commercial law personal statement

• Personal Statements
• Commercial Law Personal Statement

Commercial Law Personal Statement Example

Sample statement.

I have always had an interest in the law and our modern legal system but in recent years I have developed a strong interest in Commercial Law and I look forward to having the opportunity to study it to a higher level.

I have taken an increasing interest in property rights and feel like a career in Commercial Law is right for me. As a dynamic and fast paced area of the law I feel that it is the best area to provide me an on-going intellectual challenge and offers a constant opportunity to discover new aspects of the legal system.

As new laws and regulations are frequently bought into place for businesses I will need to continually refresh my knowledge and I am looking forward to the intellectual challenge this will bring.

To help me gain the qualifications and skills needed for my future career I studied all four A Level subjects to completion including Law, Politics, and Business Studies. I feel that this helped me to develop my time management skills and equipped me with the organisational abilities I will need to be successful in my career.

As well as my compulsory subjects I was also a member of the college Debate Team which gave me a chance to develop my analytical skills and helped me to learn how to form a logical argument using the evidence in front of me.

I also completed a work experience placement with national solicitor’s firm, Eric Robinson, in my local branch. This allowed me to shadow solicitors during their day to day work and gain a better understanding of what it means to work in the legal system.

I hope that my time at university will allow me to undertake similar work placements and attend trips to important premises such as the County Court or Crown Court.

I am very much looking forward to the emotional, personal, academic, and intellectual challenge that studying Commercial Law at your university will bring. Completing my degree will set me on the correct path to a successful future career in Law.

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Writing A Law School And LLM Personal Statement

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A great LLM (Master of Laws) personal statement should be persuasive, concise and easy to read:

Persuasive – you want the admissions board to choose you over the competition.

Concise – you need to compress information about your past, present and future into a limited word count.

Easy to read – you don’t want the admissions board to give up on it halfway through.

Why is your LLM personal statement so important?

Your LLM personal statement is a vital part of the process of applying to an LLM course, and together with your academic record and relevant work experience , it is a key element to the success of your LLM application.

It is crucial that you allow yourself enough time to craft the perfect LLM personal statement, one that showcases all your skills, qualifications, experience and personality.

1. An LLM personal statement explains gaps

If you've got a few spaces in your work history or a job that ended poorly, then the LLM personal statement is your chance to explain what happened and what you have learnt from the experience. An unhappy or bad experience can be a significant learning experience and might have provided you with additional skills or motivations that will make you able to contribute to the course in a unique or significant way. Many law schools encourage students to explain any career gaps.

2. Provides insight into motivation

It's important that your motivations for applying for and doing the LLM course match with the law school's ethics and ethos. Your LLM personal statement is your chance to show that you are a good match for the law school and the LLM course. Explain your reasons for wanting to do this course and why you are passionate about the law or the particular part of the law you are planning on studying. You can show what you will bring to the course and why you will be an asset to the law school.

3. Make yourself stand out

A popular LLM course at a prestigious global law school will receive many more applications than spaces on the course. Everyone applying to that course will have an excellent academic record and a wealth of relevant work experience. Your LLM personal statement might make the difference between being accepted onto the course and not. Make yourself stand out with the language you use, but don't overdo it. Explain the finer details of your experience and why you've chosen to attend this course at this particular law school.

4. Important part of the law school’s decision making

Almost 90% of universities use the LLM personal statement to make their decision about applicants. This means the time you spend on your personal statement is crucial. Try and get some other people to read through your statement and offer their advice/opinion, especially if you know someone who has completed the LLM course recently. Make sure that your personal statement is your own work and that any revisions you make on the recommendation of others don't change your personal statement beyond recognition and lose the essence of you.

5. Proves you can follow instructions

There will be guidelines and advice provided by the law school or university to help you write your LLM personal statement. Use these instructions to prove that you can follow directions. It's also an opportunity to show off your written English skills, this could be particularly relevant if English is not your first language, and your English test scores are not what you would like them to be.

6. The first chance for potential professors to ‘meet’ you

Your LLM personal statement is your introduction to your future law school professors and the people who you might connect and reconnect with throughout your legal career. View your personal statement as the first introduction to this new part of your future network.

What information should you include?

Key things to bear in mind to achieve success when crafting the perfect LLM personal statement are:

1. Conciseness:  whatever you do, you MUST remain within the institution’s word limit. Legal professionals are expected to be able to summarise masses of information without losing any essential facts, and your personal statement is an indicator of your ability to do this.

2. Language:  don’t use complicated words in an attempt to impress. As a legal professional, you will be working with clients who may not understand technical terms so your ability to communicate in a formal yet simple style will not go unnoticed.

3. Format:  keep your LLM personal statement uncluttered, with lots of spacing and white space, to make it easy to read. It's important for the document to look good as well as to read well.

4. Structure and flow:  your intro could summarise the reasons why granting you a place is the right decision for the admissions board to make. The main body should be broken up into your past (academic, professional and personal info; relevant experience, your interests and motivations and what led you to the point of applying), your present (all the details about the LLM; why you chose it at that particular institution, which modules you’re really keen on) and your future (what you plan to do after you complete the LLM). Your conclusion is a summary of your main points and should end on a memorable note. After you’ve written your first draft, print it out and review it to see if it makes sense, making notes in the margins along the way as if you were an editor editing another writer’s work.

