4 Lawyer Resume Examples & Writing Guide
Written By Samuel Johns
Reviewed By Geoffrey ScottMake a strong case for yourself and your hirability with a professional lawyer resume. Follow our proven writing advice and examine our four lawyer resume examples to draft a document that lands you the legal role you're applying for.
Want a different design? Check out our collection of resume templates for even more choices.
Lawyer resume template (text format)
As a lawyer, you want to emphasize your education and professional experience to firms. Format your resume similarly to this example to impress employers:
- Define and develop legal policies and procedures while advising on all major business transactions
- Draft and review contracts and internal policies in accordance with all applicable regulations
- Negotiate with opposing parties to avoid litigation and reach resolutions. Have thus far overseen 20+ mediations, achieving a 90% settlement rate
- Reduced corporation’s reliance on external legal counsel, decreasing legal fees by over 60% annually
- Implemented a global intellectual property strategy over a 4-year period
- Advised executives regarding legal rights, opportunities, and obligations
- Conducted legal research and reviewed transactions to ensure maximum benefit to the company with minimal risk
- Drafted and renewed agreements on a weekly basis for product distribution, supply, licensing, and advertising
- Maintained a 95% satisfaction rate with company executives
- Monitored changes to employment law at federal, state, and national levels
- Corporate law
- Written and oral communication
- Legal research
- Time management
- Critical thinking
- Negotiation and settlement
- Documentation
- Mediation
Lawyer resumes by experience level and legal specialty
Whether you’re taking your first steps into the legal profession or you’re an experienced advocate, we have the right lawyer resume samples for you.
Legal intern resume
If you’re still in law school, you’re probably looking for a law internship. Here’s an effective law intern resume example that you can use to get ideas for your own:
Legal intern resume example highlights
- Volunteer experience: This job seeker has volunteered for the Legal Aid Society in New York, which will show potential employers that they’ve developed some of the skills necessary for an internship.
- Prominent education section: If you’re still in law school, place your education section up top, after your resume summary. You can then list any relevant coursework that has links to the job you want. For example, this candidate is applying for an internship at a corporate law firm so they mention Corporate Law and Contract Law among their relevant coursework.
Experienced attorney resume
If you’ve been a lawyer for a few years, you’ll have developed excellent legal skills, a work history worth showcasing, and a track record of success. Highlight these facets effectively with an experienced attorney resume like this one:
Experienced attorney resume example highlights
- Job descriptions: This high-level attorney explains the missions of their prior organizations, as well as the roles they played within them. This shows hiring managers that they’ve worked in roles with a similar scope and can quickly transition to their target role.
- Quantified bullet points: This attorney resume sample features quantified resume achievements. Adding numbers to your resume will show hiring managers how well you can apply your legal skills and give them an insight into what you can achieve for them if you’re selected for the role.
Real estate attorney resume
Do you specialize in real estate law? You’ll need a real estate attorney resume that looks like this:
Real estate attorney resume example highlights
- Proven skills: This applicant mentions skills in their additional skills section that they back up in their bullet points. For example, they mention document drafting and then specify that they’ve drafted 1,000+ regulatory agreements, notes, and mortgages in a prior role.
- Real estate successes: This candidate uses numbers to showcase their real estate successes, stating that they close 150+ secured loan transactions annually.
Tips for junior lawyers
In this video, former lawyers and YouTubers Lloyd and Em provide their top tips for junior lawyers:
How to write a lawyer resume
We’ve compiled the following four tips that’ll help you hone your attorney resume and make a positive impression on law firms, NGOs, and government departments.
1. Start off strong with a lawyer resume summary
Your lawyer resume summary should highlight your key skills, any major cases you’ve argued or won, and your educational background. To use an analogy, your resume summary is your opening argument — it should keep readers wanting to learn more about you.
Here are three examples of attorney resume summaries:
Dedicated and compassionate public defender with 8+ years of experience representing indigent clients in criminal cases. Proven track record in providing robust defense strategies, negotiating plea bargains, and advocating for clients’ rights in court. Skilled in case investigation, legal research, and client counseling, with a commitment to ensuring justice and fair treatment for all individuals.
Highly skilled and disciplined O-5 JAG officer with 10 years of experience in military legal affairs. Expertise in the UCMJ, operational law, and international law, providing legal support to military personnel and commanders. Adept at conducting courts-martial, advising on rules of engagement, and ensuring compliance with military regulations. Committed to upholding the principles of military law and contributing to the mission of the US Navy’s JAG Corps.
Innovative and detail-oriented patent lawyer with 7+ years of experience in intellectual property law. Specialize in patent prosecution, patent litigation, and IP strategy for clients in technology and biotech industries. Proficient in drafting and filing patent applications, conducting patentability searches, and defending clients’ IP rights in court. Dedicated to helping clients protect and commercialize their innovations through comprehensive legal support.
2. Quantify your successes in the legal field
Adding numbers is a surefire way to make your resume achievements stand out. As a lawyer, you should be able to keep track of statistics like:
- Cases won
- Clients represented
- Damages/amounts won
- Contracts negotiated
- Legal documents drafted
- Court appearances
- Settlement agreements reached
- Hours of pro bono work completed
And then add them to your resume. Here’s an example of a quantified attorney resume:
Quantified bullet points for an immigration lawyer resume
- Represented 200+ clients in immigration court, achieving a 90% success rate in asylum cases
- Drafted and submitted 150+ immigration petitions, including H-1B, L-1, and O-1 visa applications, with an approval rate of 95%
- Conducted 300+ client consultations, providing expert legal advice on immigration matters and potential legal outcomes
- Successfully negotiated 50+ deportation defense cases, resulting in favorable outcomes for clients and avoiding deportation in 80% of cases
- Provided pro bono legal services to 100+ low-income individuals, helping them navigate the complexities of immigration law and secure legal status
3. Highlight your bar admissions
You’ll need to be a member of the bar in your state (or federally) in order to practice law in your jurisdiction, so make that clear by including your bar membership details on your resume (normally in your education section). Here’s how that might look:
- U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island — Admitted 20XX
4. Emphasize your legal skills
Depending on your role and legal field, you’ll need certain hard skills on your resume. A district attorney will need different skills from a public defender, for example, and a real estate attorney will have different skills than a civil rights lawyer.
Still, there are some hard skills all lawyers will have in common. If you’re having trouble locating specific hard skills in the job description, you can add some of these to your resume:
- Legal research
- Contract drafting
- Litigation
- Case management
- Negotiation
- Document review
- Legal writing
- Client counseling
- Regulatory compliance
- Discovery process
- Deposition taking
- Trial preparation
- Courtroom procedures
- Statutory interpretation
- Legal analysis
Resume examples for different industries
Not sure what your resume should look like? The best way to learn is by taking inspiration from resume examples written by other candidates in your industry.
Average lawyer salaries in the US
After you’ve written your resume, make sure you use it to apply for jobs within a fair salary range.
The following table includes information from the most recent US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report (May 2024). Here are the ten states with the highest salaries for lawyers, as well as the national average for your reference when applying for work.
Top 10 states by average lawyer salary
| State | Salary / Year |
|---|---|
| California | $254,170 |
| District of Columbia | $236,700 |
| Massachusetts | $218,340 |
| New York | $208,080 |
| Delaware | $196,880 |
| Connecticut | $188,990 |
| New Jersey | $186,430 |
| Georgia | $185,830 |
| Illinois | $177,740 |
| Virginia | $173,200 |
| National Average | $182,760 |
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4 Lawyer Resume Examples & Writing Guide
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