As an attorney, your resume needs to persuasively argue your case for why you’re the right candidate for the job.
Crafting a standout resume is as crucial as presenting a strong case in court, so let’s get you prepared for the jury of hiring managers.
Check out our attorney resume writing guide, complete with an attorney resume example, that’ll set you up for success.
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Attorney Resume Example
This example Attorney resume showcases the optimal structure and great content to include in your own resume.
Designed to be professional and easy for recruiters to read, it serves as an excellent example of a good Attorney resume.
Next, we’ll guide you through the process of developing a compelling Attorney resume of your own.
Attorney resume structure & format
Resume structure
If you want to bag job interviews, you need to give recruiters the info they want.
These are the key sections you need to include in your resume structure:
- Contact details: Your name and how to get in touch with you.
- Resume summary: A brief summary of your skills and experience – designed to grab recruiters’ attention.
- Core skills: A bullet pointed list of your most relevant Attorney skills.
- Work experience: Your recent job history in reverse chronological order.
- Education: A list of your education and qualifications.
- Additional info (optional): Any other information that could sway a hiring decision in your favour (like hobbies and interests).
How to format your Attorney resume
A well-formatted resume catches the eye of recruiters and makes it simple for them to review it.
Follow these resume format guidelines to ensure your resume is both attractive and easy to navigate.
- Resume length: Keep your resume short and sweet, ideally around 1 to 2 pages, as recruiters have loads to get through daily and not much time to read each one.
- Font & colour scheme: Opt for a straightforward font that’s easy on the eyes, avoiding fancy ones that could be hard to read. Stick to a black-text-on-white background, but don’t hesitate to add a touch of colour to make your resume pop.
- Page layout: Divide the page into clearly visible sections using bold headings or borders, so that readers can quickly pinpoint the information they want.
- Break text up: Break up text with concise bullet points and brief paragraphs, ensuring busy recruiters can easily absorb the info.
- Photos: Photos aren’t necessary in Australia, but if you want, you can include a small headshot at the top.
Quick tip: Achieving a professional look for your resume can be difficult and time-consuming. If you want to create an attractive resume quickly, try our Resume Builder and use one of our eye-catching professional resume templates.
Contact Details
Employers need to know who you are, and how to contact you – so whilst your contact details section is fairly simple, it’s important to get it right.
Add these 4 essential details to the top of your resume, trying not to take up too much space:
- Your name and a professional title: (e.g. Finance Assistant or Account Manager) tailor the title to match your target jobs.
- Email address: Ensure that it look professional (e.g. Jade-gowers@gmail.com) and don’t use an old one with your school nickname in like jazzyjade69@gmail.com
- Phone number: Ideally your mobile so that you can be easily reached. Don’t forget to triple check the number is correct!
- Location: Add the general location of where you are looking to work (e.g. Melbourne, Adelaide)
You can also add some of the following details optionally.
- Webpage links: you can link out to a relevant social profile such as LinkedIn or even a portfolio. Make sure anything you link to is high-quality and kept up-to-date.
- Photograph: Photographs aren’t normally required but employers in creative industries sometimes like to see them. If you decide to add, make sure that you look professional and don’t take up too much space on the page with it.
You do not need to add personal details such as your date of birth, full address, or gender. These details aren’t needed to make a hiring decision and will waste space on your resume.
Attorney Resume Summary
Your resume summary is a short introductory paragraph at the top of the page, designed to give recruiters a high-level overview of your suitability.
If you want to hook recruiters attention and encourage them to read more of your resume, do the following:
- Keep it short: Aim for a concise summary of 3 to 5 sentences, ensuring it can be quickly scanned. You can elaborate on details later, in the work experience section.
- Tailor to target jobs: Fill your summary with as many keywords from the job adverts you are targeting as possible. This will ensure recruiters instantly see your suitability.
- Avoid using cliches: Avoid falling into the trap of labeling yourself as a “go-getter” or a “people person” – these phrases are overused and lack substance for employers.
Attorney resume summary example
What to include in your Attorney resume summary
- Summary of your experience: Summarise the range of positions you’ve held and the companies you’ve been associated with to offer employers a complete understanding of your professional experiences.
- Relevant skills: Showcase your key skills, emphasising those tailored for Attorney roles.
