Legal resumes are conservative by design - and precise to a fault. Whether you're a law student, associate, or experienced attorney, hiring partners and legal recruiters expect a formal, error-free document that signals exactly the right credentials. Here's how to write one.
Put your education and bar admissions up top
State education, honors and bar admissions accurately, including the relevant jurisdiction and current status where appropriate. Use professional titles and designations only when you are entitled to use them.
Lead with practice areas and matters
Litigation, corporate, IP, real estate, M&A - state your areas clearly. Where appropriate, describe the type and scale of matters you've worked, within confidentiality limits.
Show results and responsibility
Describe matters and responsibilities that you actually handled, within confidentiality limits. Fictional illustration: "Second-chaired a $15M commercial matter to a favorable settlement." The statement "Assisted with litigation" does not establish that role, amount or outcome; do not present it as a factual rewrite.
Keep it formal, precise, and flawless
Law is a detail profession; a single typo undermines you. Use a traditional, conservative layout, consistent formatting, and proofread relentlessly.
Don't overlook the ATS
Firms and legal departments screen with software too. Standard headings, single column, keywords from the posting. Here's the ATS checklist.
Start from a legal template
The Legal Resume Template is an editable Word resume template with bracketed prompts and a fictional SAMPLE PDF example. Customize the Word file with your own accurate information. Hiring outcomes and compatibility with every applicant-tracking system are not guaranteed. Check the current preview and delivered file for the actual layout.
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