Writing a great legal resume starts with understanding the building blocks of a legal resume. Use these examples to write the best resume for your position.
Legal Resume Examples to Help You Succeed This Year
Legal Resume Example
Getting a new job in the legal field can seem a bit daunting, especially if you’re not used to writing resumes. Showing a potential employer that you have all the skills necessary to win legal battles isn’t always easy. Even with the ResumeNerd resume builder, it’s not something that comes naturally to many people. Here’s how you can write a great legal resume.
Jobs That Can Use Legal Resumes
Many positions exist within the legal profession. Here are a few jobs that you can use this professional resume for:
- Paralegal
- Lawyer
- Law student
- Legal research expert
- Expert in different fields of law (Family law, immigrant law, disability law)
- Law firm worker
No matter what niche you practice in, these tips for creating your resume will help you craft the right law resume for any need.
Essentials to Boost Your Career
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Legal Resume Examples You Can Use
If you’re looking for resume samples, look no further than the variety of lawyer resume examples available at ResumeNerd. These resume examples can be a great way to understand what the perfect resume should look like, allowing you to create each section of your resume in the most effective way possible.
Tips for Creating Your Legal Resume
- Don’t include a high school diploma in your education section. A hiring manager will assume you created high school because you went through law school.
- Most recruiters don’t care much about your GPA in school. However, other school accomplishments, such as graduating cum laude, may work in your favor.
- Before choosing a legal resume template, check the company website you plan to apply for. This can give you some pointers regarding the law firm’s personal style.
Important Elements For Legal Resumes
Before you start writing your resume, you want to choose the right resume format. Your choice between the chronological format, functional format and combination format will depend on how much experience you have and what you want to emphasize. Once you’ve decided on a format, here’s how to construct the rest of your resume.
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Resume summary/objective
At the top of your resume, you’ll include a two- or three-sentence paragraph that will either be a resume summary or resume objective. A resume summary works best for those with lots of experience and goes over your best achievements and experience. A resume objective works best for those with less experience and covers your qualifications and skills.
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Skills
All legal resumes need a mix of soft skills and hard skills. However, beyond basic skills like knowing how to read legal documents, the specific skills you cite as part of your resume will depend on your job title, legal experience and job search. It’s best to look at the job description and decide what skills you will include based on the description itself.
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Education
Depending on the position you’re aiming for, you may need a Doctor of Law degree on your legal resume. The most common degree to practice law in the United States is the Juris Doctor degree. List all your degrees you have in an education section.
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Certifications
Of course, if you’ve passed your bar exam, include your bar admission on your resume. You can also include affiliation or memberships with any legal organizations, especially organizations that have to do with your specific niche.
