good resume for law school

Application Toolkit: Resume

On this webpage, you will find our advice and guidance for approaching the resume component of the application., instructions.

We require a resume as part of the application. Please limit your resume to 1 – 2 pages in length.

The following links are sample resumes from successful applicants in prior years. You do not have to follow the formatting used in these resumes, but all three are examples of well-organized, easy-to-read drafts.

Application Insights: Resume

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Overrated/Underrated Part 3

Continuing our Overrated/Underrated series, this week, we shift our focus to highlight some of the overrated approaches that we recommend applicants avoid as they craft their applications. 

November 17, 2021

Overrated/Underrated Part 2

This week, we continue our Underrated Approaches to the Application series with some additional advice.

October 21, 2021

Overrated/Underrated Part 1

The J.D. Admissions team recently came together to offer their thoughts on some underrated and overrated approaches that applicants might take towards their HLS application. We hope you’ll find some of these nuggets useful.

September 9, 2021

Real Talk: The Resume

This week’s entry in the Real Talk series covers the resume. 

August 25, 2020

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Miriam Ingber (Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Yale Law School) and Kristi Jobson (Assistant Dean for Admissions at Harvard Law School) provide candid, accurate, and straightforward advice about law school admissions — direct from the source. They will be joined by guest stars from other law schools to discuss application timing, letters of recommendation, personal statements, and more.

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Law school resume tips + examples: ace your application.

Reviewed by:

David Merson

Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University

Reviewed: 10/25/23

Whether you already have a resume or are starting from scratch, read on to learn law school resume tips to stand out in the admissions process. 

A law school resume summarizes your achievements, qualifications, and experiences. Your resume and cover letter can tell admissions officers much about you and your law school preparedness. We’ll outline tips for your law school resume so it’s refined and ready for submission. 

Law School Resume Format 

On your law school application , it’s best to keep the format of your law school resume simple (even if you have a penchant for graphic design). You should avoid using: 

• Distracting colors 
• Graphics, such as “skill graphs” or progress bars 
• Any other multimedia elements 

Your resume should be one to two pages long using a standard, legible font size. Stick to Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, or another similar font, and don’t use a size smaller than 11 points. 

If you need support with your essay, law school admissions consulting can make the process easier.

What Should Go on Your Law School Resume

Putting together a law application resume can be daunting. Applying to law school is already a big task as there are many elements to consider, like personal statements and recommendation letters. 

To help you get a leg up, it’s a good idea to look at some examples of what other law school application resumes include, as well as to pay attention to what admissions counselors have to say. 

UPenn states , “Law school admissions committees are very interested in how you spend your time and energy outside of class, so it is essential that you create a strong, accurate, and flattering portrayal of yourself on your resume.” It’s crucial to summarize your experiences and candidacy succinctly. 

That being said, you have some freedom regarding what goes on your law school resume to complement its core elements. Standard sections you should include in every law school application resume include:

Source : US News

These are the main sections that every law school application resume should have. If you haven’t done much volunteer work or participated in many activities since high school, the University of Wisconsin–Madison suggests weaving any activities into your resume’s education section. 

While these are the standard pieces that every law school resume should include, you can choose to add other sections if they’ll add something new and fresh to your application: 

• Honors/Awards : If you have a laundry list of honors/awards, consider putting them into their own section. Otherwise, it’s okay to put them in your education section. 
• Research : If you have one or more research-related experiences, it may be worth adding a section to your resume. This can include a capstone project or thesis that would otherwise go in your education section, significant work in a study, or publications. 
• Skills/Interests : This section is a great way to showcase information about you that didn’t fit into your resume anywhere else. Whether you’re bilingual, an expert coder, or decorate cakes in your spare time, you can add another layer to your individuality. 

You can add whatever sections you want that best reflect your candidacy, qualities, and experiences so far. You can also rename/alter these sections as you see fit. 

Alyson Suter Alber , Associate Dean for Enrollment Planning and Strategic Initiatives at Case Western Reserve School of Law, said, “In the admissions process we are looking for experiences and activities that showcase skills an applicant will need in law school such as research, writing and analytical thinking.” 

So, highlight activities that emphasize these skills on your resume! That way, you can show admissions committees that you’re a worthy law school candidate. Take a look at some examples of law resumes down below to see how they’ve done it. 

9 Law School Resume Tips

If you’re wondering how to improve your resume for law school, look no further than these nine expert tips. 

1. Remember the Resume’s Purpose 

The first law school resume tip is crucial to follow: remember its purpose. When you formulate a resume to find work, you may write an objective at the top expressing your goals. You don’t need to include this element in a law school application resume. 

In the words of Quinnipiac University Law , “Objectives are not necessary, and sometimes highlight your desire to do something other than attend law school.” You don’t want to take the focus off your resume’s ultimate goal: helping you get accepted to your dream law school. 

To that end, you won’t include any references either. Your recommendation letters serve as the “reference” portion of your application. 

2. Be Honest 

While this sounds obvious, applicants tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves when they write law school application resumes. For example, don’t stretch the time frames of your commitments to make it look like you spent more time on your activities than you did. If you’re taking a gap year before law school , don’t try and fudge the numbers. 

Remember, integrity is a quality found in great lawyers; you don’t want to potentially get caught in an inconsistency during the application process or law school interview because you wanted to make something sound more impressive. You can always add an addendum to your application to explain something unsightly on your resume. 

Also, it’s okay if you don’t have much experience with legal work. Admissions committees don’t expect you to have a mountain of experience as a law school applicant. 

