Writing a personal statement for law school

Law School Personal Statements require careful consideration – they can make up a big part of your application to law school. With that in mind, read these 10 top tips for a law personal statement that is engaging, appropriate and effective: the perfect start to the path to success in law school application.

1. Enthusiasm: keen but not cliched 

Your law school personal statement is your opportunity to show off your desire to be a law student. It is really important that you demonstrate your enthusiasm for the subject, your tutor wants to know that studying law excites and interests you, this will make you into a keen law student who is ready to learn. But, in people’s attempts to demonstrate their eagerness, some applicants over-exaggerate. This can sound cliched and tutors will be able to see through false enthusiasm. So, keep it real! 

Some things to think about include 

• Why you were drawn to law

• Why the law course excites you 

• The topics you are most drawn to

• Why you enjoy using the skills required in a law degree 

Things to avoid 

• Cheesy metaphors

• Non-serious stories or flashbacks (think “when I was younger …” or “after watching Suits …”

• Hyperbole and very strong adjectives (e.g. I absolutely love law, it is extremely enlightening and incredibly diverse)

2. Flow in your law personal statement!

You will have lots of things to fit into your law school personal statement (including an introduction, conclusion, work experience, reading and extra curricular). It is important that your law personal statement doesn’t read like a jumble sale: you don’t want to just throw everything on to the page in a random order. So, think carefully about structure.

Method 

 The best way to structure is to group things together, you might want to write down all the things you want to include on individual sticky notes and then try a few different groupings until you get to the one that makes the most sense. 

Examples

• One way to group is by the type of activity, e.g.
  • Academic activity 
  • Extra curricular activity 
  • Reading 
  • Writing 
  • Work experience 

• Alternatively, you can group by themes, e.g.
  • Passion for law
  • Interest in the importance of language in the law
  • Appreciation of the diversity of law

• Or, you might like to group by the skill that the activity demonstrates:
  • Analysis
  • Cogency 
  • Argument 
  • Writing 
  • Debate

3. Analyse don’t describe 

A common thing that tutors comment on is student’s lack of analysis. This means that instead of analysing and showing your analytical and law skills, you describe what you have done or list off the skills you have. The motto you should stick by is: show don’t tell. 

Here’s an example …

• At my work experience, I reviewed legal documents and spoke to clients. I developed my skills in communication and analysis
  • This student has done some relevant work experience, but instead of analysing their time at the firm and thereby demonstrating their skills, they have simply listed their activities and stated the skills they learnt. The problem is, the tutor will not just take your word for it – you must show them the skills you have learnt not just state them! 

• During my time in work experience, I undertook a review of two legal documents. I noticed that there were slight tweaks of language in the second document which had significant consequences for the effect of the document. This awakened me to the importance of language in law, a simple one word change from ‘A must complete task X’ and ‘A may complete task X’ drastically changes the construction of the document, and this close focus analysis is a skill I would like to develop at law school
  • This student does a much better job at demonstrating their ability to analyse. The student takes a personal and specific experience and explains their own personal analysis of the event. This is a great way of showing the tutor your analysis skills rather than just telling them.

4. Honesty is the best policy 

 It is really important that you are honest in your law school personal statement. Avoid over exaggerating your work experiences or reading, instead make insightful points about things you have definitely done properly. Not only is there a chance that you will be caught out at interview if you exaggerate your understanding of a piece of reading, it is also obvious to tutors (who have lots of experience and have likely read the materials multiple times in great depth) when you have not done the work properly. You don’t want to give the reader the impression that you think it is okay to wing your work: so stay honest for a better chance of success.

5. Extracurricular: a well-rounded applicant

You might think that law tutors are all about work. This is not true and many tutors will prefer to pick a well rounded applicant over one who’s entire experience is academic. You should aim for a 70/30 or 80/20 split academic to non-academic. One thing that is however very important when discussing non academic activities is skill linking.

Skill Linking

• This is a technique where you relate every extra-curricular or non-academic activity to a relevant skill. Remember that law school skills don’t just come from reading and writing – there are loads of ways to present yourself as a student with the skills they need to start a law degree.

• Here are some skills you might be able to link to your activity …
  • Timeliness 
  • Accuracy 
  • Teamwork
  • Flexibility 
  • Stress management 
  • Readiness to learn 

6. Personal statement 

Your personal statement should be exactly that: personal! This is about your experiences and your own thoughts. Even if you have done the exact same activities reading and work experience as another candidate, your personal statements should be entirely different. In order to make your law school personal statement include personal thoughts and specific experiences wherever possible …

Key terms to include … 

• This made me think …

• Reflecting on this …

• I noticed …

• I was particularly surprised by …

• The most important part of activity X for me was Y because … 

7. Studying law not practicing 

It is really important to know that you are applying to study law and not to practice it. You might use your law degree to go on and practice law but this is not necessary, there are plenty of other career paths available to a law school graduate. Moreover, the tutor is in charge of your study of law, they are not your boss supervising you as a practicing lawyer. With this in mind, you must check that your personal statement is geared up to an application for educational study. 

Read this sample statement passage and notice where the student slips into applying for a practicing law position rather than an educational degree …

I feel as a lawyer I would be able to win cases with my argumentative and debating skills. I am drawn to the variety of a lawyer’s everyday work: reading cases, meeting clients and arguing in court. I feel I am particularly suited to a role in meeting and engaging with clients since I have excellent interpersonal skills. I am also an ambitious individual and hence the life of a high profile and high earning lawyer is right for me. 

8. Use resources 

As much as there might be things which are frequently included in a law school personal statement, there are no specific topic or activity requirements. This gives you the opportunity to be resourceful and think outside of the box. Perhaps your work experience has nothing to do with law? No problem, find a way to reflect on the skills you acquired and comment on how this would help you as a law student? Or, perhaps you don’t enjoy reading books? Try reading articles, newspapers, watching documentaries or listening to podcasts. 

Here are a few things you might do outside of the typical solicitor work experience …

• Essay competitions

• Debating competitions

• Attending talks 

• Writing for a student newspaper or website

• Running a society or club

• Volunteering

9. Reading and academics 

We have talked about the importance of applying to study rather than practice law, and, since law is an academic degree it is crucial that you demonstrate academic interest and ability. You don’t need to make reference to your grades, tutors will already have these available to them. But, you do need to demonstrate academic ability beyond A- Levels: especially writing extended essays and reading more complex items. Some ways to demonstrate this include

• Reading beyond your subject curriculum

• Writing an essay for a competition

• Completing an EPQ

10. Triple check! 

Your law school personal statement will take time to write and you might find that after a while you have read it so many times it is tricky to be critical. At this point it is time to get feedback from other people. Take time to think through their feedback, reflect and make any necessary changes (remember you can always try out an idea on a new document and then go back to the original so don’t be afraid to give something a go!). 

Here are a few people you might like to ask for constructive feedback …

• Family (parents, siblings, aunts, uncles)

• Teachers ( law teacher or any teacher especially of an essay based subject)

• Friends

• An online tutor 

• A successful applicant from a previous year 

Conclusion

Law school personal statements are your first chance to make a good impression with your application. It can be stressful trying to get your personal statement spot on, but remember it is a work in progress and will improve over time. These tips should help you with that improvement and put you on the path to success as a law school applicant.