Personal Statement guide

Personal statement guide

Graduate Admissions Office
La Salle Hall Room 101
De La Salle University
2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004
Telephone Nos. 3031378 (Direct); 524611 loc 468
Email: graduate.admissions@dlsu.edu.ph
Website: www.dlsu.edu.ph

Write in an essay form your answer to the guide question.

Having passed the bar exam, how do you see yourself as a lawyer?

As a lawyer, I see myself working to gain experience in several areas of practice, with a view towards establishing a labor law
and human rights practice. As someone with very strong convictions about human rights and the equality of men, I feel that there
is more to be done and accomplished in our society to bring it to a level where such rights are understood as a given. One of the
guiding principles of our democracy--or any democracy, for that matter--is that "all men are created equal," and the struggle that
this principle creates in practical application is one of the things that drew me to pursue a career in law.

The fundamental right to equality before the law is an ideal which is pursued easily enough in the classroom, or in the sort of
soaring rhetoric more appropriate for sharing on Facebook. But in practice, the ideal of equality can at times find itself
underrepresented in the face of the many--and often compelling--interests that permeate legal relations in our society.

The ideal of "equality before the law" is easily viewed as a two-headed beast. On the one hand, it can seem rather inconvenient
when one compares a multi-national corporate interest employing thousands of workers with the stubborn man who refuses to
sell his property. On the other hand, societal judgments might weigh more heavily against oligarchies and big business, and
therefore, support the individual against corporate interests. In such a circumstance, a decision against the corporation might not
support the law, but a decision for the corporation might be perceived as "unjust" and catering to the rich and powerful.

It is circumstances such as these and many others like it that have brought some people to deride lawyers and the law in general
as being answerable only to money. While there is certainly argument to be made for such a statement, I believe that it would be
unjust and prejudicial in the extreme to perceive all legal practitioners in such a manner. I wish to become a legal professional
precisely because the perception of legal professionals is negative, and I feel that there is something I can do about it. As a
lawyer, I feel that I would be in a far better position to influence the perception of the legal profession by working to serve people
through my practice.

In the future, I see myself as an advocate for a more open and accountable justice system, one which is more sensitive to the
needs of the underrepresented and willing to participate in discourse to bring legal education and literacy to more people. It is my
hope that I can play a part in restoring public faith in the role that the rule of law plays in upholding and ensuring justice in our
nation.