Attorney resume template

If you were at one job for a long time, show promotions and increased responsibility, if applicable. If you had many part-time or temporary jobs while in school, consider summarizing them, e. For certain jobs, such as in retail or restaurants, or as a ski instructor, it can be appropriate to omit the description altogether, as most people know roughly what this work entails.

Include summer jobs to avoid time gaps on your resume. Any experience can be relevant, regardless of whether or not it was paid, so if your volunteer or community service is substantial, include it in the main body of your resume, especially if you are applying for public interest positions.

Resume Style. Resume styles vary, as presented by the samples found at the end of this guide. In addition to using physical layout, take advantage of the various ways to highlight important information, such as bold face, capitalization, italicizing, and underlining.

Be completely consistent with the choices you make e. Your heading can be in a different font from the body of the resume if the mix is attractive and both fonts are conservative, and your name can be in a larger font from the rest of the text, for emphasis. Look for a pleasant balance of text and white space on the page. While margins can be smaller than the standard for a term paper, you should allow at least a half-inch all around.

Once you have your resume set up as you want it with content and layout, proofread it carefully. Look for inconsistencies in style as well as actual typos. Do not trust yourself as the only proofreader; enlist the aid of at least one other person.

If you discover a typo, you must redo your resume, even if it has been already been printed; no typo is insignificant. A few technical notes. If you send your resume electronically, it is preferable to convert it to a PDF file first; this way your formatting and any document history are invisible, and you can control exactly the way your resume appears and prints. Email addresses in your contact information should be text, like your phone number, not a hyperlink. Sample Resumes These are included as a pdf to preserve formatting, an essential element of effective resume-drafting.

Return to Contents. Contents A. What is a Resume? Effective Resumes C. Writing Your Resume D. Resume Suggestions E. Finalizing Your Resume Sample Resumes — Students These are included as a pdf to preserve formatting, an essential element of effective resume-drafting.

Effective Resumes Your resume is usually your first contact with a potential employer and will probably determine whether your qualifications and background warrant an interview or serious consideration for a job.

Your resume must be: scrupulously honest; concise; positive; conservative graphically and linguistically, not necessarily politically ; selective because your resume is not your whole life history, perhaps not even your entire employment history ; visually appealing so it will be easy to read rapidly; absolutely free of typos, grammatical errors and inconsistencies.

Writing Your Resume First, brainstorm. Name and Contact Information. Experience Use reverse chronology. But were more like Atticus Finch or Saul Goodman?

In other words, what effect did you have? Elle Woods couldn't have said it better. Yet you may already have the material for a law student resume like that. Pro Tip: Add metrics to the bullet points in your lawyer resume. Billable hours, client satisfaction scores, and number of clients seen all make great measures. Your attorney resume shouldn't read like the tax code. Spice it up with action words to keep the hiring manager engaged. Stipulate them with academic achievements that get the interview like it was ordered in a mandamus.

Let's say you're applying for a job that calls for trial prep and litigation. This first sample attorney resume follows the letter of the law:. PS — Add your bachelor's degree to your law school graduate resume too. See our attorney resume template up top for placement.

Pro Tip: Don't list your law degree as a "Juris Doctorate" on a professional legal resume. The correct format is "Juris Doctor" or "Doctor of Jurisprudence. When should you put your GPA on a law resume? They're for a job opening that seeks skills in reviewing pleadings, drafting discovery requests, and time management. So, select the skills shown in the job description. This legal resume skills list brims with great law resume keywords. Pro Tip: How long should a resume be for a lawyer?

Learn when to use a two page in-house counsel resume and when one page works best. What's the difference between hard and soft skills? Which one should you put on a resume for an attorney? So, according to the American Bar Association :. Pro Tip: Should you add other association memberships to a legal resume? If they don't pertain to your law career, leave them off. They will dilute your message. You can also put your bar status in your summary, and in your lawyer resume experience section.

How much is too much? But it only takes a little head-scratching to turn up enough material for a legal resume like that. Pro Tip: Don't put unpublished journal notes on your new attorney resume.

A note will only impress the hiring manager if it found a home. Want to see what ready-made "other" sections to put in a resume for a lawyer? Do you even need a cover letter for a lawyer resume? I'm intrigued by the company's reliance on emotional intelligence techniques to settle negotiations without going to trial. My interpersonal skills have Close your cover letter with an offer. Pro Tip: Don't make your lawyer cover letter a rehash of your attorney resume in prose form. Just list one or two impressive achievements as evidence that you can do the job.

Career Guide. Go to previous slide. Ebony Moore. Organized and logical professional who clearly presents expertly supported evidence to resolve cases and negotiate settlements. Practice in the areas of medical malpractice, professional liability, and premises liability defense.

Meet with medical experts, witnesses, and clients to prepare testimony for trial. A great way to do that is with the use of action words like "managed" and led". Here are some examples of that on this senior attorney resume. Why this resume works The most difficult step to get to in your attorney career will be obtaining your first full time role.

At times it can feel discouraging and demoralizing. Try not to let you get this down. The focus of your resume at this point in your career should be on your law school career and any internships you've been able to get. If you haven't had any internships yet, that's okay! In that case you can add a "Projects" section to your entry level attorney resume and detail some of the writing you're most proud of from your time in law school.

If you're part of any legal professional organizations then you can include them as well in a dedicated "Professional organizations" section on your resume. Including a career objective can be an effective way to demonstrate to a potential employer your particular interest in their firm and the role you're applying to.