LLM personal statement top tips

Here are some tips and strategies to creating the perfect LLM personal statement.

Academic history

Discuss what you studied as an undergrad and whether the LLM is a natural progression or would represent a change in career path. Do you have a first degree in law and are you working your way towards a PhD in Law and a future in legal academia? If your first degree was not in Law, how would the LLM complement it; do you have a first degree in Economics and want to do an LLM in International Business Law for example?

Make it personal

Mention what interests and motivates you, and what has happened in your life that put you on the path to applying for an LLM at that institution. If you’ve chosen a small college, explain why you prefer institutions with a small population. If you’ve opted for a large law school, let the admissions board know why you thrive in a busy environment. It’s important to explain your preferences so the admissions board gets a sense of who you are and why you fit in with their law school. Include relevant information – like volunteer experience or extra-curricular activities – that have inspired you with your choice. The admissions team want to understand the personal reasons why you want to study their LLM course.

Don’t make claims you can’t support

Since you are applying for a postgrad legal program you should be familiar with making persuasive arguments. As legal arguments are evidence-based, be prepared to apply the same approach in your statement by avoiding unsubstantiated claims. If you state that certain modules are ‘relevant to your career’, state specifically how. Don’t leave it to the admissions board to try to work it out for themselves. If you claim that you are a top student, highlight your grades even though you will submit transcripts as part of your application. Use clichés like ‘leadership skills’ only if you can give examples of instances when you demonstrated these traits. And don't forget that if you are subsequently called in for an LLM interview, this personal statement will probably be used as the basis for the interview, so always tell the truth!

Don’t just write it, craft it

When it comes to the actual writing of your LLM personal statement be prepared to write, edit and rewrite your personal statement several times. Remember all those essays you wrote in your undergrad days? Well, the same rules of presentation, structure and flow apply to your personal statement; the only difference being that this time, the essay is about you. And once you think you’ve written the perfect LLM personal statement get a trusted friend or colleague to read it through to offer you constructive criticism and to pick up any typos or grammatical errors.

Relevant referees

Pick a referee who can provide you with a good academic reference, so choose a tutor and lecturer who will remember you from your undergraduate studies. Including your employer as a referee is a good idea if your current job is relevant to the course, or include someone you did relevant work experience for. You will need to ask potential referees before you submit your application.

10 things to avoid in your LLM personal statement

Here are the top 10 things that you should avoid doing when writing your LLM personal statement.

Including a mini dissertation – you are meant to explain your interest in the area that you wish to specialise in, which doesn’t mean writing an essay on your proposed dissertation topic! That can wait till you start your LLM program and are asked to submit a thesis proposal.

Underselling yourself – rather than blaming yourself later on for missing out on listing achievements from your work experience or undergraduate study, make it a point to highlight all the relevant information; ranging from past work experience on specific projects, skills acquired and applied, publications, moot courts, etc.

Being ambiguous – all your efforts will be futile if you didn’t make your personal statement read clearly with details relevant to the LLM course that you are applying for and clearly stating your interest for that course.

Writing too much or too little – usually universities provide the word count/A4 page limit for the LLM personal statement. Some students will have a tendency to write less hoping that the CV will cover all their academic and career highlights, whilst others may be tempted to write too much describing everything they have done in all possible detail. The sensible approach would be to mention enough to match the word count/page limit and to highlight only what is important to put your case forward.

Obsessing with templates – it might be a common trend to scour the internet for templates on personal statements but be warned that some may have been copied off the others and may all end up looking very similar. Your LLM personal statement should be unique and well drafted to make logical sense to the reader.

Making stupid mistakes – sometimes we tend to overlook minor mistakes that can have significant bearing on the outcome of our application. Things such as addressing the statement to the wrong university (or with a wrong date/address) can give a very bad first (and almost certainly final) impression!

Doing it last minute – our general advice when it comes to university applications is to never leave anything to the last minute. Some students tend to work hard on their personal statement redrafting it a 100+ times, while others only pick up this part of the application on the last day of its submission. Time must be given to this vital part of your application so that any mistakes including ones listed here can be corrected in good time.

Repeating information – although you may feel that you are trying to make a point by explaining a situation in different ways, university admissions staff may see this as a repetition of information that they don’t need to know. Once you make a point about a particular skill/achievement, move on to the next piece of information to show varied experience, knowledge and interest.

Name dropping – in professional services we tend to mention names of high-profile clients or popular legal representatives to get ahead of competition through our application. This may work in a casual networking setting, however when it comes to application processes for admissions, the focus is usually around your contribution to legal matters, your ambition to progress your career further through further studies, rather than just throwing some names in!

Making grammatical errors – although legal eagles tend to be careful on this one, it is best to proofread your LLM personal statement several times before handing it in. Ideally, you should share it with friends or colleagues to spot any noticeable errors.

Writing a personal statement – real-life examples

With all this key information on writing the perfect LLM personal statement – explore our law expert’s analysis of real applications to help you craft the ideal introduction and give yourself the best chance of getting onto your dream LLM program.

Introduction to our law admissions expert

To help you achieve the success you deserve with your LLM applications we have taken four genuine (and successful) LLM personal statements from four genuine LLM students and asked LLM admissions expert Robynn Allveri to fine-tune them to make them as good as they possibly can be. To put it simply, our admissions expert cast her (very) critical eye over all four law school personal statements – that had already proved successful – and offers advice on how they can be improved. She highlights where the LLM personal statements let the candidates down, and of course also shows where and why they enable the candidate’s qualities to really shine through.

