PS topic? Forum

[yvettebread]

Hi all,

Would a personal statement start with personal experience of discrimination against female in my current job a good start for a personal statement? I will basically talk about why I would want to be a litigation lawyer/focus on IP and competition law(for specific law schools). My concern is that I understand that female is not underrepresented in law schools actually.

For background introduction, I am an international applicant. To be honest, in Asia it is so common that I found myself to be the only female in the meeting room and everyone (even clients) assumes that I, as the only female in the room, should be the assistant rather than the person-in-charge.

Thank you very much! Appreciate any suggestions or discussion.

[QContinuum]

I'm not sure how experiencing sex discrimination motivated you to pursue IP/antitrust law, but if it's a compelling story, then by all means use it for your PS.

If you choose to write your PS on another topic, you could alternately consider writing about your experiences as the only woman in the room in a diversity statement. Diversity statements aren't limited to underrepresented minority applicants.

[yvettebread]

I'm not sure how experiencing sex discrimination motivated you to pursue IP/antitrust law, but if it's a compelling story, then by all means use it for your PS.

If you choose to write your PS on another topic, you could alternately consider writing about your experiences as the only woman in the room in a diversity statement. Diversity statements aren't limited to underrepresented minority applicants.

Thank you QContinuum for the suggestion. I am currently doing IP/competition law related litigation in Asia so that is basically what I would focus on after JD. Would it be a sufficient reason for stating why I am interested in IP/competition law?

Also I am the first in full-time college in my family with my parents cut off the opportunity to enter college due to some historical reason... I know a lot of people say do NOT talk about parents' story cuz they are not mine, but with my parents actually being much older than my classmates ever since elementary and my parents' not holding any full-time college degree, what I have gone through was working so hard to let classmates and teachers not focus on what my parents are (a common topic teachers and little kids usually have in Asia) but on what achievements I have acquired. Not sure if this is a good idea for ps...

Thanks!

[QContinuum]

I'm not sure how experiencing sex discrimination motivated you to pursue IP/antitrust law, but if it's a compelling story, then by all means use it for your PS.

If you choose to write your PS on another topic, you could alternately consider writing about your experiences as the only woman in the room in a diversity statement. Diversity statements aren't limited to underrepresented minority applicants.

Thank you QContinuum for the suggestion. I am currently doing IP/competition law related litigation in Asia so that is basically what I would focus on after JD. Would it be a sufficient reason for stating why I am interested in IP/competition law?

But how does the sex discrimination tie into your interest in IP??

It sounds to me like the sex discrimination is something totally separate. You want to do IP law because you already do IP work and you enjoy it. That's great, but 1) it has nothing to do with the sex discrimination you experienced, and 2) it's not really a good basis for a personal statement. A personal statement is a chance to tell law schools more about you as a person. It's not intended for applicants to simply say "I want to practice IP law, so that's why I want to go to law school."

How did you initially get into IP litigation in Asia? Surely at one point you considered various career options, like medicine, engineering, science, etc. What made you choose to go into law? If you initially decided to go into law because of the gender-based discrimination you experienced, why didn't you go into women's rights advocacy or employment law - how'd you end up in IP and antitrust? After you went into law, was it what you were expecting? What makes you want to move to the U.S.? Consider these questions in writing your essay.

Also I am the first in full-time college in my family with my parents cut off the opportunity to enter college due to some historical reason... I know a lot of people say do NOT talk about parents' story cuz they are not mine, but with my parents actually being much older than my classmates ever since elementary and my parents' not holding any full-time college degree, what I have gone through was working so hard to let classmates and teachers not focus on what my parents are (a common topic teachers and little kids usually have in Asia) but on what achievements I have acquired. Not sure if this is a good idea for ps...

This sounds like a good topic for your diversity statement. Law schools love first-generation college student perspectives. But focus more on your experiences as a first-generation student. Absolutely talk about your parents, but focus on how your parents' lack of education impacted you. Don't just write an entire essay on your parents' struggles when they were growing up.

[yvettebread]

How did you initially get into IP litigation in Asia? Surely at one point you considered various career options, like medicine, engineering, science, etc. What made you choose to go into law? If you initially decided to go into law because of the gender-based discrimination you experienced, why didn't you go into women's rights advocacy or employment law - how'd you end up in IP and antitrust? After you went into law, was it what you were expecting? What makes you want to move to the U.S.? Consider these questions in writing your essay..

Thank you so much QContinuum. These questions are inspiring. I got into the practice of IP law/competition law by chance actually... I do get inspired to study law due to my parents' experience, but when it comes to practicing as a lawyer, the law firm I start my career with simply allocated me to the IP litigation practice and later I also did some compliance, white-collar crime, and investigation work in addition to IP related work. So when it comes to "why IP law", to be honest, I would say I first got into it and I found it quite interesting, so I hope to follow it... Not sure if it is better simply by discussing "why law" at first and then switching to my performance at my current job related to IP and competition law?

This sounds like a good topic for your diversity statement. Law schools love first-generation college student perspectives. But focus more on your experiences as a first-generation student. Absolutely talk about your parents, but focus on how your parents' lack of education impacted you. Don't just write an entire essay on your parents' struggles when they were growing up.

Thank you! This seems to be the right way to tell the story. One more question, would it be good to save diversity factors in diversity statement, or it would be fine to serve as the start of PS? Not sure what law school admission offices' view regarding the difference between PS and diversity statement.

Much appreciate your help! I really learned a lot from your replies and I believe this means a lot to my application. Thank you so much.