A Guide to Writing Your Law School Personal Statement

The most important argument you'll make in your life

Your law school personal statement is an argument — the most important one you’ll make in your life.

Although personal statements are essays designed to give an admissions committee insight into who you are, they are much more so arguments for why you want to be a lawyer. Unlike college admissions, where the personal statement is a mere declaration of self, law school personal statements must be pointed.

When you think about the most compelling legal arguments, they are often ones that paint visuals. Perhaps they put you in the shoes of a plaintiff to appeal to your emotions; perhaps they convince you of an analogous situation to prove that this situation is similarly unjust. Whatever the angle, they are persuasive for their storytelling — and your law school personal statement should be no different.

To make the strongest argument for yourself, you need to tell a story. Simply stating that work experience X, course Y, and mentor Z convinced you to go to law school is, well, boring. And great lawyers don’t make boring arguments! Instead, you need to show, rather than tell, that you want to be a lawyer and that you’re ready to begin law school.

In my previous post about Why I Think I Got into Harvard Law School, I explained that I think the “soft” factors of my application (things like my personal statement, other essays, letters of recommendation, etc.) did the heavy lifting of my application. While I did not apply with incredibly notable accolades (“Tier 1” softs, as the law school admissions jargon calls it), a Fulbright Scholarship or the cure to cancer, I told a compelling story about why I am committed to and prepared for law school. I did not try to contort my experiences into something greater than they were; I did not falsify the person I have proved to be at each of my jobs and in each of my courses. I wrote authentically and consistently, about the skills and perspective I have gained that make a legal career the obvious path for me. With other important factors like opportunity, privilege, and luck, I really think my acceptance was as simple as that.

So in case you were worried, law schools aren’t (only) looking for the most accomplished applicants. They are also looking for team players, people who are strong in their convictions, and those who can write a damn good argument. How did I write mine? I used an essay outline that I have since used with all of my admissions consulting clients. In this post, I will break down this structure, and present to you a completely fictitious but nonetheless persuasive law school personal statement that follows it.