Our genuine LLM personal statements have been written by both international students and home students, applying to law schools in the UK, the USA and Canada. This unique selection of real law school personal statements will give you real insight into how to make you own law school personal statement a success. Armed with our knowledge of the dos and don’ts of LLM personal statement writing and unique admissions tips , you should be just a hop, skip and a jump away from LLM admissions success!

So here is our real-life guide on how to write a law school personal statement to guarantee success with your LLM application .

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Ll.m. applications: the personal statement.

The personal statement can be a daunting part of the LL.M. application process—what to write, and how to write it? Here are some tips from admissions officials to help guide you through the process.

While it’s only one of many elements going into an LL.M. application, the personal statement can be a tricky one to master. 

Many law schools are not very specific about the requirements for the personal statement, aside from word count. Georgetown University Law Center, for instance, asks applicants to describe their background, goals, and reasons for applying to the program; Stanford is looking for information about the applicant’s experience in legal practice, interest in graduate study, and professional goals.

“To be honest we are purposefully broad in our description because we want applicants to have the freedom to express themselves in whatever way they see fit,” says Justin Swinsick, director of graduate admissions at Georgetown. 

“However, applicants should think about what they would say to the admissions committee if they were sat in front of them and had the chance to highlight the very best things about themselves and how the program and school will take them where they want to go.”  

Other law schools are more explicit; Northwestern asks applicants to answer two essay questions, while Harvard requires a two-part statement—one addressing a theoretical framework or analysis to a current legal problem, and another that says something about the applicant’s motivations for the LL.M. and how it relates to his/her future plans.

This year, University of Pennsylvania also updated its personal statement requirement to include a bit more guidance, calling for a statement of no more than two pages, and specifically recommending that the applicant avoid repeating his/her CV. 

For some schools, like Trinity College Dublin, the personal statement is optional; around 10 to 15 percent of each year’s pool of applicants sends one as part of their applications, according to Kelley McCabe, senior executive officer of the School of Law at Trinity.

“We’re looking for further insight into the applicant's current research interests and their career plans and goals for the future,” she says. “But we focus mostly on academic transcripts, the two academic references and the applicant's CV.”

“These documents give us a holistic picture of the applicant.” 

Tackling the LL.M. personal statement

One of the cornerstone pieces of advice is: be specific. Admissions officers read many personal statements, and you want yours to stand out in their memories. 

“Spend some time really thinking about why you want to get an LL.M.” and why that specific program fits this reason, says Elise Kraemer, director of graduate programs at UPenn.

Be honest and open about yourself; you could be moved to write about an inspirational figure in your life, an important event, or even about the school itself—which is fine, as long as you direct the statement back to you, Georgetown’s Swinsick recommends. 

Kraemer agrees: “Although a personal and/or family stories can be moving, if you use one, be sure that it directly supports your application.”

Sometimes, a well-justified directness can pay off. Swinsick says one applicant start her statement by writing that she wanted to pursue an LL.M. in order to make as much money as possible. “This was certainly an unusual way to start and played into negative stereotypes of why one pursues legal education,” Swinsick recalls. But she went on to tie this into how she planned to leverage her legal studies, career and financial success into bringing help and visibility to problems plaguing her community in a developing country.  

“It was very well written, highlighted her best qualities, and tied together why she wanted to pursue the program and why Georgetown’s program in particular would help her achieve her goals.” 

Mistakes to avoid in your personal statement

While it’s a good thing to be personal, don’t overdo it either. “Some of the more colorful statements I have read entail very personal details that usually would only be shared with clergy, partners or close personal friends,” Swinsick says.

And polish is key: proofread, check your word limit, and make sure it looks as professional as possible. For Kraemer, a minor typographical or grammatical error—especially from non-native speakers—is not a deal-breaker, but a statement that is “poorly written or contains unprofessional content” can be. 

“Take some time to work on it,” Kraemer says. “Don’t leave it to the last minute.”

And the resounding consensus from every law school is: always, always check the name of the school at the top of the page. Every year, every admission committee receives personal statements addressed to the wrong school. “I tend to be relatively forgiving on this one, but it never looks good,” Kraemer says. 

How much does your personal statement matter?

The value of the personal statement can vary from school to school, but in general, a strong one can significantly bolster the merit of an application. 

“It’s the only communication that we receive in the applicant’s own voice and is one of the best ways for the committee to ‘get to know’ the person applying,” says Kraemer. “It is not uncommon for a personal statement to have a significant impact on how we evaluate a candidate—a particularly strong or weak statement can be determinative.”

It can also afford an opportunity for the applicant to explain or put in context to the admissions committee a negative element of their application—a poor grade or language score, for instance. And this effort will show; an applicant that puts time and thought into their personal statement shows that they are serious about pursuing graduate legal education, Swinsick says.

“A personal statement is just that—personal,” says McCabe. “It gives the admissions committee a sense of who the applicant is so, when writing it, they should be true to themselves.”

LL.M. personal statement quick tips

• Be specific. Address why you want to get an LL.M. and your career goals.
• Be honest, about your background and the reasons for applying for an LL.M.
• Address any negative elements of your application, such as a low TOEFL or ITELTS score.
• Make sure to proofread your personal statement and check your word count.
• Make sure that you've addressed the statement to the right law school.

