How to Write a Legal Resume: Tips on Writing a Legal Resume to Get an Attorney Job
By Carina Zaragoza
The following article provides some guidelines for attorneys on writing legal resumes. Legal resumes differ from resumes written for jobs in other fields. Legal resumes may include sections and information, such as lists of representative cases and affiliations, which generally will not be found on other resumes. Highlighting accomplishments is key to writing an effective legal resume that will get you one step closer to landing a legal job.
After your work history and education sections, be sure to list any associations you are a member of as well as work you've done within the legal community.
Begin with Your Legal Experience and Skill Set When Writing Your Legal Resume
Besides the obvious (your name and contact information), your legal resume should begin with a brief attorney profile and your legal experience. Bullet points make it easier for the reader to quickly learn about your legal experience. Be sure to highlight any bar admissions you have at the top of your resume. The legal experience section of your legal resume should be separate from your work history section. Writing your legal resume in this way will highlight your experience and help potential legal employers retain information about your achievements and transferable skills.
List Any Participation in the Legal Field Along with Cases and Legal Affiliations on Your Legal Resume
Employers want to see a well-rounded attorney. After your work history and education sections, be sure to list any associations you are a member of as well as work you've done within the legal community. Any presentations or lectures you have given should also be included.
Use the Active Voice When Writing Your Legal Resume
The legal resume writers at Attorney Resume are experts in writing resumes for attorneys. They concentrate on legal resumes only and are skilled in writing impressive legal resumes that showcase attorneys' skills. The legal resume writers at Attorney Resume recommend using the active voice when writing a legal resume. As one senior legal resume writer suggests, "using strong action verbs in your consistently structured phrases makes your resume easy to read." In your legal experience, representative cases, and legal community involvement sections, be sure to use active verbs.
Frequently Update Your Legal Resume
Andrew Flusche is a recent graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law (class of 2007). He currently works as a staff attorney for the American Life League. In his blog, Legal Andrew: Law for the Rest of Us, Andrew provides some tips for writing legal resumes. He suggests updating your legal resume every six months. His reasoning behind this suggestion to constantly update your legal resume is that "you never know when a new opportunity or contact might spring up; you need to be able to quickly provide your resume so you don't miss out."
From what I've heard, if you wait a couple of years to update your resume, you'll (a) find it difficult to remember exactly what you did during that time and (b) find it difficult to succinctly list all of the accomplishments and experience you've attained in that time. Updating your legal resume every six months will save you time and aggravation when you finally embark on a job search, and you'll always have a current legal resume handy.
It's amazing how many 1L Summer Associate positions I found on LawCrossing, thank you! Jenny
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