How to Generate Winning Ideas for an LLM Personal Statement: My Harvard Experience, Part 3

This post is a continuation of the series where I explain how I developed ideas and stories for my personal statement to Harvard. You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

The core of my 5-step original method for writing personal statements focuses on identifying formative experiences and using them to build a compelling argument. In Part 1, I provided an overview of the experiences that I shaped me. Here, I'll review more of them and explain why I included some and excluded others in my final essay. For practical advice on doing this in your own essays, please check out my course or this post, where I outline the framework behind my method.

Formative Experience No. 3: Teaching at the Moscow State University

At the time of my LLM applications, I was pursuing a PhD and teaching the law of obligations to third-year students—two 90-minute sessions weekly. Preparing for these classes was time-intensive, and despite my best efforts, I always felt I could do more. Still, I loved it. The students and our discussions were rewarding, and I gained invaluable experience.

In my application, I linked this teaching role to my experience coaching the Concours Charles-Rousseau team, aligning with my goal to transition into academia. I didn’t include my PhD experience itself, as I felt it would clutter the essay. Instead, I highlighted it in my CV and application form.

Formative Experience No. 4: Work at Noerr

By the time I began my LLM applications, I had gained diverse work experiences. I interned at the State Office for Registration in Moscow, the Association for International Arbitration in Brussels, and Morgan Lewis in Moscow. I was also working as an associate at Noerr, a German law firm, and as a research fellow at the Higher School of Economics.

It may sound like a lot, but my enthusiasm for exploring different facets of law drove me. By the time I decided to pursue an LLM, I had a clear idea of what brought me the most fulfillment. I mention this to emphasize that everyone’s journey is unique. You don’t need to have as much experience before applying unless a program specifically requires it (e.g., Chevening requires 2+ years of work experience). Many students come into LLM programs with little to no work experience, while others have years of it, and both paths are valid. I had classmates who went straight to an LLM after their law degree and still secured dream jobs. Focus on your strengths and what you’ve done, regardless of how much or little that may be. You do you.

While most of my work experiences were rich in analytical challenges, they were often lacking in vivid events to showcase in my essays. As I brainstormed, I struggled to condense them into impactful, specific stories that highlighted my strengths. There was no way I could include them all without cluttering the essay.

One memorable project involved a European client wanting to sell yoga mats in Russia. The mats were banned under EU regulations due to carcinogenic chemicals, so the company tried to sell them in a market with laxer rules. Unfortunately, Russian regulations allowed higher concentrations of the chemical, but a UN Convention (to which Russia was a party) was negotiating a protocol to prohibit it. Working on this case made me feel like Erin Brockovich, as I actually had the chance to prevent harm. In a rare moment of legal influence, we advised the client against distributing the mats, and they complied.

Formative Experience No. 5: Participating in the national banking law reform

As a research fellow at the Higher School of Economics, I contributed to two projects for the Russian Central Bank, advising on reforms related to pledge and transfer of title regimes. My recommendations were implemented in the new law, and I was later offered a position at the Central Bank, which I declined.

I was 23 at the time, and participating in law reform was a big deal. I initially included this experience in my Harvard essay, as it aligned with my theme of lawyers as advisers rather than decision-makers. I used it to support my aspiration of becoming a policy- and lawmaker, which was central to my Cambridge LLM application.

However, by the time I applied to Harvard a year later (after securing admission to Cambridge but lacking sufficient funding), my goals had shifted toward academia. While the law reform experience was valuable, I felt it detracted from my main focus of effecting change through teaching. As a result, I chose to exclude it from my Harvard essay but highlighted it in my CV and application form.

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This closes the ideation phase—generating ideas for your LLM personal statement based on your experiences. In the next post, I'll show how I decided what to include and what to leave out of my essay. For the framework I use for generating, choosing, and ordering stories and experiences for personal statements, motivation letters, and statement of purpose see this post. If you are struggling with fitting the essay into the designated word count, check out my post on how to make your writing more concise and effective. For how to do an overall assessment of your profile for a master of laws application, I created a dedicated guide available here.