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LLM Commercial Law

• Sample personal statement

23 May, 2015

Llm commercial law share.

• 12 May, 2013

With the procession of globalisation internationally based and active industries continue to grow each year and marching together. In this climate of globalisation, commerce and trade exert some of the most powerful influences on human activity and commercial relationships reflect a constantly evolving world.

The above aspects have brought good practice along with malpractice in business and organisations. The ingenuity of traders and the complexity of modern commerce are truly breath-taking. The study of Commercial Law can provide an excellent opportunity to immerse myself in this important and fascinating area of law to address these issues professionally. The LLM Commercial Law recognises the increasing importance of global business today and the interrelationship between commerce and industries of different nature and locations. These have fascinated and influenced my choice and I have selected the programme as my higher education to fulfil my career vision.

In this developing and competitive market and a world which is commercialised heavily, there is a need for law background individuals who have appropriate knowledge of the commercial law aspects of international and European business law, including e-commerce. My earlier study of LLB (Hons) course has driven my aspiration to follow a post-graduation qualification in law discipline – study opportunity of commercial law has done the fine tuning to that academic dream.

Due to the relationship of my LLB (Hons) with LLM, the knowledge and professional skills I had gained from the LLB, I will be able complement the study of LLM. While I will gain new domains of knowledge from the LLM, I will gain academic progressions with advanced level skills and competency. I will develop as a legal professional with enhanced ability and techniques. I will gain advanced knowledge and understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of commercial law in a range of areas where commercial law plays an important role. I will learn to appreciate of the international dimensions of commercial law. I will be able to understand, critically assess and provide practical solutions to problems of the type commonly encountered in International Commercial Law.

The BPP University LLM in Commercial Law is designed for law graduates and this perfectly matches my current qualification. The qualification enables graduates to have an advantage in an increasingly competitive market, by providing practical and relevant knowledge of key issues in commercial law.

The core Commercial Law module focuses on the more relevant practical legal issues across a wide spectrum of commercial law including contract law, agency, sales of goods, and security. Then the optional modules allow building on this core module by undertaking supervised research and selecting additional modules from a wide variety of pertinent subjects. The study area mix gives an in-depth understanding of the legal problems that arise in the conduct of business across national borders, and of the characteristic types of legal solutions adopted. Through the wide choice of modules, I will be able to construct a programme appropriate to private practice, corporate or public employment in the fields of international business transactions and international commerce and trade.

In addition to the above, I will also develop analytical reasoning skills, legal research skills, and verbal and written expression skills so that I can express my analysis and arguments clearly, accurately and persuasively. I will achieve a range of transferable skills including information technology, time management, fluent and effective communication, problem solving and the ability to collaborate with others.

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How to Write A Standout Law Personal Statement

A law personal statement is essential when applying to enrol on an LLB law course as an undergraduate or an LLM degree as a postgraduate. Get advice and tips on writing good law personal statements.

Our Guide to Law Personal Statements

• Find out the word count and the right structure
• See how universities use personal statements
• Learn how to write and structure your statement
• Get more top tips on writing a knock-out statement

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You’ll need to write a law personal statement if you’re applying for the LLB or other types of law degrees via UCAS . You will also have to write one if you’re applying to study law at postgraduate level.

What is a Law Personal Statement?

The personal statement is a piece of writing which you send off with your UCAS application to different universities . It’s capped at 4,000 characters (so will often end up running for about one side of A4), and serves as the best way to differentiate yourself from other applicants to the most competitive courses. In short, it’s the personal statement which is the truly ‘personal’ part of your application. This is your chance to grab the attention of the admissions team, who will often use the personal statement as the easiest way to pick between candidates with other similar metrics (e.g. predicted A Level grades which meet the entry requirements ). Other universities ( Oxbridge specifically ) place even more emphasis on your personal statement, using it as a way to decide who to invite to interview (and then as a source of discussion during interviews). Put simply, it’s an important part of your application.

For law specifically, a subject which is known to be both competitive and highly academic, the personal statement is even more crucial. The University of Law have a page outlining some law personal statement tips , but this article seeks to present our views on some of the most crucial elements of a successful personal statement for studying law at university – from what you should do to what you shouldn’t, structure, content and more, this article will get you well on your way.

How Universities Use Your UCAS Law Personal Statement

If a lot of students applying for law degree courses have achieved the basic entry requirements, university admissions teams use UCAS law personal statements to decide who is more suited to their learning programme. Some universities take this a step further with, for example, with the LNAT , which is taken into consideration alongside your personal statement. 

Some law schools will read every personal statement and score them. They then use this score alongside your qualifications and grades to decide whether to offer you an interview. Other law universities don’t give as much consideration to personal statements and will only use them to decide between students who have borderline entry requirements.

Law schools may refer to your personal statement on results day if you don’t get the grades you need. A good personal statement could be the difference in securing a university place if you don’t get the grades you hoped for.

Planning Your Statement

Plan a clear structure.

