RESUME EXAMPLE · OFFICE, FINANCE AND LEGAL
Lawyer resume: attorney example, practice areas and tips for law firms
A lawyer resume has to show at a glance what kind of law you practice and how much responsibility you carry. Law firms and in-house legal teams read it looking for your practice area (employment, litigation, corporate, real estate, criminal), the type of client and the matters you handled yourself, not just the ones you “assisted on.”
Your license matters too. In the US, lawyers are licensed state by state: most are admitted after earning a JD and passing a bar exam, and federal courts have their own admissions. If you’re admitted, put it near the top along with your jurisdictions: it’s the first thing employers verify.
For law students, recent graduates and junior associates, the weight shifts to education (law review, journals, class rank if it helps), summer associate positions, externships and judicial clerkships, legal clinics, moot court and languages. Below is a complete example for an employment and corporate associate in Chicago, plus summaries for each stage of a legal career.
Lawyer resume example
Andrea Kowalski
Associate Attorney | Employment Law and Corporate Transactions
Chicago, IL · andrea@example.com
Professional summary
Associate attorney admitted in Illinois with six years of practice in employment and corporate law for mid-size manufacturing and services companies. Defend employers in discrimination, retaliation and wage-and-hour claims from agency charges through trial, draft and negotiate commercial agreements, and advise HR teams on terminations, handbooks and compliance. Supervise a junior associate and two paralegals and report to the practice group partner. Seeking a senior associate role at a firm or an in-house employment counsel position at an industrial company.
Experience
Hartwell & Brandt LLP · Chicago, IL
- Manage about 40 active employment matters for employer clients, from EEOC and IDHR charges through mediation and trial.
- Resolved more than half of the agency charges filed against clients in 2025 through early mediation or settlement, avoiding litigation.
- Draft and negotiate supply, distribution and confidentiality agreements for industrial clients.
- Updated employee handbooks and employment agreements for four clients after changes in Illinois and federal law.
- Supervise a junior associate and two paralegals on pleadings, discovery responses and motions.
Lakeshore Business Law Group · Oak Brook, IL
- Drafted commercial contracts, operating agreements, board resolutions and powers of attorney for small business clients.
- Second-chaired employment arbitrations and hearings, preparing exhibits and witness outlines under partner supervision.
- Researched case law and statutes on Westlaw for motions and appellate briefs.
- Set up a shared docketing calendar with alerts to track court and filing deadlines for the practice group.
Whitman Doyle LLC · Chicago, IL
- Reviewed court files, tracked filings and calendared deadlines for the litigation team.
- Drafted civil and commercial complaints and motions for review by associates.
- Sat in on client intake meetings and prepared summaries of facts and documents.
Education
Lakefront University School of Law
Riverbend College
Skills
Languages
English · Native Polish · Professional working proficiency
Certifications
- Bar admission: Illinois (2020)
- Admitted to practice: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (2021)
Lawyer resume summary: 3 examples
Your summary is the first thing a recruiter reads. Pick the one closest to your situation and rework it until it sounds like you. You will find more formulas in our resume summary guide.
Recent JD graduate with 18 months as a law clerk at a civil and commercial litigation firm: reviewed case files, drafted complaints and motions and tracked filing deadlines. Advised tenants and parents on housing and child support matters through the law school’s legal clinic, under attorney supervision. Passed the Illinois bar exam, with admission pending. Seeking a first-year associate role with the chance to handle matters of my own under supervision.
Civil litigation attorney admitted in Texas with eight years of practice focused on commercial leases, breach of contract and collections. Handle cases from intake to judgment, including depositions, hearings and enforcement, and counsel individuals and small businesses before disputes reach the courthouse. File daily through the state’s e-filing system and research on Westlaw and Lexis+.
Corporate attorney with 12 years of experience, seven at a law firm and five as in-house counsel for a distribution group. Lead commercial contracting for the group, serve as corporate secretary for three entities and manage outside counsel on litigation and transactions. Implemented a contract management system with templates and an approval workflow that shortened signing times. Fluent in Spanish, including legal terminology.
How to describe your experience as a lawyer
Start each bullet with an action verb and, whenever you can, add the result. Use these lines as a starting point: swap in your own details and delete anything you have not done.
- Obtained favorable outcomes in [number] of [number] civil cases handled as lead counsel in [year].
- Negotiated pre-suit settlements that avoided litigation and reduced costs for the client.
- Drafted a master services agreement that the firm adopted as its standard template.
- Reviewed corporate and employment records in due diligence for a $[amount] acquisition and prepared the risk memo.
