 12. Purpose of the trip: grocery shopping. A string of explosive scandals since 2003 eroded my mother’s trust in food safety in China. When Hong Kong opened up to individual travelers from mainland China, she immediately undertook the trek to this unfamiliar neighboring city, to buy rice. I was her rice mule seduced by a McDonald’s vanilla cone.

During our return trip, weighed down by three 28-inch suitcases loaded with rice, I asked my mother what the point was of such a hassle? She answered that products supplied in Hong Kong were safe, guaranteed by the city’s established, operational, and comprehensive legislation to protect consumers. At that time, although I could not yet fathom the fundamental contrasts between the “two systems” of the mainland and Hong Kong, I did notice that the same vanilla soft serve in Hong Kong tasted milkier than it did in my hometown. This conversation, flavored with ice cream, was my first insight into the rule of law.

As I grew older, I started to visit Hong Kong myself to take advantage of its global cultural scene, spanning from exotic restaurants to bookstores selling scholarly works labeled as contraband by Beijing. Protected by Hong Kong’s Bill of Rights, these bookstores were a haven for dissenting opinions that were, unsurprisingly, suppressed in the mainland. By frequenting there, I soaked up the inharmonious voices that contradicted state propaganda, challenging me to never hastily accept a single narrative as the final truth.

The year 2012 put my evolving objective mindset to the test, when Xi Jinping waged the largest anti-graft campaign in the history of communist China. Powerful oligarchs and low-ranking bureaucrats alike were swiftly indicted, leading to waves of bankruptcies for high-end restaurants that exclusively served officials flush with stolen state money. This campaign swept the headlines of major newspapers, in which the state media incessantly extolled Xi’s superior efficiency in eradicating malfeasance within the party rank and file, dignifying the iron-fisted anti-corruption efforts as the hallmark of his political brand.

I was initially invested in these initiatives out of a deep concern about the entrenched corruption in the Chinese government. I grew up listening to dinner table stories about how businessmen, voluntarily or grudgingly, conjured up covert ways to bribe employees of state-owned enterprises (SOE) to win contracts. To me, it was a belated vengeance of justice that these officials were punished for soliciting the filthy lucre.

The news reports that I read in Hong Kong, however, presented an opposite and disenchanting story: behind the façade of stellar productivity hid the ugly truth of a blatant lack of transparency and due process. Secretive investigations, arbitrary detentions, and grueling interrogations marred the campaign, which dissidents likened to a Stalinist purge weaponized by Xi to expel his political enemies. The collisions of information between Hong Kong and mainland China inspired me to contemplate the genuine meaning of the rule of law, as I realized that my understanding of it was parochially defined by its punitive aspect. Contrarily, the rule of law aims to protect people; it emphasizes not just the outcome, but the process of defending justice, striking a balance between retribution and rehabilitation. Without the core element of respect for people’s liberty and rights, the rule of law can be perniciously substituted with the rule by law: while the former is founded upon the idea that no one is above the law, the latter degenerates the law into a blunt instrument conveniently deployed by the governing authority to legitimize its decisions. Absent a codified due process to limit the reach of those in power, any crusade waged in the name of justice can be easily politicized and steered away from the declared goal, especially the often-glorified “fight against corruption.” Working at the forefront of the [international organization]’s efforts against corruption and poverty, I observed firsthand how a fact-and-rule-oriented anti-corruption regime can protect the accused, ensure procedural equity, and uphold the integrity of the system—while still meeting its goal of tackling corruption.

Upon reflection, I was extremely privileged that my family could afford the trips to Hong Kong to shield me from toxic rice and political indoctrination. Such protection, however, should not be a prerogative, and a healthy and educated citizenry capable of thinking critically is essential to the robust and sustainable development of any society. With an aspiration to do my part in promoting the rule of law to protect human rights and stimulate economic growth, I am bent on ascertaining how to design and reform social institutions through legislation to limit state power while ensuring government efficiency. To this end, I want to pursue a law degree in the U.S., where the separation of powers is written into the Constitution. By acquiring the necessary knowledge, skill set, and network, I want to rejoin the cause of global economic development, spearheaded by organizations like the [international organization], so as to create better lives for people across the world.

Personal Statement Example #6

This personal statement starts with a common theme in law school personal statements then takes it in a different direction.

“I will never be a lawyer.” I held this conviction at a very young age, although I understood little of what a lawyer was or did. As a child, unable to grasp the complexities of a messy divorce, I believed lawyers were soldiers enlisted to torment my mom. I associated her perfectly pressed navy or black outfits with her spending all day in court and returning dejected and exhausted. I thought the litany of process servers that continually rang our doorbell were lawyers badgering my mom and often bringing her to tears. I was not yet able to recognize that the “bad guys” I learned of in Disney movies were not the lawyers I was so quick to assign blame, but instead my father. He held my mom hostage through the court system for twelve years, with over 700 court filings pursued against her.

