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- Published: 16th September 2026
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Personal statement example
My interest in insolvency law began with a company law seminar on the moment a business stops being a going concern. What struck me was how much depends on timing: the same transaction can be unremarkable one month and vulnerable to challenge the next. That shift from ordinary commercial dealing to a statutory regime of collective enforcement is what I want to study in depth.
I have just completed an LLB, with my strongest results in company law, commercial law and equity and trusts. My final-year dissertation considered the ranking of unsecured creditors in liquidation and asked whether the pari passu principle does much real work in practice, given the position of secured creditors, the prescribed part and the expenses of the process. Reading the Insolvency Act 1986 alongside the reforms introduced by the Enterprise Act 2002, I became interested in how the rescue culture is described in policy terms and how it operates when a company reaches administration with few unencumbered assets. Writing the dissertation also taught me to read insolvency cases carefully: in Belmont Park Investments v BNY Corporate Trustee Services the Supreme Court reaffirmed the anti-deprivation rule while upholding the provisions in question, and I found the discussion of commercial purpose more instructive than any general statement of principle. At postgraduate level I would like to look further at directors' duties in the twilight period, transactions at an undervalue and preferences, and the treatment of employees as creditors.
Alongside my degree I have worked on the customer service desk of a garden centre for three years, including most weekends. A good deal of the work is handling refunds, deposits on large orders and complaints about deliveries that have gone wrong. Two of our suppliers went into administration during that time, and I dealt with customers who had paid deposits for furniture that never arrived and who wanted to know, reasonably enough, where their money had gone. Explaining that they were unsecured creditors, without pretending the outcome was likely to be good, was uncomfortable but useful. It gave me a clear sense of who sits at the bottom of the statutory order and why proposals for reform in that area attract attention.
I am treasurer of a community running club with about seventy members. I took the role over when the previous treasurer moved away and the accounts were kept in three different places. I reconciled the subscription records, moved us to a single spreadsheet with monthly reporting to the committee, and negotiated a staged payment plan when we owed a track hire fee we could not meet in one instalment. The club was solvent throughout, but the experience of working out what we owed, to whom and by when has made cash flow and balance sheet tests feel less abstract. I also present the accounts at the annual meeting, which has improved my ability to explain financial detail to people who have no particular interest in it.
I hope to train and practise in restructuring and insolvency, and I want the grounding in cross-border recognition, security and formal procedures that a specialist course provides before I apply for training contracts. I read the insolvency coverage in the legal press regularly and follow reported administrations in the retail sector. What I want from postgraduate study is the chance to work through the statutory framework systematically, with proper attention to the case law, and to test my dissertation conclusions against a much wider body of material and against the views of others studying the same problems.
Why this example works — strengths and ways to improve
This is a focused, credible taught postgraduate statement. Your LLB dissertation and close reading of Belmont Park show real preparation. Your garden centre and treasurer roles are tied to specific insolvency concepts without overclaiming. The main gaps are that you never state your dissertation's conclusion, and the closing paragraph relies on general claims of engagement rather than the precise evidence used earlier.
Subject motivation
the same transaction can be unremarkable one month and vulnerable to challenge the next
Your opening works because it names a specific intellectual puzzle, the significance of timing, rather than a vague fascination. It also anticipates your later interests in the twilight period, undervalue transactions and preferences, so your motivation reads as a genuine thread through the statement rather than a decorative hook.
Academic preparation
asked whether the pari passu principle does much real work in practice
This is a well-framed dissertation question, and listing secured creditors, the prescribed part and process expenses shows you understand why it is contestable. However, you never say what you concluded. Since you later want to test those conclusions, stating your position briefly would strengthen this evidence considerably.
Evidence and reflection
I found the discussion of commercial purpose more instructive than any general statement of principle
This is real reflection. You describe Belmont Park accurately and then explain what reading it taught you about legal method. It shows you value reasoning over headnote rules, which is exactly the habit advanced study rewards. One sentence on why commercial purpose mattered would make it sharper still.
Relevant experience
Explaining that they were unsecured creditors, without pretending the outcome was likely to be good
This is strong use of ordinary work. You show the creditor hierarchy from the customer's side and link it plausibly to reform debates. The treasurer example is also well chosen: the staged payment plan connects naturally to cash flow and balance sheet tests, and you sensibly note the club stayed solvent.
Credibility and voice
I read the insolvency coverage in the legal press regularly
Most of your statement has a measured, believable voice, and phrases like 'reasonably enough' feel personal. This claim stands out because it is unsupported. Elsewhere you show engagement through specifics. Naming one administration you followed, and what interested you about it, would match the standard you set earlier.
Structure and format
I want the grounding in cross-border recognition, security and formal procedures
Your paragraphs move logically from interest to study, experience and aims, and the prose is economical. Cross-border recognition, however, appears for the first time in your conclusion with no earlier preparation or rationale. Either explain briefly why it matters to you or keep your stated aims aligned with interests you have already developed.
What you’ve done well
- You show specific legal understanding through accurate references to the Insolvency Act 1986, the Enterprise Act 2002, the prescribed part and Belmont Park, rather than general claims of interest.
- Your part-time job and volunteer role are linked to concrete insolvency concepts in proportion, without exaggerating your authority or responsibility.
How this draft could improve
- State your dissertation's actual conclusion on pari passu in a sentence, so your later aim of testing it has substance.
- Replace the general claim about reading the legal press with one specific administration you followed and what it taught you.
- Justify your interest in cross-border recognition, or drop it from your aims, so your conclusion follows from the statement.