First thing’s first, you’re going to need a clear structure. There are a few reasons for this. First, having a clearly planned out structure before you start writing will limit the amount of ‘waffle’ you could accidentally end up putting into your writing (more on that in our next point). Second, a clear structure allows your reader (those university admissions teams) to enjoy the personal statement more by increasing the smoothness of the reading experience associated with a well thought out body of text (remember, they’ll be reading hundreds, if not thousands, of these). Third, you’re applying to study law – the personal statement is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that you can produce well planned, structured writing (as is crucial for any humanities subject). The theme of the personal statement serving a dual purpose (presenting the content itself but also showcasing your writing abilities) will come up again throughout this article – it’s super important to bear in mind.

There is no one-size-fits-all structure that your personal statement should take, and you should allow yourself to be guided largely by the content you’re looking to present. It is a good idea, however, to feature a particularly catchy opening leading into an introductory section, a main body (structure however best suits the content) and at least a line or two of concluding material at the end.

Leading on from our last point, being concise is key. Not only does this allow you to demonstrate your clarity of writing (as all law students and aspiring lawyers need as a key skill ), but it also increases the amount of content (or explanation of that content) you’re able to pack into 4,000 characters. For example, have you written ‘on the other hand’? ‘Conversely’ is 2 words/7 characters shorter, and serves the exact same purpose. Also consider whether you’re repeating yourself. Conciseness is best achieved by proofreading.

Manage Your Tone

Throughout your personal statement, it’s best to take a relatively formal tone. Your content is the part that allows your personality and individualism to shine through. Also avoid humour – it’s simply too risky without knowing the preferences of the individual whose desk your personal statement will eventually land on.

Need Help With Your Statement?

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Writing Your Statement

Proofreading is essential for a personal statement, and you’ll likely go through many rounds of drafts. Having concise writing is key (see the point above), but even more important is the fact your personal statement needs to avoid any errors in spelling or grammar. These are easily correctible and may reflect badly on you as a student applying to an essay-based subject at university. It’s fine if you personally struggle with spelling or grammar – see our next point for a way to combat that.

Get Feedback

Your personal statement, while being innately ‘personal’, is best improved by showing it to a range of people. Although there will naturally (and sadly) be a difference in the quality of assistance you will receive based on the quality of your sixth form/college, be proactive in seeking out the best people possible to read over it and give you feedback. Are there any teachers at your school who studied on the university course you now find yourself applying to? Can you find current students/alumni of that course on LinkedIn and ask if they’d be willing to spare a few minutes to glance over it for you? The more input you get (from people who have more experience than you on this topic), the more secure you’ll feel in defending why you’ve written what you have.

Capital Letter Checks

If you’ve successfully followed the tips above, you’re likely to have a personal statement with a great deal of specific references in it. There’s an easy way to roughly check this – visually scan down your personal statement and see how many capital letters there are. If you’ve got very few, it’s likely that you may have included a fair amount of ‘waffle’. If you can spot quite a few capital letters, that’s a sign that you’ve probably included the specifics – great job! Where ‘I’ve read many legal books’ might throw up a red flag, ‘I’ve read X and Y books’ means you’re on a great path.

Get to Know Your Course

Demonstrate your interest by improving your understanding

Perfecting Your Statement

Keep it personal.

Attempting to present a broad overview of your degree’s content (e.g. trying to do a broad sweep of UK legal history) is useless, impossible, and ultimately pretty boring to read. It also means you’ll end up with something that skims the surface of many things. Remember, this is a ‘personal’ statement. The best way to approach it is to drill down deep into one or two particular niches that interests you (again, rather than skimming the surface of a huge range of topics). This keeps your personal statement fresh and interesting to read for the admissions team. Have you developed an interest in a particular piece of legislation that’s just come out? You could spend a paragraph going into some detail here – and the contents of that paragraph are what comes next.

Show – Don’t Tell

This is one of the most important pieces of advice possible. Once you’ve found a particular area of interest to talk about in your personal statement, you need to back that up with specific, tangible examples. Some people will also advise that you try and keep this content relatively recent in order to demonstrate an engagement with world affairs. Although not compulsory, this can still be a useful avenue to explore. ‘I’m really interested in the new Online Safety Bill’ is generic, proves very little, and could apply to anyone. ‘My interest in the new Online Safety Bill led me to read X book and watch X documentary, after which I considered X issues’ is specific to you, demonstrates a tangible interest in these topics, and is simply far more interesting to read. This idea of constantly building on what came before allows you to demonstrate a thread running throughout your essay (helping your structure present itself as clear in the process). This is where you’ll often hear people say that your personal statement needs to ‘flow’.

The range of things that you could ‘show’ is vast – books related to your course are a great starting point. If you know one of your top choice universities employs a particularly prominent member of faculty, perhaps you’d be interested to have a look at their writing and include that too. Other such content could include documentaries, conferences, events, or work experience. Now your personal statement is looking far more personal.

Academic vs Extra-Curricular

Balancing the proportion of academic to extra-curricular content in your personal statement is not an easy task, especially when you’re likely to hear that certain top universities like Oxbridge heavily favour the former. Law is also an intensely academic subject. With that in mind, it’s only natural to place a heavy emphasis on the academic side. However, if you’ve got extra-curricular content which you feel you could successfully link to your degree course in some way (e.g. ‘For my swimming club, I researched current health and safety regulations to make sure we are compliant’ – ‘I am in a swimming club’, conversely, doesn’t hold much value), then do feel free to include that too.

In short, while writing law personal statements may appear a challenge, following our top tips will allow your application to excel. Be clear, be specific, be you.