One day in high school, in an earnest attempt to decipher my childhood, I pored over the hundreds of legal documents my mom had kept from the many years of legal battles with my father. I had the serendipitous experience of viewing my life from outside myself. In scouring cabinets full of papers, I learned the positive role the court system had played in my life. Lawyers worked tirelessly to safeguard my siblings and me from the tumult while trying to free my mother from a maniacal man. Ultimately, the Judge’s court-appointed psychologists would help release me, my mom, and my siblings from an emotionally abusive father, and I realized I had misjudged those associated with the law from my childhood entirely. It made me wonder: Could I be one of the “good” ones?

My piqued, but not sealed, interest in law led me to an internship with a real estate attorney and a probate judge. Typically, I spent my summers surrounded by piles of paper and a team of probate clerks. But one day, the Judge offered me a different scenery: an involuntary commitment hearing at the local hospital. I sat across from a woman in a hospital gown flanked by two lawyers. Teary-eyed, she pleaded to the Judge to release her from the hospital. She claimed her early morning kayaking accident had been just that: an accident. Yet, there was a police report establishing attempted drowning, her doctors’ testimony, and a voicemail she had left for her boyfriend that outlined her plan. As I listened, the realization that she was alone saddened me. She could not be much older than me, maybe 30. So, where was her family? It shocked me that the only people looking out for her were the people in this conference room, all strangers to her. And yet, maybe these lawyers were just enough to save a life.

I could feel the gravity of the Judge’s decision in the silence of our drive back to the office. I saw his profound respect for life and the duty to protect etched on his face. For the first time in my life, I witnessed the sincere emotion of a lawyer and a judge grappling with how to restore someone’s life. The considerate lawyer beside me sat in stark contrast to what I believed lawyers to be as a child. Given the severity of the moment, I felt guilty for the excitement that bubbled inside me. Yet, I could not help but be invigorated by my new understanding and appreciation for the law; it was a system that could defend and protect the vulnerable if wielded thoughtfully. I felt reaffirmed that I could be a positive force of justice.

I am now proud to say I aspire to be a lawyer. My desire to be a lawyer is to recognize that the legal field is complex and equally delicate. Lawyers can be both good and evil, depending on what part they play in everyone’s distinct story. My initial perception that lawyers are an exploitative power able to embolden an abuser was not misplaced; however, I was naive to the profound and positive effect lawyers can have in many people’s lives. The Judge taught me that society could trust lawyers to be stewards in times of crisis, where the vulnerable need a skilled advocate and those around them need systemized support. Therefore, I hope to pair the necessary legal training with my unique personal experiences to become a thoughtful representative of others and provide individuals with aid in the most pivotal moments of their lives.

Personal Statement Example #7

I posed like Superman in front of the bathroom mirror at a local breakfast diner. Earlier that morning, I had read somewhere that such a power stance would boost self-confidence. In my jumping into a cold pool approach to networking, I was meeting with Marco Russo, an executive of a health system, over coffee and pancakes. I took the leap and sat down at our table.

I began the conversation with a tongue-twisted introduction as my heart raced faster than my thoughts. Marco smiled and responded by introducing himself. I had prepared and memorized questions the night before and started to shoot them off one after the other, taking no time to digest his responses. Relief came as the waiter stopped by to ask for our orders. At this moment, I collected myself. Marco asked for quadruple bacon, and we both laughed as the waiter reaffirmed his extra sides. Feeling a little more at ease, I went off-script, asking questions about Marco's family, hobbies, and interests. We soon got into a discussion about a shared favorite college basketball team. The waiter returned with our orders, including his mountain of bacon.

Our discussion went deeper. Marco shared career advice and, specifically, how to handle crucial conversations. He spoke about how he managed conversations during the acquisition of another large health system. I learned that trust was the foundation for having these crucial talks and building relationships. Meeting with Marco inspired a passion not only for networking but for becoming an active listener and challenging myself.

I drew upon lessons learned during that breakfast as I managed my first project: integrating a pediatric association into our health system. The association was comprised of 450 providers accompanied by clinical and billing administrators. The integration would increase system revenue and benefit patients by streamlining the billing process. The project would also eliminate several vendor contracts, allowing us to charge less for the same quality of service.

During the kickoff meeting, it was apparent that the pediatric team was unenthusiastic about the project. It would cause substantial changes to their current workflow, organizational chart, and business. I recognized that the crucial conversations were failing due to a lack of trust between the two groups. The pediatric association pushed back against go-live dates and resource allocations. The project began to stall out before it even reached the first phase gate. To align the teams, I constructed a project plan that established expectations, deliverables, and timelines. This framework guided conversations and encouraged a sense of team as both sides made compromises. I listened to the customers' concerns during each meeting and provided reassurance. Subsequent exchanges became less adversarial and more productive as honest relationships began to form.

