Duke Law Personal Statement

Coming from a Middle Eastern background, one is often told what they are going to be in life. With that said, I was told, at a very young age, I was going to be “an attorney that makes a lot of money.” Luckily for me, I actually love the field and practice of law. Although seven years is a pretty long time to be in school, I can say with the utmost thankfulness, at least I am not my siblings who were told that they are going to be “a cardiac specialist and a neurosurgeon that make a lot of money.” Talk about a lot of years of school in store for them!

While it may initially seem like a stretch to compare having a keen grasp on grade school politics to having the ability to practice law, the two are surprisingly correlative. As the new kid in school, a great way to meet people was through playing sports. So every year, I would go to try-outs, whether I wanted to or not. I often tried out for sports that I had never played before, because each high school I attended offered different sports. Somehow I always made the team, and I ended up playing six different sports on eleven different varsity teams. My teammates also voted me captain of all three sports that I played my senior year. Naturally, I am not suggesting that my high school athletic prowess will be of any assistance in studying law. However, I do believe that being a team player requires positive and productive interaction with other people, which parallels many areas of practicing law. For example, the success of an attorney often depends largely on how well he/she is able to interact with co-counsel, opposing counsel, witnesses, clients, investigators and anyone else involved in a case. Having spent all of my formative years on athletic teams, a pastime that I have continued through college, I feel

The subject of law always fascinated me. Unlike medicine, the practicalities of the subject do not dampen my passion for the subject but rather fuel it. Law is engaging because it requires constant adapting and analyzing. With every case comes a unique set of issues. The challenge of having to work within the bounds of the law while also planning a compelling and forceful case for a client is thrilling. Every word holds tremendous power in law. Practicing law requires eloquence. Anecdotal stories are the hallmark of the best lawyers. There exists no third person perspective in law. I admire how good lawyers can form a message that appeals to people’s emotions and reason. I relish the opportunity to study every minute detail of law and become a practicing lawyer because of all the ways it would challenge me.

I realized I wanted to pursue the legal profession very early on in life. I believe I was in 4th grade or so when I first got the notion to become a lawyer. My father had gotten injured at work and as a result had a worker’s compensation claim against his employer. There were frequent Doctors’ visit, attorney appointments and court appearances of which I would accompany him. What appeared to be every day after school there were a myriad of documents neatly organized on

Throughout my high school career I focused on law. Law was not my passion but with a family full of lawyers it is what I

One of the reasons why I am pursuing a law degree is to fight against the perpetuated injustices in my community back home in Kenya, and those that occur globally. I believe that Berkeley Law is the best school to train me on how to tackle social injustice and public interest advocacy, especially due to its great public interest and international law reputation, which allows students to receive an experimental learning experience by getting involved in Berkeley Law’s sponsored clinics. If accepted, I would love to get involved in the International Human rights Law clinic, Policy Advocacy clinic, and the East Bay Community clinic.

Think regarding why you need to turn into a lawyer, including any individuals or occasions that drove you toward law school.

I chose NDSU because I feel like I was pretty well acquainted with the campus during my time in high school. Each summer, for FFA, my chapter, along with others from across the state, spent a week here competing in different agricultural competitions. Also, I talked with alumni from this nursing program, and they all said it was set up very well, and also put them on a track to getting a good job afterwards. When I came for a tour earlier this spring, I got to hear a speech from the Dean of nursing, and I just sort of felt like this was the right place. On a side note, I like being here because of the agricultural side of NDSU as well, even if I’m not necessarily going into a field pertaining to it. It seems more like home to me, when the person next to me, going into Vet Tech, rides horse as much as I did.

I can hopefully, make a sound decision that will greatly affect my future. As a college student attending a predominately white institution with thousands of students, it is hard to make solid connections with professionals. Everyone has a life of their own, however, it is important to expand your networking circle and explore different opportunities. I am so appreciative of an opportunity like this for students just like me. Within the program, I aspire to grow academically, professionally and mentally. Interacting with professionals will enable me to build great relationships, which is very necessary to do in the corporate world. I hope to join the GatorLaw program and make a difference in my

With having to wait to attend college, I had more time to process what I truly wanted to get from life and my education. While literature is still my true love in academics I now know that I want to parlay that into a law degree once I graduate with my bachelors in English. The George Washington University is one of the finest stages for both degrees. I do not only want to soak in as much as possible when it comes to interpreting anything from Chaucer to Twain, but I also want to ensure that I am correctly equipped for law school. In complete honesty, the only aspect I am not entirely certain of at this point is what type of law I want to be involved with. I am battling between my reverence of education and my heart for the

From when I was ten until I was fifteen, I wanted to become a lawyer. I’ve always had impressive public speaking skills, a persuasive personality, and a knack for debate, so it seemed like the perfect fit for me. However, upon a taking a law class my sophomore year, I realized that lawyering might not be exactly what I expected it to be. As I learned about the different laws and the complexities of the court system I was

After high school, I am going to attend Texas A&M to get an undergraduate degree in public economics and after that I will pursue further education at the Texas A&M Law School. I am going to get a degree in law so that when I graduate I can be a partner in my family's law firm. For the past couple of years I have toyed with the thought of either going to join the marines or being a lawyer but in the end I came to the conclusion that becoming a lawyer was the best bet for me; three generations of my family have done it and I would like to fill their shoes and carry out tradition.

Ever since I can remember I wanted to become a lawyer. I didn't know what exact practice I wanted to do, but I knew belonged in a court room. When I was in middle school, I started the first debate team at my school because I researched and discovered that debating could help me become an effective attorney. My 8th grade year I researched the best high school in the Dallas Independent School District that could prepare me to become a lawyer; that turned out to be Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet. JBS Law Magnet required their students to apply in order to attend. Their application process was rigorous; I had to compile a folder of essays and work I did over the years, write two times essays, and have an interview. After I did all of this, a

Personal statement: What leadership and service qualities do you have which you feel would make you an excellent addition to the University Marshals? How do you serve as a leader?

The career I have chosen is to become a lawyer, in either a private practice or firm, or for the government. The definition of a lawyer is an advocate or advisor in society, that is as an advocate, to represent one of the opposing parties in a criminal or civil trial, and as an advisor to counsel clients as to their legal rights and suggest courses of action. But that is not all a lawyer is about. Being a lawyer takes hard work, dedication, and many years in school.