Law Resume Examples
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Additional top-requested law resume examples are for lawyer, attorney and legal assistant. If you’re looking for another job title, scroll on — we have dozens more great examples below.
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Roles in Law By Type
Here you’ll find links to all the resume examples we have for law job titles organized by: attorney and lawyer roles, court and government legal roles, legal consultant roles, paralegals and legal assistant roles, patent legal roles, public and social justice roles and real estate legal roles.
Attorney and Lawyer Roles
Court and Government Legal Roles
Legal Consultant Roles
Paralegals and Legal Assistant Roles
Patent Legal Roles
Public and Social Justice Roles
Real Estate Legal Roles
Job Outlook
Employment demand for lawyers is expected to increase 4% by 2029, but competition for jobs is expected to remain tight according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That means if you want to land a role it is very important that you ensure your resume is strong. Follow our professional resume writing tips to make sure your resume is in top form.
3 Tips for Writing Law Resumes
1. Choose the right format for your resume
As you know from your work in law, the way you present an argument can be a crucial factor in whether or not you convince the people whose opinions matter.
With your resume it’s no different. You’re trying to make the case for why you should be hired, and the resume format you choose is how you’re presenting your argument.
There are three main resume-format types: chronological, functional and hybrid
The main difference between the three formats is where the primary focus is placed on your resume, whether you’re going to use your skills or your work experience to make your case for employment.
Chronological formats work best for legal professionals with years of experience because they put the emphasis on roles you’ve held, cases you’ve worked on, duties you’ve performed, and show a career progression. If you’ve got five years’ or more experience, this should be your go-to format.
However, if you’re fresh out of law school or transferring from a different industry, you should choose a different format that better suits your experience level.
Functional formats put greater emphasis on your skills and education which takes attention away from your newness to the field. If you have less than two years’ experience as a law professional, this format is ideal.
A hybrid format is a combination of the functional and chronological formats and gives a more even balance between your work history and skills. If you’ve worked for more than two years in law, but less than five years total, use this format.
2. Promote your skills
While every role in law may have its own set of necessary skills, there are skills desired across the entire field.
Try to include six-to-eight important skills that you bring to the table to feature in your resume.
Useful legal skills often include:
Do a close read of the job posting or ad — the phrases and keywords listed are your best indication of exactly what the employer seeks in a candidate.
Echo back some of those key skills with the same phrasing the employer uses when they apply to you. If you expand on these skills, use more space to talk about them.
3. Use a template to make sure your resume looks outstanding.
Law is a very traditional field where appearance means a lot — just as you wouldn’t show up to court in casual clothes, you shouldn’t let the appearance of your resume slack.
That’s why you should use a resume template to ensure that your resume looks professional and polished and gets noticed by employers.
A template is just a preformatted document created by a design professional so that you don’t have to worry about fonts, margins, composition or color schemes.
All you have to do is select a template that you like and fill in your personal information. Once you save it you’re ready to start applying to jobs.
JobHero has some great resume templates for your use
Even better, JobHero features a Resume Builder that allows you to choose from a selection of templates and takes the automation a step further.
The builder auto-suggests phrases to describe your work history that are tailored to the specific job title that you’re applying for.
JobHero’s Resume Builder is like having a legal veteran look over your shoulder to guide you through the resume-writing process.
FAQ
What should I put on my resume for law?
As with any resume, you’ll need the five main sections: contact information, professional summary or objective statement, skills, work history and education.
The main areas to sell yourself in your law resume should be found in your skills and work experience sections. Those are the spaces where you have to show employers that you’re the right candidate for the job.
It’s also useful to include some numbers on your resume to give a scope of your work to hiring managers.
For example, a paralegal could include statistics like this:
Obviously, it’s important to use numbers that are flattering, but ethics is the cornerstone of law. So, never make up or embellish your numbers — lying on your resume will only backfire.
How do I list education on a law resume?
The law can have a great impact on people’s lives, so it makes sense that higher education is required for most roles in law.
Include all education starting with your highest degree attained by listing the name of the institution, its city/state, the degree you obtained (if any) and your major(s) if applicable.
It should look something like this:
Acacia University Greenwell, ME
J.D., Maritime Law
Campbell College Oswego, NY
B.A., Philosophy
If you have attended college, it’s unnecessary to list education prior to that such as high school.
Also, it used to be customary to list the year that you earned your degree, but including a date with your degree can indicate your approximate age, which can lead to potential hiring bias issues.
Many qualified law professionals also may need to list certain certifications from the American Bar Association (ABA), including for instance, passing the bar or earning your paralegal certification.
Create a special section to list these achievements called “Licenses and Certifications.”
However, make sure that you are very clear about your status with the bar — whether you’ve been officially admitted and if so, to which state(s).
What kind of work experience should I put on a law resume?
Try to keep all the work experience you include in a resume focused on law.
The more your work history aligns with this new role, the more hiring managers are apt to give you serious consideration.
You can include work from other industries outside of law, however, try to keep that experience relevant to the industry.
If you’re fresh out of school or changed from a new industry, try to tailor the experience you include on your resume to feature duties that might be in line with the job that you’re applying for.
Try to include any experience you might have with research, data entry, organization, writing, public speaking, presentations, knowledge of local codes or ordinances, teamwork or administration.
How do I write a solid summary statement for a law resume?
A summary statement is a brief two-to-three sentence synopsis of your greatest work achievements and accomplishments that sits at the top of your resume just under your contact info.
The goal is to turn your career in law into a sales pitch for your strongest qualities that will elicit excitement from hiring managers and give more attention to your resume.
In order to write a solid one, you want to mention notable achievements and your top skills that separate you from other candidates.
For example, a solid summary statement might look something like this:
“Dedicated environmental lawyer with 8+ years’ experience thrives on holding corporations responsible for their negative actions. My prior efforts against Robeson LLC led to a $37 million claim in habitat damages that funded state restoration efforts. My knowledge of environmental law combined with my skills in litigation, public speaking and emotional appeal have been the cornerstone of my success.”
Should I include a cover letter with my law resume?
Yes. Law is a traditional field and it’s the professional expectation in law that you always include a cover letter when you submit your resume.
You also don’t want to miss this opportunity to really sell your skills and what you bring to the table.
More than most professions, law also lends itself to telling a story about your experience that will help engage employers. Discussing a big case that you worked on, a kink in your firm’s operations that you worked out or the narrative of your career growth could help you resonate with employers greatly.
To get started writing your own impactful letter, check out JobHero’s law cover letter examples. There’s a great selection of well-written letters for many jobs in the law field.
If you want a bit more instruction, JobHero also has a step-by-step guide on how to write a cover letter that will break it down for you and make creating a great letter easy.