The Lawyer Résumé Guide
We spend a lot of time reading lawyers’ résumés (and cover letters), so we thought it might be helpful to share some basic pointers. We recommend following these stylistic, formatting and content guidelines, which reflect a conservative approach:
Style & Formatting:
Use black, Times New Roman font. Using a traditional font indicates that you can follow conventions (which is important in a field as rule-bound as law).
Use wide, justified margins (0.5” looks great). These allow the text to fill up the page.
Sections should be ordered: (1) Experience (2) Education (3) Bar Admissions (or “Bar Admissions & Skills”). Your post-law school experience is the most relevant information to an employer, so it should come first (unlike when you were in law school).
Relatedly, use reverse chronological order when listing work and educational entries.
Dates should be aligned right, and should include months (“May 2020 - June 2022”). Not including months may send up a red flag, particularly with respect to recently held positions.
Most junior attorneys’ résumés should fill a single page. More experienced attorneys may need two pages, especially if the résumé contains a list of publications.
Content:
Sometimes omit, never lie. A résumé for a law firm or in-house position does not need to include high school or college jobs. These are generally irrelevant to your legal abilities and career. Conversely, all legal and post-law school positions should be included.
Undergraduate GPA does not need to be included. Recent graduates may include their law school GPA, but it’s not strictly necessary. It may be a good idea to include one or both GPAs if particularly strong. Regardless, law school transcripts are a required component of law firm applications.
Emphasize skills relevant to the role/s to which you’re applying. For instance, an applicant for a general commercial litigation position may want to emphasize motion practice, deposition, and pretrial experience. It would probably be unhelpful to include details of an IP matter you assisted with.
Don’t sell yourself short. If you previously failed the bar, you do not need to disclose it on your résumé, so long as you’re currently licensed. If you worked on a PIPE deal, but do not fully understand PIPE mechanics, that’s fine. You did the work, so it’s fair to include the experience on your résumé.
