Quick question, just wanted some thoughts on this.

So I have a 3.42 GPA, but my freshman year I had a 2.87. I was on the dean's list (which shows up on the report as academic honors) ever since. This is due to a few different economic/social circumstances at the time.

Now, many PS prompts mention academic honors. Would this be considered an academic honor(making the dean's list?) On one hand, I feel it shows distinguished academic achievement. On the other, I feel like every law school applicant has made the dean's list at some point. What do they mean by academic honors?

So should I explain these circumstances in an addendum or incorporate the situation into my ps, or maybe even a diversity statement, since it coincides with socioeconomic disadvantages?

Thanks for the help TLS!

Deans List is an honor. Unless you have so many better honors that you ran out of space I would include it.
I would use the addendum to make excuses for your freshman year grades and save the PS for telling them how awesome you are.

If it makes sense in your PS or DS you can include it there. For example, if you are talking about how you overcame a serious illness your freshman year or how you went to a crappy inner city high school than it might flow naturally in with this info.

Otherwise, a short , non-whiny, 1 paragraph addendum would be fine too.