The next challenge was gaining executive approval. Because of the complexity and technical systems that form the revenue cycle, upper-level management required a conceptual design. The assignment's purpose was to make the project's objectives more comprehensible. Only a few conceptual designs had ever been created, all of which the executive committee rejected. Beginning with a blank page, I sought to engineer a visual model that peeled back the technical aspects of the project while retaining its system benefit. After many iterations and upon presentation, my design was approved, garnering support for the project. The committee also established my model as the template for future requests systemwide.

The integration was successful in part because of the strong team that we had formed. Working closely with the regulations and compliance billing teams has supported my aspirations to pursue a legal career focusing on regulatory health law. I aim to become a thoughtful legal advocate, strengthened by my networking and problem-solving skills. Learning to build relationships through establishing trust was one of the significant lessons I took away from that breakfast diner. Another powerful lesson, stepping out of my comfort zone, led to personal and professional growth. That morning as Marco and I said our goodbyes, I noticed he hadn't eaten any of his bacon. The extra side order had been his way of breaking the ice, building trust, and allowing for a crucial conversation.

Personal Statement Example #8

This essay is an outstanding example of discussing one's path to law school in a way that is neither cliché nor generic. Through the use of metaphor and descriptive details regarding her background and identity, the writer takes us on her academic journey with a genuine and conversational tone that keeps us engaged. We get a clear sense of who she is, why she is going to law school, and what her goals are. A K-JD splitter, she rose above "the pack" with multiple offers from T-14 schools.

Growing up, I loved playing the Game of Life. I delighted in driving around the game board in a little plastic car, the steps neatly laid out in front of me: go to college, get a job, get married, have kids. Although I could choose the path to “Start Career” instead of “Start College,” I always chose college because, even at a young age, I knew that it made the rest of your “life” more successful. After all, my parents had built their lives in America from two suitcases and $200—working tirelessly in menial jobs to put themselves through school. They followed the same step-by-step process that I mirrored with my plastic car and miniature peg people in the game, patiently moving one step at a time towards their goals. As I grew older, I wanted to build my future in this same straight-and-narrow path.

For me, this path meant becoming a doctor. As an American-born Chinese kid, or “ABC” as we were called, I felt compelled to choose a career considered to be safe. And as a Chinese American girl, especially, I was supposed to choose a job that values technical skills over assertiveness. Doctor, yes. Engineer, yes. Lawyer, no. These preconceived notions of the Chinese American community followed me through my adolescence; any time I brought up the possibility of choosing a different career path, I was immediately shut down with an air of disapproval: “Why don’t you want to become a doctor like so-and-so’s son?” Thus, I constantly heard a voice inside my head, reminding me that I couldn’t be the disappointment of the group—the one who wasted my parents’ sacrifices. This voice, along with a natural affinity towards science and medicine, led me to choose a pre-med path at the start of college.

My decision did not turn out quite like the straightforward course on the Life game board. My pre-med courses lacked the type of intellectual stimulation I desired, and I became increasingly disenchanted with them. An academic advisor suggested I switch my major to undeclared after my first semester so I could explore the array of majors available at the university. But in my mind, undeclared equated to unmotivated and confused, so I staunchly refused. As I continued to struggle through my pre-med courses into my sophomore year, I learned of an opportunity to travel to Honduras with Global Medical Brigades, an organization that brings basic healthcare services to underserved areas of the world. I signed up the next day.

We spent eight days in Honduras over Christmas vacation, doling out over-the-counter medicines to villagers who stood in the rain for hours each morning, anxiously awaiting our arrival. I learned that our trip, and others like it, provided the sole source of healthcare for the majority of people we met. They viewed traveling to the hospital or regular pain management as a hopeless fantasy. The nonchalant way in which they discussed pain and illness as an accepted part of life shocked me. For the Hondurans we met, access to healthcare was a luxury, and they found it easier to accept this fate as truth than to waste time and energy fighting an impossible battle. I left Honduras with a sense of hopelessness, feeling the fleeting nature of our efforts as inconsequential to those we had treated. I began to realize that the traditional study of medicine could not adequately address what I already understood to be a complex health crisis.