- Qualifications: Add a brief mention of any qualifications that are relevant to Attorney jobs, to show that you are qualified for the role.
- Benefits of hiring you: Employers want to know what value you will bring them, whether it’s increasing their revenue or helping them to complete projects ahead of schedule.
Quick tip: Choose from hundreds of pre-written summaries across all industries, and add one to your resume with one-click in our Resume Builder. All written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset and style.
Core skills section
Enhance the impact of your resume by adding a section for core skills.
List your key skills that are highly valued in Attorney jobs in bullet points and keep each item concise – no more than four words – to quickly draw the attention of busy hiring managers.
Skills for your Attorney resume
Legal Research – Undertaking comprehensive analysis of legislation, case law, and legal journals to support arguments and develop case strategies.
Contract Drafting – Crafting legally binding agreements with precision, ensuring clarity and adherence to relevant laws and regulations.
Litigation Management – Directing the process of litigation from discovery through to trial, including strategy development and evidence presentation.
Client Advocacy – Representing clients in court, mediations, and negotiations, vigorously defending their rights and interests.
Regulatory Compliance – Ensuring client activities align with government laws and regulations across various jurisdictions.
Intellectual Property Law – Protecting client innovations, trademarks, and copyrights through registration, enforcement, and litigation.
Commercial Law Acumen – Advising businesses on legal matters pertaining to commercial transactions and corporate governance.
Property Law Knowledge – Handling transactions and disputes related to property, including sales, leasing, and zoning issues.
Criminal Law Expertise – Defending or prosecuting in criminal cases, understanding the nuances of criminal law and court procedures.
Estate Planning – Assisting clients in preparing wills, trusts, and estate plans to manage and protect their assets and legacy.
Quick tip: Our Resume Builder contains thousands of in-demand skills for every profession that can be added to your resume in seconds – saving you time and greatly improving your chances of landing job interviews and getting hired.
Work experience section
The work experience part of your resume allows you to display what you can bring to a potential employer.
Record your previous roles in reverse chronological order, giving particular attention to the past 3-5 years.
Structuring your jobs
To help recruiters understand your past roles, organise each position in the following manner.
Outline
Start with a 1 to 2 line outline of the job, including what the employer does, where you sit within the organisation, and the overall goal of the job.
Key responsibilities
Outline your primary duties in 5-8 bullet points, focusing on essential skills, tools, and expertise.
Ensure each point is succinct, indicating your interactions within the company and your contributions to its success.
Key achievements
Lastly, prove impact by highlight 1-3 key achievements that you made within the role.
Struggling to think of an achievement? If it had a positive impact on your company, it counts.
For example, you might have increased company profits, improved processes, or helped a customer to achieve their goals.
Add numbers to quantify your achievements if you can.
Example job for Attorney resume
Outline
Serve as a key member of a prominent law firm, specialising in commercial litigation and providing expert counsel to private and public sector clients across a diverse range of industries.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct thorough legal research and analysis to support case strategies and develop arguments
- Draft pleadings, motions, and briefs, ensuring accuracy and compliance with relevant laws
- Represent clients in negotiations, mediations, and settlement discussions
- Prepare and present oral arguments in court hearings, trials, and appellate proceedings
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our Resume Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
Your resume should feature an education section near the end.
This part should be a bullet-pointed list of your qualifications, with a focus on those that are significant for Attorney roles.
Keep it brief if you are an experienced candidate. If you’re new to the field, use this section to elaborate on the skills and knowledge you’ve obtained through your educational pursuits.
This section can include:
- University degrees
- Industry specific qualifications for Attorney jobs
- Vocational education and training (VET) diplomas
- Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE)
Additional information (optional)
At the very bottom of your resume you can add an additional info section, for anything else that might help you to look more appealing to employers.
This is often used for hobbies and interests, but can also include awards, publications or a list of technical skills.
If you are considering adding anything here, remember to only include things that are related to your work, or things which are very impressive.
Don’t add common pastime hobbies such as watching TV or socialising with friends, as they won’t make any impact.
Writing a good Attorney resume isn’t easy, but by following the steps above carefully you should be able to craft a resume which gets responses from recruiters and lands plenty of interviews.
Remember to proofread your resume once it’s finished and always tailor it slightly on every application to ensure you always look highly suitable for the job.
Good luck with your job search!