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
For attorneys, education carries weight: JD, school, honors, law review, plus your bar admissions and the states. Make these prominent and precise.
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
Cases handled, deals closed, motions won, clients advised, teams led. Second-chaired a $15M commercial litigation to a favorable settlement says more than assisted with litigation.
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
Our Legal Resume Template is traditional and precise - built for attorneys and associates, with room for education, bar admissions, and matters. Editable in Word and Canva at digitalai.store.