Sarah Needs Help!!!!
Can you guys pretty please proof read my personal statement for my law school applications???? Please pay special attention to commas and other punctuation, because that is where I suck the most. Thanks in advance!!!
When I was no older than five, anytime an adult would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up I replied, “I want to be a lawyer and then be the first woman President of the United States.” This answer always received a warm encouraging response of support and amusement. Everyone thought that it was adorable that I had such high ambitions at such a young age. As I grew older, my aspirations of becoming the first woman president diminished. However, my ambition of becoming a lawyer morphed from a whimsical childhood dream into a serious life goal.
I remember the excitement I felt for my first assignment of my first law class at Mills College. We had to write an argument for or against one side of a hypothetical created by my professor. From excitement, I started writing the paper as soon as I got back to my room. I found this assignment was similar to a logic class I had excelled in the previous semester. It felt like the paper was a large puzzle and I was putting the pieces together to paint an overall picture. The grade I received on that paper, and throughout all my classes in my interdisciplinary
law major, confirmed that my dreams of being a lawyer could realistically be a profession in which I would excel.
To get a different perspective of law, I spent the first semester of my senior year at American University in the Washington Semester Public Law Program. There I had an internship with Wiggins, Childs, Quinn & Pantazis, where I assisted on nationwide class action racial discrimination lawsuits. Interviewing some of the plaintiffs showed me first hand how the law could positively affect people’s lives. From that experience, I knew that I wanted to use a career in law to help people.
Afterwards, I entered the post-college work force eager for more legal experience. In a tough job market, I took any job that could provide me with a legal setting. I worked for a few months at Legalmatch, which is a company that offers matchmaking services for attorneys and potential clients. After that I accepted a position at Thelen, Reid & Priest as a case assistant. This position put me at the bottom of the corporate law firm ladder and had me dealing with one of the driest parts of the practice of law: client billing. This job, while sometimes dry and tedious, has only driven me to work harder and approach my time at Thelen as a learning opportunity of the legal profession.
Working with determination and a strong attention to detail on monotonous and sometimes dull tasks, opened doors and allowed me to experience other part of the working law firm. A few months down the road, my law group had a matter go to trial. I assisted the attorneys and senior legal assistants in a large complex civil
litigation. Despite any preconceived notions of glamour, trial work turned out to be nothing more than long hours and hard work. During the month long trial I came to work early, left late, sacrificed weekends, and I still had energy and excitement about the process. During those late nights and early mornings, I realized that my goal of being a lawyer had grown into becoming a litigation attorney.
It is surprising how no matter how much you grow and mature, part of you is still a young child looking optimistically towards the future. Even at the still young age of twenty-one, I know that law is one of the great loves of my life. I have seen some of the worst things the practice of law will throw at you, and I
am more committed to law because of it. I want a career in which I can use my skills of logical reasoning and attention to details to positively affect peoples’ lives. A career as a litigation attorney would cement what I have
known since before I was five: I want to be a lawyer when I grow up.
When I was no older than five, anytime an adult would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up I replied, “I want to be a lawyer and then be the first woman President of the United States.” This answer always received a warm encouraging response of support and amusement. Everyone thought that it was adorable that I had such high ambitions at such a young age. As I grew older, my aspirations of becoming the first woman president diminished. However, my ambition of becoming a lawyer morphed from a whimsical childhood dream into a serious life goal.
I remember the excitement I felt for my first assignment of my first law class at Mills College. We had to write an argument for or against one side of a hypothetical created by my professor. From excitement, I started writing the paper as soon as I got back to my room. I found this assignment was similar to a logic class I had excelled in the previous semester. It felt like the paper was a large puzzle and I was putting the pieces together to paint an overall picture. The grade I received on that paper, and throughout all my classes in my interdisciplinary
law major, confirmed that my dreams of being a lawyer could realistically be a profession in which I would excel.
To get a different perspective of law, I spent the first semester of my senior year at American University in the Washington Semester Public Law Program. There I had an internship with Wiggins, Childs, Quinn & Pantazis, where I assisted on nationwide class action racial discrimination lawsuits. Interviewing some of the plaintiffs showed me first hand how the law could positively affect people’s lives. From that experience, I knew that I wanted to use a career in law to help people.
Afterwards, I entered the post-college work force eager for more legal experience. In a tough job market, I took any job that could provide me with a legal setting. I worked for a few months at Legalmatch, which is a company that offers matchmaking services for attorneys and potential clients. After that I accepted a position at Thelen, Reid & Priest as a case assistant. This position put me at the bottom of the corporate law firm ladder and had me dealing with one of the driest parts of the practice of law: client billing. This job, while sometimes dry and tedious, has only driven me to work harder and approach my time at Thelen as a learning opportunity of the legal profession.
Working with determination and a strong attention to detail on monotonous and sometimes dull tasks, opened doors and allowed me to experience other part of the working law firm. A few months down the road, my law group had a matter go to trial. I assisted the attorneys and senior legal assistants in a large complex civil
litigation. Despite any preconceived notions of glamour, trial work turned out to be nothing more than long hours and hard work. During the month long trial I came to work early, left late, sacrificed weekends, and I still had energy and excitement about the process. During those late nights and early mornings, I realized that my goal of being a lawyer had grown into becoming a litigation attorney.
It is surprising how no matter how much you grow and mature, part of you is still a young child looking optimistically towards the future. Even at the still young age of twenty-one, I know that law is one of the great loves of my life. I have seen some of the worst things the practice of law will throw at you, and I
am more committed to law because of it. I want a career in which I can use my skills of logical reasoning and attention to details to positively affect peoples’ lives. A career as a litigation attorney would cement what I have
known since before I was five: I want to be a lawyer when I grow up.