15 Attorney Resume Examples That Got the Job in 2025

Of course, your attorney resume needs stellar content, but don’t underestimate the power of creativity when it comes to getting a job.

• To make your resume aesthetically pleasing (and easy to read) for hiring managers, use a resume template with two font types, separate each section with big headers, and include a splash of color.

Hiring managers need to see your qualifications quickly, so if you have extra certifications or licenses, include them in a separate section to make them more pronounced.

Don’t worry if your entry-level attorney resume lacks work experience; as an entry-level candidate, you have more flexibility with your resume.

• You can list projects, internships, and any other work experience you have, even if it’s not related to law.

• Feel free to add relevant courses from your law school to highlight your skills even further!

Including a resume objective can be an effective way to demonstrate your particular interest in the role you’re seeking.

• As a rule of thumb, you must customize your objective for each job to which you apply.

• If you’re going to use the same objective for each application, leave it off entirely and focus on work experience or projects.

As you get more litigation experience, you’ll have more to include on your associate attorney resume. However, we’d recommend having a maximum of four work experience entries (three being the average).

• This allows you to include at least four bullet points per entry, which is just enough to learn about your accomplishments without overwhelming the reader.

Everyone needs an editor, and even though you’re strongly detail-oriented, don’t make the mistake of submitting your resume before you’re reviewed it.

• Always check your resume for typos, grammar errors, and other mistakes before you submit it.

Practice makes perfect, and experience begets skills. So you should include more hard skills in your resume skills section.

• Good skills to include on your senior attorney resume are “contract review,” “ethics,” and any specific areas of law you have experience researching.

As a senior attorney, you have years of experience that you want to show your future employer. Thus, you may wonder whether you should submit a CV or a resume.

• Whatever you choose, double-check the job description to ensure you’re providing the correct information.

With hundreds of tax attorneys setting foot in the job market every day, your tax attorney resume must be above average if you want to sneak your way into the recruiter’s heart. Ready to punch it up? Consider adding a few extra (but relevant) sections.

• For example, Liora flaunts her New York Bar License under Certifications and US Tax Court Admission Board Certification in Tax Law under Bar Admissions section. This does more than just tick the boxes for potential employers; it also sets her apart from competitors who might ignore that seemingly small detail.

Wondering what it will take to bag that career-transforming opportunity? Let’s give you the 411—your immigration attorney resume must prove you check several boxes for the job.

• We suggest taking a cue from Torian. Of course, the potential employer will bank on them to guide clients to ensure that they make the right calls. Now, is it surprising that he throws a phrase like “Advised clients on legal options using PACER, providing case updates and accelerating litigation resolutions by 9%” in his sales pitch?

You’ve never seen clients willing to settle for family law attorneys who are not up to scratch, right? Us neither! That’s why showcasing your technical proficiency on your resume to prove you’re job-ready gets our ringing endorsement.

• But should you list the technical tools you’re familiar with in your family law attorney resume’s skills section? Nah—that won’t cut it. Brag about how you leveraged them to knock it out of the park in your work history.

Your qualifications make you the perfect fit for the job, and there are no two ways about it. However, if your document review attorney resume is hard on the eyes, the recruiter won’t even get the chance to discover that about you.

• What’s the best resume format to ensure recruiters read every word, you ask? It’s pretty straightforward: Go for a two-column layout and make the most of white space to ensure each section is clear. For the wider column, spell out your relevant work experiences, then nestle your education credentials, certifications, contact deets, and bar deets in the sidebar. Done that? Then, use a hue like burnt orange to accent some parts (think your job title and names of your alma mater and places of work).

The corporate law world is brimming with new attorneys each day, so cutting corners on your resume? That’s a no-go unless you want that opportunity to slip through your fingers. Our advice? Equip your corporate attorney resume with the right sections to prove you’re qualified.

• Sure, you’ve got the basics down—header, work experience, education, skills—all set. But don’t stop there; toss in the certifications and Bar admissions sections to put your eligibility in the spotlight and confirm that you’ve got what it takes to talk the corporate law talk and walk the courtroom walk.

Got the right soft and hard skills? Check. Remarkable career accomplishments? Check! Passed the bar? Indeed. Then, the only thing standing between you and that job you want could be a complex resume design that the applicant tracking system can’t read.

• It’s time to ditch the flashy design quirks (think images, tables, text boxes, and gimmick fonts like Comic Sans) and embrace the beauty of simplicity. Employ bullet lists for easy readability, accentuate key wins with bold and italics, and play with colors to highlight different section headings. It’s about keeping things clean and ensuring the ATS (and eventually, human eyes) can navigate your transactional attorney resume with ease.

When you’re applying for a more specialized role like a trademark attorney position, you’ll need to showcase the work you’ve done in that practice area.

• If you’ve never worked as a trademark attorney before, highlight your transferable skills. For example, have you advised clients on how to navigate prospective new legislation? Trademark law is always changing, so knowing how to research recent litigation is a highly useful skill.

Whether your experience is in trademark law or not, always compare your trademark attorney resume against the attorney job description.

• Use similar keywords and responsibilities to reassure your future employer that you’re fit for the job.

Many top attorneys start out as paralegals. A professional background in legal support equips you to dive right in to the firm once you’ve earned your J.D.

• Don’t downplay your paralegal experience on your litigation attorney resume. It adds a degree of proficiency to your practice.

As an attorney, you know that you can only practice in the state you were admitted to the Bar. But if you’re a certified member of a specialized Bar Association—like real estate—in that same state, you can take your real estate attorney resume up a notch.

• Devote valuable resume space to both your Bar admissions and certifications to demonstrate excellence in your field.

The best way to make your contract attorney resume shine is by matching your experience and skills with the attorney job description.

• Tailor your resume skills section and work experience by including keywords mentioned in the job ad. Include just enough to show your expertise without copying everything word-for-word. Most of all, be honest about the skills you possess.

• Make sure that you list the specific types of contracts you have negotiated and managed, too!

No matter what content you include, always check your resume for errors, including typos, grammatical faux pas, punctuation mistakes, and inconsistencies. Don’t let a few minor issues cost you the job!

Quantifiable results always grab an employer’s attention, and since civil litigation almost always involves dollars, you need to show hiring managers the money!

• All jokes aside, you can also include metrics related to things other than money. How many cases did you handle? How many clients did you meet? How many contracts or drafts did you review? Odds are, most of your responsibilities involve numbers!

In general, lawyers tend to use a lot of words, but you must curb this behavior on your civil litigation resume. Using a resume template can help, but the real key is to be brief but brilliant!

• Use bullet points and action verbs to cut filler, and avoid using adjectives or adverbs that take up space.

• Symbols can also help: a $ instead of “dollars” and + instead of “more than” is both simple and effective!