Watch this video from Solent University Law School, Southampton, which is packed with great tips on how to write a strong personal statement for law.

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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.

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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 .
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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..

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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..

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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?

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Negligence defined

Restatement (second) of torts § 282.

The Private I: The Personal Statement

written on September 17, 2019

Gerald L. Wilson, ph.d. academic dean & pre-law advisor emeritus Duke University

Many, if not most, law schools require applicants to write what is generically referred to as a personal statement.  Students often find this to be the most difficult part of the application process and seek guidance from prelaw advisors (and hopefully not from one of these A Successful Personal Statements books!)  Because many law school admission officers indicate that the personal statement is the second most important item in the application (after LSAC score and UGPA), prelaw advisors can be especially helpful at this point.

First of all, the personal statement should be just what it says, personal, in the sense that it should be something that only that individual student himself/herself could write.  Though opinions vary, in general, the statement should seek to connect the writer with the law school application.  This is not to suggest that it should be a “I want to go to law school because”.... piece but it probably will be more useful to an admissions committee if they can gain a sense of why the student is applying to law school.  In brief, the statement may well be an intellectual/experiential autobiography that makes clear as to why the writer is applying to law school.

The essay, unless otherwise specified, and to make sure that it will be more than skimmed, in most cases should be no longer than two pages, double-spaced.  It should, above all, be interesting.  I cannot forget what one law school admission officer said about personal statements:  “When I read a personal statement, I have one question in the back of my mind: Would I like to have a beer with this person?”  (Or lunch if you prefer!) Think about what is being said there.  Will the applicant be someone we want to get to know, someone who will add to the classroom experience and to the atmosphere of the law school?

Note carefully that the essay should attract the reader’s attention (without being gimmicky) and should focus on the student, not the law.  Below are opening paragraphs from two of the worst personal statements I have ever read.  Would you want to get to know these students?

“The best preparation for the study of law is a broad-based undergraduate education.  Studying a variety of subjects in both the natural and social sciences develops both reasoning and communication skills.  Students must learn to apply logic to mathematical and social problems and to communicate using both words and numbers.  In addition, extra-curricular activities and work experience improve a person’s problem solving abilities and communication skills.  My diversity of academic and extra-curricular experience is my strongest attribute as a law school candidate.”

Or, “As an undergraduate, I have taken particular interest in the structural frameworks within which society’s institutions confront recurring moral and ethical problems.  Academically, I have focused on political institutions’ reflection of the society’s ethical sophistication, with special emphasis on the legal and judicial system in the United States.  Additionally, my extracurricular activities have presented several opportunities to confront the ethical dilemmas of leadership in the unique circumstances indigenous to a university community.  Together, my academic and extra-academic work have prepared and focused my interest in continued study of the law and legal institutions.”

Conversely, without resorting to gimmicks the opening paragraphs of the following three statements immediately attract the reader and make the reader want to read on to get to know the applicant.

“As a little girl with olive skin, long black hair and large, dark but definitively non-western eyes, I was constantly subjected to the fascinated stars and inquiries of people curious about my nationality.  Hurt by the subtle implication that I might be different from the other kids, I would smile and give the elusive response I’m an ethnic mutt .  In this age of political correctness, those words would probably never leave my mouth today, but an amalgamation of unusual and distinctive elements is actually still the best way to describe myself.”

Or, “Until my mid-teens, I had believed that my father died when I was four years old.  As a teenager I was told that the man I thought was my father was not my natural father.  In order to conceive, my mother opted for a process known as Artificial Insemination by an Anonymous Donor, or AID.  This revelatory information prompted me to research the AID phenomenon and the ramifications it posed to me as a child fathered in this unusual manner.”

Or, “Two summers ago I worked as a black foreman of an all-white construction crew in rural Georgia.  It proved to be an extraordinary experience which taught me a lot about myself and which sparked my interest in becoming a lawyer.”

However, any good and exciting essay can be spoiled if not carefully proofread to eliminate misspellings, poor use of grammar, or awkward use of the language.  Proof Read the document, and have at least one friend do it, too.  Do not rely on spell-check on the computer.  Sue and use, leaned and learned, for and fro, lust and must are all correct words but spell check may not help to discover problems with usage.   A typo such as to for two suggests you do not pay attention to detail.  Your documents are being read to evaluate your future performance as a good lawyer. Also, the personal statement may not be the place to discuss a bad semester or a personal matter that needs further explanation.  This may best be handled by writing a separate statement.  In the end, there is no formula for a successful personal statement, but there is one successful guideline: Be yourself!

SUMMARY OF NO NO’S FOR THE PERSONAL STATEMENT

• Do not give the essay a title
• Do not use quotations
• Do not use dialogue
• Do not write in the third person
• Do not use the passive voice
• Do not make the essay a narrative version of your resume
• Do not use footnotes
• Do not tell them about the law, talk about you
• Do not be repetitive
• Do not read one of those “Winning Essays That Got Me Into Law School” books
• Do not compare yourself to other people, i.e. “I may not be as smart as many of your applicants, but I study hard.” or “While my classmates are out partying, I am in the library working hard!”

SUMMARY OF DO’S

1-10 Be yourself! Make the members of the Admissions Committee want to get to know you and have you in class.                      

