About This Resume

Law firms, government offices and company legal departments read attorney resumes with a lawyer's eye, so a loose phrase or an unexplained gap stands out more than it would in most fields. Precision counts. Whether you are a third-year associate, a government lawyer moving to private practice or a lawyer trained abroad with a new LL.M., your resume has to show where you are admitted, what kind of law you practice and which work you did yourself.

Hiring partners and legal recruiters usually look at bar admissions and law school first, then at practice area and years of experience. Specifics matter after that: the kinds of matters you handled, the courts or agencies you appeared before and your share of the work. For an LL.M. graduate, the degree goes in the education section next to the first law degree, and the resume should say plainly where you are licensed to practice.

What to Include

  • Bar admissions with the state and year, plus any federal courts you are admitted to practice before
  • Law school, degree, graduation year, honors, and law review or moot court
  • Practice areas in the terms firms use, such as commercial litigation or estate planning
  • Representative matters described without confidential client names or details
  • Your role in each matter: drafted, argued, negotiated, handled discovery or second-chaired
  • For LL.M. holders, the LL.M. specialty, your first law degree and the places you are licensed
  • Publications, continuing legal education (CLE) teaching, pro bono work and languages used in practice

Attorney Resume Sample

Sample resume. The person, employers and contact details are fictional.

Gideon Achterberg

Tax Attorney
Minneapolis, MN | gideon.achterberg@example.com | (555) 018-6621

Summary

Tax attorney with seven years in partnership and state tax matters, admitted in Minnesota and Wisconsin, with an LL.M. in Taxation. Drafts partnership agreements, handles audits and appeals before the state revenue department and explains tax exposure in plain terms to business owners.

Experience

Associate Attorney, Tax Group, Brandvold Kessler LLP, Minneapolis, MN 2021 to present

  • Advise about 40 closely held businesses a year on entity choice, partnership allocations and state tax exposure.
  • Represented clients in 11 state sales and use tax audits, resolving nine at the audit stage and two on administrative appeal.
  • Draft and negotiate operating and partnership agreements for real estate and restaurant clients.
  • Write a monthly tax update sent to about 900 clients and contacts.

Associate Attorney, Ekberg Moe PLLC, St. Paul, MN 2019 to 2021

  • Handled discovery and motion practice in commercial contract disputes for a five-lawyer litigation team.
  • Second-chaired two bench trials and argued 14 motions in state district court.
  • Drafted appellate briefs in two cases before the state court of appeals.

Education

LL.M. in Taxation, Carrick University School of Law, 2019

J.D., cum laude, Carrick University School of Law, 2018
Articles editor, law review

B.A., Accounting, Wyeth Falls College, 2015

Skills

Federal and state income tax, Sales and use tax audits and appeals, Partnership and LLC agreements, Entity formation and restructuring, Legal research (Westlaw, Lexis), Motion practice and appellate briefs, Client letters and memos in plain English

Bar Admissions

  • Minnesota, 2018
  • Wisconsin, 2020
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, 2019
  • United States Tax Court, 2020

Publications and Speaking

  • "Sales Tax on Remote Sellers, Five Years On," state bar tax section newsletter, 2024
  • Speaker, county bar CLE program on partnership audits, 2023

Tips for Your Attorney Resume

  • Give bar admissions their own section, with the year for each. If you are waiting on bar results, say so, for example "Bar results pending, July exam."
  • Describe matters by type and by your role, and leave out client names unless they are already public and the client would not mind. "Second-chaired a two-week breach of contract trial" is specific and safe.
  • Keep an associate's resume to one or two pages. Partners and senior counsel often attach a separate list of representative matters so the resume itself stays short.
  • If you hold an LL.M. from a US law school and a first law degree from another country, list both with the country and year, and state where you are licensed to practice.
  • Name your writing. Law review notes, articles and appellate briefs show writing skill, which firms test anyway with a writing sample.
  • Use the practice-area words from the posting. A firm hiring for "commercial litigation" will look for that phrase, and "civil disputes" can slip past a quick read.
  • Proofread twice, then ask another lawyer to read it. A typo costs more on a lawyer's resume than on most others, because careful reading is the job.

Next steps: the resume writing guide covers every section in detail, and the template library has layouts for other fields and career stages.