Lawyer resume template: example & tips
Law firms, legal departments and government offices read a legal resume for credentials and quality first: bar admissions, law school, class rank or honors, law review and clerkships. Then they look at practice areas and the matters you worked on. A strong legal resume is as precise and understated as a well-drafted brief.
Our pick
Harvard Executive
PremiumATS-safe ✅Why this template
Serif type and strict order – the way law firms and legal departments expect a resume. Organization in bold, role in italics, dates right-aligned: classic and quick to read.
Example summary
Your summary sits right below your name. Replace everything in square brackets with your own details.
[Practice area] attorney with [number] years of experience, most recently as [role] at [firm or company]. Admitted in [state(s)]; J.D. from [law school], [honors]. Experienced in [litigation/transactions/advisory] for [client type], including [type of matters]. Available from [date].
What a strong Lawyer resume looks like
Sample bullet points for your experience. Where it says [number], put your own figure – made-up numbers fall apart in the interview.
- Advised [number] mid-sized clients on employment matters, from contracts to restructurings
- Drafted motions and briefs in [number] state and federal cases
- Supported due diligence for [number] acquisitions with a combined deal value of [amount]
- Drafted and negotiated master service agreements with vendors and customers
- Built a privacy compliance guide for [number] employees
- Clerked for the Honorable [name], [court]
- Published an article on [topic] in [journal]
Hard skills
- Practice areas: [e.g. employment, corporate, IP, privacy]
- Contract drafting and negotiation
- Litigation, motions and briefs
- Due diligence and transaction support
- Compliance and internal policies
- Legal research (e.g. Westlaw, Lexis)
- Depositions and client counseling
- E-discovery platforms
Soft skills – with proof
- Precise writing in briefs and emails
- Explaining complex legal issues in plain language
- Composure under filing deadlines
- Discretion and integrity
ATS keywords for Lawyer resumes
Terms that come up often in job ads for this role. Only use what is true for you – ideally in the wording of the ad you are applying to.
- Attorney
- Lawyer
- Associate
- In-House Counsel
- Bar Admission
- J.D.
- Litigation
- Contract Drafting
- Corporate Law
- Employment Law
- Compliance
- Due Diligence
- Legal Research
- Westlaw
Tips for your Lawyer resume
- Put bar admissions right below your name or in a dedicated section, with states and years.
- List law school with honors, law review, moot court and class rank if it helps you. Early in your career, firms weigh these heavily.
- Describe matters anonymously but concretely: industry, size, your role. Confidentiality first – client names don’t belong on a resume.
- Clerkships, publications and pro bono work belong in their own sections. They are strong signals in the legal market.
- Keep formatting conservative: one or two pages, a serif font, no graphics. Legal readers notice every inconsistency.
Salary
Pay depends on location, employer, experience and certification – a single number says little. For current figures by occupation, see the Occupational Outlook Handbook (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Occupational Outlook Handbook (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)