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Successful Personal Statement For Law At Oxford

Last Updated: 6th April 2022

Author: Chloe Hewitt

Table of Contents

Welcome to our popular Personal Statement series where we present a successful Personal Statement, and our Oxbridge Tutors provide their feedback on it. 

Today, we are looking through a Law applicant’s Personal Statement that helped secure a place at Oxford University. The Law Course at Oxford offers a world-class opportunity to develop a diverse set of skills which you will be able to apply in many different situations.

Read on to see how this candidate managed to secure an offer from a world-class department.  

Here’s a breakdown of the Personal Statement (the applicant uses most of the 4,000 characters available):

SUCCESSFUL?

The universities this candidate applied to were the following:

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Law Personal Statement

Law is a set of rules and guidelines imposed upon a society which reflect its moral consciousness, guided and guarded by the judiciary. I believe everyone has the right to be judged objectively by their own laws. I am fascinated by the process of examining legal arguments, by how the outcome of a case hinges on presentation of the evidence and by the law’s status as the ultimate arbiter of ‘justice.’ It is this desire to study the analytical process and underlying principles of jurisprudence that motivates me to study law academically.

Preparing for my extended project, I studied Plato’s Republic and how his analyses of different societies are relevant to modern Britain. Examining the common flaws between our own society and those depicted in Republic made me appreciate the subtlety of the law in its present-day form: many of Plato’s proposed solutions to these flaws undermined what are viewed today as personal rights. This led me to reflect on how laws protect us, and also how their intricacies create a doctrine to which people adhere, both complying and incorporating it in their own morality.

Investigating Plato’s ideal political system, I considered the contrast between how his laws were devised and their status in our own society. Plato’s ‘Guardians’ (not unlike our own judiciary) were relied on both to codify and interpret the law. While their decisions were considered to be benevolent, society was expected to conform to laws dictated by a separate class. The situation in the UK is quite different: statute law, as well as case law, often reflects current popular opinion. Sarah’s law (the parents’ right to check the criminal record of any carer for their child) was the direct result of a popular campaign. Whether it is better to have a system of laws that evolve with society or one that is dictated by a separate body is just one example of the ethical questions behind the law that intrigue me.

Seeking experience in the area of law that first attracted me, I assisted a criminal barrister in a Bristol chambers, including client interviews for petty offences and note taking in Crown Court, where we were prosecuting an alleged serial attempted rapist. The defendant’s decision to dismiss his lawyers to defend himself brought home the need for a professional intermediary to ensure fair interaction of the individual with the protocol of the law. Examining case files while shadowing a Queen’s Counsel specialising in public and taxation law, I was struck by how even the most powerful individual or company is still bound to observe the law. I sought exposure to corporate and commercial law with a local solicitor, where I worked through a practical example of employment law to determine whether a client had a case. This close reading of legal documents was a rewarding and stimulating experience, confirming my commitment to study law.

Captaining rugby teams at school (now 1st XV), club and county level, I have learned how to listen and how to lead; understanding and incorporating others’ opinions or feelings in my interaction was key to encouraging progress for the individual or group, to motivate them and help them achieve their own potential. I developed these skills further mentoring in French and as a Sports Ambassador for local primary schools.

Rugby is like society: there are fixed laws that define the game and how it is played, but they are constantly tested by the flair of the players. As a result, the referee must both interpret and enforce the application of those laws; in Plato’s terms, he is both guardian and auxiliary. The application of the law to dynamic situations and how different outcomes might be achieved depending upon points of interpretation has fascinated me for years.

I am strongly motivated to study the law’s mechanics and with this passion, combined with the necessary determination and underlying skills, I will relish the task of appreciating and mastering law as an intellectual discipline in its own right.

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Good Points Of The Personal Statement

This is an impressive personal statement in many regards and was clearly well received. The student opens with a definition of law, but then goes on to interpret what they understand it to mean, and by doing so has given some insight into their personality and understanding. It is clear from the outset that the student’s interest is an academic one, and this will gain them favour from top academic institutions if sustained. The discussion of the student’s extended project is given a clear legal dimension, and the student competently makes cross-links, which display their strong grasp of sources of UK law- having a current example to underline this point. In this instance, the discussion of work experience complements the academic interests well because of the way the statement is structured – by saving work experience till later, the student made clear that their primary focus is academic and intellectual, but they do have a commitment to engaging with the subject at a practical level.

Bad Points Of The Personal Statement

Having two paragraphs about rugby probably gives the sport more attention than is necessary. Moreover, while the student has endeavoured to present all their skills as relevant to law, the links can read as somewhat tenuous, particularly in the sporting examples. Replacing one of these paragraphs with one about some wider reading in a purely legal area of interest (as opposed to reading as part of the extended project) would have been a more beneficial addition.

UniAdmissions Overall Score:

This is an extremely strong personal statement. The student clearly gets across their interest in studying law, but more than this it is unquestionable that their interest is in studying law as an academic discipline rather than practicing law as a career once they have graduated. Structurally the statement flows well, and covers sufficient facets of the student’s activities and interests to explain why they want to study law and why they would be successful in doing so. The only real improvement to be made would be to add discussion of a time the student engaged in academic reading or research into a legal topic beyond what is required of them in their studies.

This Personal Statement for Law is a good example of demonstrating motivation and development which is vital to Admissions Tutors.

Remember, at Oxford, these Admissions Tutors are often the people who will be teaching you for the next few years, so you need to appeal directly to them.

