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I have to disclose of a disciplinary situation on my applications, so I will be adding an addendum to my application (obviously, full disclosure). Should I merely explain the details surrounding this incident and save the "how this affected me" part for my personal statement, or save my statement for something else and fully explain the situation in the addendum? It was a huge factor in my life, both academic and personal, and the before/after version of me are on display very readily through this experience. One pre-law advisor told me to shore up anything concerning the situation in the addendum to free up my personal statement for something more upbeat and overarching, but I wanted a second opinion.

If something bad happened and I made a huge turn-around from it, is it worthy of the personal statement? Or will I be reminding the admissions office in two separate parts of my exam that I had been expelled?

This is one of those things where circumstances make the difference. I don't think anyone can answer your question with a general principle.

a second opinion: i think the PS should be positive. if your incident and aftereffects cannot be spun into a positive and "uplifting" (doesn't have to be THAT uplifting), then just keep it in the addendum. that said it is possible that an expulsion could have sparked a process toward becoming a better person, someone more fit to be a lawyer, etc, but you must be able to demonstrate that in a big way, not just by writing a paragraph about how you think you've become better. have you excelled in school (as in 3.9) afterward, did you do something major w/ your life? (i.e. run a marathon, climb a big mountain, start a charity)

another idea is write out that PS, see how it turns out, ask around to see how what people think