- Set up a docketing system for court deadlines, with no missed deadlines in [number] years.
- Advised HR leaders on terminations, reductions in force, accommodation requests and union negotiations.
- Briefed and argued [number] appeals before the state appellate court, with [number] decided in the client’s favor.
- Trained junior associates and paralegals on drafting and legal research databases.
- Handled [number] pro bono matters through a local legal aid organization, from intake to resolution.
- Coordinated with foreign counsel on cross-border contracts drafted in English and Spanish.
- Published an article on [topic] in a state bar journal.
Skills for a lawyer resume
Hard skills
- Litigation and motion practice
- Legal research and writing
- Contract drafting and negotiation
- Employment law
- Civil litigation (contracts and torts)
- Corporate and business law
- Due diligence
- Negotiation and mediation
- Discovery and depositions
- Westlaw, Lexis+ and Bloomberg Law
- E-filing: CM/ECF and state court systems
- E-discovery platforms (Relativity)
- Privacy and regulatory compliance
Soft skills
- Oral advocacy
- Critical analysis
- Discretion and client confidentiality
- Handling pressure and deadlines
- Client relationships
- Precise, concise writing
- Working with paralegals, experts and opposing counsel
Only list skills you can back up with an example from your experience. More ideas in our guide to resume skills.
Common keywords in lawyer job postings
These terms show up often in job postings for this role. If they truly describe you, use them with the same wording as the posting so both the recruiter and the applicant tracking system (ATS) can find them.
Tips for your lawyer resume
Lead with your bar admission and practice area
Put your license status near the top, in your headline or summary: the states where you’re admitted (and federal courts, if relevant) plus your practice areas. Law firm recruiters screen for that first. If you aren’t admitted yet, say exactly where you stand: “Passed the Illinois bar exam; admission pending” or “Sitting for the July bar exam.”
Describe matters, not just duties
Swap “handled litigation” for the type of matter, your role and the outcome: “defended 30 wrongful termination claims as lead counsel, most resolved at mediation.” Don’t reveal client names or anything covered by privilege or your duty of confidentiality; the industry, the client’s size and the approximate amount in dispute are enough when relevant. Many attorneys add a short “Representative Matters” section for this.
Mention the tools you use every day
Westlaw, Lexis+ or Bloomberg Law, CM/ECF and your state’s e-filing system, e-discovery platforms like Relativity and practice management software like Clio. Details like these show you can hit the ground running, and they appear in postings for junior associates. Our guide to resume skills shows how to work them in without turning them into a filler list.
Tailor your lawyer resume to firm or in-house roles
A firm wants to see depth in a practice area, the matters you handled and how you work with partners and clients; an in-house team wants business judgment, contract volume and experience managing outside counsel. Government and public interest employers often look for caseload and courtroom experience. Reorder your summary and bullets for each target. Mi Resumen’s AI assistant can tailor your resume to a job posting you paste, and you review every change before applying it.
Your resume is a writing sample
Lawyers are judged by how they write: short sentences, no legalese, no typos and consistent dates. If a sentence needs three clauses, split it. Keep it to one page as a student or junior associate; with more experience, two pages are justified if you include representative matters, deals or publications.
Frequently asked questions
What should I put on my resume right after law school?
Your JD (with honors, law review or journals, and class rank if it helps), your undergraduate degree, summer associate positions, externships or judicial internships, legal clinics and moot court or mock trial. Say which documents you drafted and what you researched, not just where you worked. Our guide to a resume with no experience shows the structure.
How do I list bar admissions on a resume?
Add a “Bar Admissions” line or section with each state and year, plus any federal courts you’re admitted to. If your license is inactive in a state, say so, because it affects what you can do there. If admission is pending, name the exam you passed and when you expect to be admitted, rather than implying you’re already licensed.
What’s the difference between a law clerk, a summer associate and a paralegal?
A summer associate is a law student working at a firm for the summer, often with a post-graduation offer at stake; a law clerk can be a student working at a firm during the school year or a graduate clerking for a judge; a paralegal supports attorneys and isn’t a lawyer. List any of these like a regular job, with the employer, dates and specific tasks: it’s real experience, and firms value it.
Should I put my GPA and class rank on my resume?
As a student or junior associate with strong grades, yes: many firms ask for them, and some also ask for a transcript. After several years of practice, they matter less than the matters you’ve handled, and you can drop them.
Do I need a cover letter for a law firm?
Mid-size and large firms usually expect one, and it’s your first writing sample. Explain why that firm and that practice group, and which similar matters you’ve handled. Our guide on how to write a cover letter has the structure.