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Sample Personal Statement for Economic Law
It was totally unexpected that a traffic accident that occurred to
me changed the entire course of my life. In an early summer morning in
1994, I, then busily involved in preparing for high school entrance
examination, was knocked down from behind by a taxi on my way to
school. I was seriously injured and instantly lost consciousness. The
following year saw me receiving medical treatment and during this
seemingly interminable period of therapy I not only had to endure the
tremendous physical agonies and the miseries of suspending my normal
education but also had to experience, as victim of the accident, the
difficulties and helplessness of instituting legal procedures against
the accident-causing taxi-driver. The imperfections of China’s legal
system made the claims difficult to materialize. Ultimately I should
be grateful to the lawyer who represented me in the case. It was he
who, with his professional expertise, protected my legitimate rights.
This experience exposed me to the usefulness of law, which in turn
ignited my serious interest in the mysterious yet sacred law.
Seeking to ride the tide of the times in an era of reforms and
opening-up, I chose International Economic Law as my major. Growing up
in ShenZhen, China’s first special economic zone, I witnessed how this
former fishing village became an international metropolis in China
with the most vibrant economy and modern atmosphere. I grew to be
particularly interested in all the laws related to economy. Therefore,
when I entered college, without any hesitation I chose to specialize
in International Economic Law. Out of my interest in and love for
economic law, I devoted myself to the reading of many erudite legal
works which helped me establish a solid theoretical foundation. On the
other hand, all the courses in my specialty exposed me to a wide
variety of in-depth knowledge. Law of Corporation, International
Investment Law, International Trade Law and WTO Law are some of the
courses that fascinated me most. My studies of those laws allowed me
to appreciate the comprehensive and well-developed legal systems in
the United States and in other advanced western countries. By
comparison, China’s legal system, especially in the economic field,
appears to be woefully underdeveloped. This comparative gap has all
the more aroused a sense of urgency on my part to seek academic
excellence so that when the day comes for me to make my own
contributions I might be better equipped to offer my knowledge and
talents. In the course of the four-year undergraduate studies, I have
stayed among the top 5% students in my class of 68 undergraduates and
my overall GPA and my specialty-related GPA have reached 3.4 and 3.6
respectively. My numerous scholarships and honors also attested to my
excellence and academic achievements.
But the real benefit I have achieved in the university is not awards
and honors, but a much-broadened vision. I am clearly aware that, as a
student of law, it is imperative for me to be closely connected to the
world of reality, as law is a discipline that requires practical
application and we are bound to become the shapers of future society.
Guided by this understanding, I took every chance to go beyond my
textbooks and wet my feet in several extracurricular activities. I
have always served as one of the ministers of the University’s
Students Union and this position has trained me to work with greater
determination, greater enthusiasm and more methodically. As I myself
have undergone special experiences of helplessness and personal
difficulties, I actively participated in the activities of Mutual
Welfare Association and Tutor Group. My hope is that by those
activities I may benefit the society of which I am a part, and show
concern for the weak and the needy. In addition, my participation in
the speech contests organized by College Debating Team significantly
improved my oral expressiveness and instant logical reasoning ability.
I know that I will benefit from those experiences for a long time to
come.
My professional strengths, however, go way beyond my excellent
academic records. Every summer vacation became the best opportunity
for me to undertake internships to improve myself. I was lucky to have
come under the guidance of three important “mentors”, three lawyers
who specialized in criminal lawsuits, civil lawsuits and real estates
lawsuits. Every internship proved very rewarding and fruitful.
The more I practiced, the more I felt that the tremendous gap between
the American laws and the Chinese laws is impossible to be abridged
within a short time. China’s political and social system is very
different from Western countries. China, as a new WTO member, has just
started changing from planned economy to market economy. Naturally, it
is unrealistic for western countries to require Chinese government to
abide by strictly western regulations represented by market economy.
Thus for China, to construct a legal framework in strict accordance
with WTO regulations has become the most urgent problem. The
precondition for meeting this challenge is to redefine the
government-market relationship so as to allow Chinese companies to
withstand the tests of international economy in the absence of
traditional governmental protection and to expand themselves by taking
advantage of the huge international market. China’s Economic Law,
which fulfills part of Constitutional functions, will make a unique
contribution if it can redefine the relationship. It will create the
flowering of economic legislation. For China’s legal system to conform
to international practices, China also has a lot to do in the field of
protecting the intellectual property rights. Moreover, China’s
accession into the WTO means that China will face more international
trade disputes. China is rather backward in the legislation concerning
the dispute-solving mechanism, a fact which has resulted in the unfair
treatment against Chinese companies by Western countries in the name
of “anti-dumping”. This situation calls for the emergence of a number
of legal professionals who have a profound knowledge both of English
language, international economic law, the actual conditions in China,
the mode of operation of international laws and legal systems.
Under such circumstances, in order for China to adapt its legal system
and some of its social practices to the conventions of the
international community, it is imperative that we learn from and
borrow from the legal system and legal ideology of the United States,
the country with the best developed legal system, as well as other
developed western countries. Therefore, I am eager to undertake a
degree program of Doctor in Jurisprudence in a prestigious American
law school and I see good career opportunities in China with such a
quality education. Although it is no easy job for a girl like me to
leave my home to pursue the rather challenging JD program, I have full
confidence to overcome all sorts of difficulties. I had already
learned to be independent and self-reliant as a little girl because
both my father and my mother left for Hong Kong when I was very young,
leaving me on the mainland. As a teenager, I had to take care of
myself, doing all the house work besides keeping up with my studies. I
used to cry a lot but soon I drew inspirations from the example of
Mrs. Thatcher, the former British prime minister. In this way, I have
developed a strong self-motivation in whatever I do and the
determination to do it well. I believe that those important personal
qualities will contribute to my making major achievements in my future
career.
The faculty of the Law School of your prestigious university ranks as
top 15th among all the American laws schools and ranks top 5th in the
field of intellectual property. The curriculum offered by your law
school is diversified and rationally organized. Law of Corporation and
Law of Intellectual Property fall within the range of my interest, for
the current research in China lags far behind the advanced
international level. In addition, I very much appreciate the
opportunities of practice that are offered in the form of externships
and internships by your school. Those fascinating features have made
me all the more determined to seek a quality education at your school
because I believe that in such an advantageous academic environment,
based on my industry and talents, I am bound to make some important
achievements in my prospective degree program. I can also envision a
successful career in China after completing my degree program. My area
of interest will be foreign trade law and international economic law.
By providing professional legal consultations to Chinese businesses
and studying specifically Chinese legal issues in international
business, I will be able to apply the knowledge that I acquire from
the United States to the practical problems in China.
The foregoing statement represents the pursuit of a young Chinese
woman who is ready to sacrifice her comfortable yet mediocre life in
her native country in favor of challenges and the attainment of new
objectives. For that, I would appreciate if you could consider my
application favorably. |
