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Admitted, in training or under supervision? Make that clear first, then open the intern, patent analyst or company secretary example.

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Junior lawyer presenting an argument from the counsel table in a courtroom

Legal resume guide

For attorneys, the bar admission line answers an employer's first question: where can you practice?

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Legal jobs: examples, templates and guides

12 jobs
  • South Africa: name your principal's practice areas and any right-of-appearance certificate you hold.

  • Peninsular Malaysia: your master's firm and practice area, then court work after your short call.

  • UK: say if you served a public company, which must have a qualified secretary, or a private one.

  • UK: name your Chartered Governance Institute stage; members qualify as public company secretaries.

  • England and Wales: list Council for Licensed Conveyancers diplomas passed, such as Level 4.

  • List USCIS forms you prepared under an attorney; USCIS says other helpers can't give legal advice.

  • Say who you advocated for, such as survivors or injured workers, and the hearings you went to.

  • Legal Intern

    Examples

    Give the court, agency or firm, then each memo, brief or motion you drafted and its subject.

  • Typing speed with accuracy, the hearings or depositions you transcribe and your turnaround.

  • Panel Lawyer

    Templates

  • Lead with your technical field; don't write registered patent agent until USPTO's final approval.

Patent analyst examining an inventor's prototype with a loupe in a law firm conference room
Legal resume guide

How to write your legal resume

List each state, the year admitted and your status, and note pending results plainly, such as "Passed the Illinois bar exam; admission pending." Lawyers who practice in more than one state usually must meet each state's licensing requirements, the Bureau of Labor Statistics explains, so a second admission is worth showing.

Describe matters without breaking confidentiality: give the practice area, the type of case or deal, its size and your role, but not client names. Count what you carried, such as active matters, briefs or motions drafted, depositions and trials supported, documents reviewed and deals closed. A paralegal credential is optional, yet some employers ask for one. If you've earned NALA's Certified Paralegal (CP) credential, list it with the year, along with your practice areas and the e-filing or case-management systems you use.

A paralegal bullet could look like this: "Drafted discovery responses and deposition outlines for 35 active personal-injury matters, supporting two partners through four trials."

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  • How high on my resume should bar admission go?

    Near the top. Career advice from the University of Toledo College of Law puts a graduate's bar licenses first, in a Licenses section above Experience and Education. Under your state admissions, list any federal courts you're admitted to practice before.

    Passed the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and applying in another state? Say so, with the exam date. The National Conference of Bar Examiners says a UBE score can be transferred to seek admission in other UBE jurisdictions, and each one sets the maximum age of a score it will take, so the date helps a firm judge whether a transfer is still open to you.

  • How long should a law school resume be?

    That depends on who's reading it. For a law school application, follow each school's limit: Harvard Law School asks applicants to keep the resume to one or two pages, and Maryland Carey Law's admissions advice is to cut to one page if you aren't filling more than half of the second.

    Once you're a law student applying for clerkships and summer jobs, plan on one page. Toledo's law career office says most legal employers strongly prefer it, and it suggests a longer resume mainly for a substantial earlier career or for some government and public interest employers.

  • How do I put law school on my resume?

    While you're enrolled, Education goes first: the school, its city and "J.D., expected May 2028." Toledo's career office warns against writing "Juris Doctorate." Put law review, moot court and trial team under the school as honors rather than in a separate Activities section, so a reader doesn't have to guess where you earned them.

    Clinics, externships and placements for credit go under Experience, described like paid jobs. A Legal Intern entry should name the court, agency or firm and the memos or motions you drafted. After graduation, Experience often moves above Education.

Legal resume phrases and examples

Phrase type

Showing 12 of 40

  • Skills

    • Contractual risk assessment

    • Appellate litigation strategy

    Summaries

    • Advised on compliance policies.

    • Achieved a 40% reduction in litigation exposure.

  • Work experience

    • Built strong rapport with inventors.

    • Achieved successful settlements against infringing entities.

    Accomplishments

    • Led a cross-functional team of 17 colleagues in reviewing over 16 patent families, ensuring comprehensive IP protection across global markets.

    • Collaborated with the R&D team to integrate IP strategies in new product development, resulting in 8 successful filings.

  • Skills

    • Multilingual Legal Communication (e.g., French)

    • Policy Drafting & Legal Documentation

    Summaries

    • Chambering Student capable of conducting thorough legal research, reviewing corporate contracts, and supporting complex litigation processes. Provided critical insights to senior attorneys that contributed to case wins and risk mitigation for corporate clients.

    • Analytical and detail-oriented Chambering Student with demonstrated success in reviewing legal documents, drafting cross-examination questions, and conducting due diligence. Contributed to achieving favorable outcomes in 37% of cases through meticulous preparation.

  • Work experience

    • Acted as a liaison between the legal team and other immigration-related service providers in order to improve the quality of client services.

    • Assisted attorneys in crafting personalized legal strategies.

    Accomplishments

    • Regularly updated clients on their case status, contributing to a 21% increased satisfaction rate for customer service and communication.

    • Monitored daily updates from USCIS and ICE to ensure clients’ applications were compliant with the latest regulations.

  • Skills

    • Audio-to-text synchronizing

    • Adherence to legal formats and standards

    Summaries

    • Achieved above 72% accuracy.

    • Achieved 46% error reduction through meticulous proofreading.

  • Work experience

    • Looked into new ways to add value to key client relationships by providing timely material to help clients interact more frequently.

    • Looked over complaints, petitions, motions, and pleadings to see if they were admissible.

    Accomplishments

    • Spearheaded the development of a new document retention policy, reducing the firm’s exposure to future litigation by 58%.

    • Conducted thorough risk assessments related to intellectual property agreements, enhancing the firm’s capabilities in IP protection for clients.

  • Skills

    • Adaptation to legal frameworks

    • Annual General Meeting coordination

    Accomplishments

    • Reviewed and improved capitalization tables, ensuring compliance with corporate policies and achieving 46% more efficient reporting practices.

    • Reduced discrepancies in corporate governance filings by 82% through rigorous auditing and data verification strategies.

    • Co-wrote proposals and policy briefs used to influence legislative reforms in Columbus, leading to the passage of 2020 initiative aimed at improving community safety.

    • Achieved a 72% reduction in trial time.

  • Skills

    • Conflict resolution in real estate transactions

    • Attention to detail in legal documents

    Accomplishments

    • Implemented a document storage and backup system that reduced retrieval times by 17% and improved access to historical case data.

    • Contributed to a successful integration of conveyance operations into SAP, enhancing process transparency and reducing operational costs by 53%.

    • Provided answers to questions about standardized policies, procedures, and regulations.

    • Incoming visitors were greeted warmly, and I provided directions and answered questions.

    • Interning in a financial organization's legal department is a way for me to contribute to the organization's success.

    • Dedicated Legal Intern who understands the importance of meeting deadlines and is an excellent researcher.

    • Advised on evolving corporate governance practices.

    • Achieved a 18% reduction in regulatory risk.

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