There are plenty more successful personal statements and expert guides on our Free Personal Statement Resources page.

Successful Personal Statement For Natural Science (Physical) At Cambridge

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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.

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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.

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International Commercial Law Personal Statement Examples

LLM International Commercial Law Personal Statement Example 1

I want to submit this international commercial law personal statement in support of my admission because I believe that understanding international commercial law will help promote business prosperity, innovation and commerce.

My parents often question why I choose to study LLM international commercial law. International commercial law is not specific to any region or country anymore; instead, it is an issue that affects commercial entities globally.

My interest in international commercial law covers many areas of my life, as I currently participate in a volunteer scheme for small businesses. This allows me to interact with people I otherwise wouldn’t speak to. It is important to volunteer for good causes. Not only does volunteering help others, but it helps raise awareness for yourself and your community.

Interacting with different individuals originating from various cultures and background causes me to wish to comprehend how and why particular sets of commercial laws have affected their lives and business. For instance, I recently realised that access to finance is a problem for small businesses that do not have adequate collateral.

My A-Level History and Law has also given me a better understanding of the impact of policy and legislation on businesses. For example, the Vienna Convention on International Sale of Goods which has shaped how buyers and sellers do business, has been fascinating to me. For me to gain an insight into the legal aspect of making treaties is worthwhile and worth exploring in greater detail. An important skill that I have acquired is being able to research quickly so that I can find out what I need to do next.

Under pressure working conditions, my ability to find things out quickly is very useful. My studies in English history has allowed me to see how law reform has been shaped by the Law Commission and how judges make law through case decisions. My sociological studies have taught me how different communities exist within a country and how they influence decision-making.

In particular, the challenges business face with access to information and how it impacts their ability to conduct business with foreign traders is worth investigating further. The use of the bill of lading, bill of exchange and other forms of trade documents has been an eye opener for me, and I am keen to learn more about commercial transactions.

I am fluent in English as a second language. Second languages provide a wealth of cultural experience, as it is a valuable tool to have in my future job. My favourite hobby is reading novels from legal genres because it allows me to not only think about the influences behind the authors but it also helps me improve my literacy.

I also follow the news and I stay up to date with current law events, for instance, the Brexit and new economic bloc talks. Seeing how the legal systems play a large part in the transition period that Britain will go through, the role of courtrooms during this time provokes my passion to study and understand what will soon influence the future.

My ambition is to become a successful lawyer and be a part of a socially and academically community.

Please kindly consider my international commercial law personal statement for admission.

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PERSONAL STATEMENT EXAMPLE Law and Business Studies Personal Statement

Submitted by Krishangy

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Law and Business Studies Personal Statement

I come from a country that boasts of a great and ancient civilisation, a country that gave the world many important inventions and innovations, and a country that produced some of the finest minds of every generation, especially women. However my country is also an interesting paradox of conventionalism and modernity and of progress and restrain. And it is with these values that I step into the next and new phase of my life.

I come from a big family where I have been encouraged to express myself creatively and maturely. My father is my greatest inspiration. He has taught me to be bold and fearless, yet be compassionate and caring. I have been fortunate enough to have received an education in one of the top schools in the country and have grown up with the belief that education is the only way to understand and fight the problems plaguing our society. The ethos of my school is reflected in its motto of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, which means that ‘the world is a family’. This guiding principle of international brotherhood has instilled in me a sense of justice and tolerance with a global and inclusive approach towards life.

My accomplishments have been special in their own right - a ‘Prefect’, a house captain, an awardee of ‘Excellence in English and International Understanding’ and a member of the Model United Nations, these are a few that I mention here. I have been a member of two cultural exchange programmes – one to Spain and France and the other to Japan. I have participated in debates and discussions over the ‘Drachma Dilemma’ and gender equality from an economic, psychological and business point of view at various forums. I have also been a part of various non-government organisations to help educate the handicapped, write examinations for the blind and organise blood donation camps. All the above-mentioned feats and accomplishments might seem modest when viewed in the larger scheme of things, but they have given me a strong appreciation for policy and polity. They have also provided me with the determination to lead and achieve things and the ability to solve problems, to take charge, and most of all to be imaginative and innovative.

It is with this experience that I now choose the direction that my life should take. As a diligent and determined individual, I feel I will be capable and ready to work as a force for greater good in building a just, fair and equitable society for the succeeding generations to come. Therefore I wish to apply for a law and business degree which will provide a base for a career in Corporate Social Responsibility.

As India's commercial fortunes rise, the field of Corporate Social Responsibility presents an opportunity for the betterment of the individuals and the nation as a whole. It is one of the key components in the today's business environment and has the potential of having a prominent impact on the Indian social fabric. Having an administrative and protective nature, this field combines my interests of managing people and resources and making a positive impact on the society. It also opens a window for working in a challenging and creative line.

The British educational, legal and financial organisations have been the cornerstones of all premium institutions globally and are highly valued and recognised. Not only are they deep rooted in culture and tradition, but they have also been a beacon of prosperity and upliftment for the rest of the world. In addition, the Indian legal system has been inherited from the British colonisation and various legislations introduced by them are still in force. Thus, an education from a university in the UK will ensure a sound foundation that will not only help build my future but also help me build a better future for my country; a peaceful and equal society that is void of any prejudice or intolerance.

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