The desire to understand the disparities in access to healthcare brought me to work with the Institute for Global Health the following semester, while simultaneously switching my major to Global Health. As I reviewed policy proposals and planned events to bring awareness to international health issues, I immersed in a curriculum that illuminated a tangle of economic challenges and political corruption, all of which is rooted in inequality. It is this last issue that gnaws at me; in a world of brilliant legal and scientific minds, why have we not reached equality in global health? A basic covenant of human rights is to recognize the inherent dignity of all, and the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being. And yet in Honduras, I saw a mother who accepted the congenital heart defect of her baby as a guaranteed death sentence, because she did not have bus fare for the daylong journey to the nearest hospital. I saw a man who cried out of gratitude when we gave him ibuprofen, because his 78-year-old bones ached from working in a field all day. That is not living with dignity.

Unification between health policy, human rights, and ethics is needed to solve these issues. In an increasingly interconnected world, global health issues transcend borders and affect lives on both an individual and communal level. The lingering health inequalities between rich and poor raise fundamental questions of social justice and define the need for effective global governance for health. Only the law can create a cohesive solution by taking into account all of the seemingly disparate, but equally influential factors.

Last year, a Chinese family friend warned me about the difficulties of finding a job after law school, and praised her son, who was finishing his medical residency. I proudly told her that through my choice of a “risky” career, I will be working to address the health issues that flood the news regularly—the same issues that her son will also face. Law school will provide me with the knowledge and experience to tackle these challenges as I forge my own path in the game of life.

Personal Statement Example #9

Not many applicants have such an incredibly gripping experience to convey, but everyone has their own emotionally important event. Put the reader in your story, just like this client of ours did.

The door slammed shut and now, it was just me, three other guys, and one dead man in the room. None of us—that is, the four of us who were alive—had ever washed a dead body before, but the phone call I received the day before would soon change that. A congregant from my mosque wanted to know if I could personally help with the funerary body-wash of a man who was hours away from death. Knowing that at least someone had to discharge the religious rites for this soon-to-be-deceased man, and I had the added responsibility of being a religious services coordinator, I agreed. But it was only after I had sent out several mass-texts searching for friends naive enough to volunteer did I realize why this intricate religious ritual had fallen on the shoulders of a funerary novice like myself. The dying man had been convicted for the rape and murder of a young girl and her mother two decades ago and was being lethally executed by the State of Texas.

Here I was, moments away from personally conferring upon a rapist and murderer the dignity of a sacred rite. Wondering if the latex that covered my hand was enough of a psychological barrier between myself and the murderer's body, I paused. A rush of anger flooded me: why had I volunteered to confer the dignity of a ritual washing for this rapist's corpse? My stomach tightened and I looked around to see my partners having tilted the corpse and waiting for me. With each second of introspection, my repulse and reluctance to continue grew, but being aware that the body had to be shrouded and transported to the mosque before the noon prayer, I knew the group couldn't afford to lose these precious minutes. I stepped back from the autopsy table and told the guys to give me a few moments pause. Meditation is seldom done with a three men and one dead one waiting for you in the backroom of funeral home, but then and there, I began breathing exercises, waiting for my emotions to subside. Eyes closed, I decided to approach the ritual cleanse as simply a trickier car-wash with the added burden of some strict religious guidelines.

When we prepped to wash the corpse’s lower half, my hands brushed over several stripes of protruding flesh. Vaguely recalling the biographical details in the man's court record I had glanced at the night before, I immediately realized from the location of the scar tissue that these marks were the result of childhood abuse. While I prepped to wash the posterior bottom half, it was clear that this was not an indefinite corpse, but one that had engraved within it countless personal narratives. Like any other kid, decades ago, he too, must have quipped 'recess' as his favorite subject in elementary school, and similarly, it was doubtful that this body had been spared the tremors that adolescents of all backgrounds have suffered at their first date. In speaking just one dark detail from his childhood, the fleshy Braille reminded me that the man's entire life couldn't be reduced to his worst moments.

By the time we finished the washing and had taken the body to the cemetery, my earlier self-doubts had dissipated. At the cemetery, the other volunteers were surprised to see me stepping into the burial pit alongside the deceased's siblings to help lower the body into the tomb. This time, my resolve came not from an energizing meditation session but from the realization that the differences between the deceased man and myself, however stark in legal records, paled in comparison to the ups and downs of life we shared as members of the same species—of the genus Homo Sapiens.

Whether it was trying to host a Quran-burning pastor for an interfaith dinner discussion at my mosque or, as in this case, helping perform the ritual bath of an executed felon, I have always been drawn to exploring and understanding the deeper narratives of unseemly people. This capacity to carefully listen to the backstories and motivations of individuals, even those whose ideologies or behavior profoundly disturb me, is what attracts me to the law. At its core, our legal system succeeds when participants’ complexities are fully appreciated and their stories are heard. In employing my drive for unraveling the perplexities of each individual, and lending a voice to those understandable slices of humanity contained in each viewpoint, I hope that I can play a part in advocating not just for the rights of the conferred, but also of the condemned.