3. Keep Your Writing Simple 

Your law school resume should be two pages at maximum. You need to write concisely if you have a lot of ground to cover to effectively summarize your experiences. Don’t use long, elaborate sentences or pull words from a thesaurus. 

Writing plainly includes limiting industry jargon. While admissions committee members may understand what you’re writing about, you want to write in a way that someone from any field would understand your resume. For example: 

“Aggregated with clients in order to contrive understanding and transferable knowledge and solutions for exponential economic growth.” 

This sentence is unclear and unnecessarily wordy. A better sentence would read: “Met with clients to share information to increase profits.” This sentence is much clearer, and your reader doesn’t have to do mental backflips to understand you. 

4. Use Bullet Points 

Bullet points underneath major experiences/subheadings communicate a lot of information in less space. You can make your points uniform and more impactful by: 

• Writing each one as a full sentence, with or without closing punctuation 
• Start your points with a verb in the past tense for past activities and present tense for current ones 
• Keep your points focused on a responsibility or task that emphasizes your role/qualities 
• Be detailed and share tangible results, how many times you performed a task, or the overall time commitment 
• Focus on tasks/skills that are transferable or related to law school 
• Limit bullet points under each item to three, if possible 

Ensure you watch your tenses while you write; it’s easy to slip up and use the wrong one. 

5. Don’t Omit Experiences Not Related to Law

Although you should focus on transferable skills and tasks related to law school, don’t omit any experiences that aren’t necessarily law-related. You don’t want to leave chronological gaps in your resume: that’s a red flag for admissions committees. 

UChicago Law states that your resume should absolutely not contain only legal experiences. The school states that it wants “to see all of your work experience and activities to gain a more holistic picture of you.” Avoid these gaps and be honest about your work experience. 

6. Emphasize Leadership Experiences 

Leadership experience and capability are what every law school seeks in applicants. If you have relevant leadership experiences in employment or activities, ensure they’re in your resume. 

7. Highlight Entries That Align With Your Mission 

You’ve likely discussed your professional and career goals in your application. Your resume can complement your other application materials and narratives. For example, if you want to teach law, don’t bury your experience as a teaching assistant or tutor. 

Think about your personal mission and which experiences have contributed to helping you get one step closer to reaching your goals. 

8. See If There Are Particular Instructions for Each School 

Some schools may or may not have law school resume instructions. You should always double-check the application requirements of the schools you want to apply to. For example, UChicago Law asks, “Please include the number of hours per week spent on each employment experience or activity.” 

While you may have thought to do this on your resume anyway, it’s important not to miss any elements schools ask for. 

9. Edit, Revise, Refine

You probably already have a resume you can work off of, but it’ll take a lot of editing and reconstructing to tailor it to your law school application. Even if you’re starting from scratch, ensure you edit your resume. 

Does everything you wrote make sense? Is your language clear and concise? Are there spelling or grammar mistakes? It’s okay if it takes a few drafts to get to the finished product. You want your law school resume to make a stellar impression, so give yourself enough time to revise and refine. 

5 Law School Resume Templates 

Sometimes, it’s helpful to look at examples of what other people have done to get inspired. Below, you’ll find some resume templates for your law school applications to help you get started. 

Law School Resume Example 1

It’s important to use strategic wording to get your point across. In the following example, the applicant reframed their extracurricular/volunteer work section to reference leadership and service. Your goal is to use the right language to accurately summarize your story in a way that reflects you best. 

Take a look at this sample law school resume provided by the University at Buffalo School of Law: 

Source : University at Buffalo School of Law

Law School Resume Example 2

Although this applicant has no work experience, they’ve still put together a solid resume emphasizing their scholastic achievements and involvement in academic leadership. The experiences they’ve chosen to include demonstrate many skills relevant to studying law! 

Source: UPenn

Law School Resume Example 3

Take a look at this resume from Yale Law School. This applicant was careful to focus on their work related to academics and scholastic experience. 

This is a great example of how you can pick and choose various work and volunteer activities to highlight the skills that law school admissions committees are looking for. 

Source: Yale Law School

Law School Resume Example 4

Here’s an example resume from a student who was accepted into Harvard Law. This resume emphasizes relevant skills like technical writing and marketing. The inclusion of the “Presentations” and “Affiliations” sections demonstrates the applicant’s interests in a unique and relevant way. 

Source: U.S. News  

Law School Resume Example

In this law application example, the applicant has focused on her accomplishments, both academic and work-related, and gives strong examples of where she demonstrated leadership skills. She also includes interesting personal information that could serve as a great conversation starter during an interview. 

Source: University at Buffalo School of Law  

Download free law school resume templates below.

Law School Resume FAQs 

Do you still have questions about building or improving your law school resume? Read on to learn more! 

1.  Do Law Schools Care About Your Resume? 

Law schools like to see your real-world work experience and academic qualifications. Although your resume may not be the focal point of your application, law schools will still read it. 

2. What Skills Should I Put on My Resume for Law School? 

You can put whatever skills or interests you think the admissions committee should know about that you haven’t already discussed. Think about the things that make you unique and jot them down before you decide which points should go on your resume. 

3. Should I Put My LSAT Score or GPA on My Resume? 

It depends on what the law school asks for, but you typically don’t have to. Law schools will see your LSAT scores and GPA through your CAS report. 

4. How Long Should My Law School Resume Be? 

Your resume should be one to two pages long and shouldn’t exceed this length. 

5. What Has to Go in My Law School Resume? 

All law school resumes should include your contact/personal information, education, work experience, and activities. If you haven’t participated in many activities, you can include them in your education section instead. 

Build the Perfect Law School Resume 

Building the perfect law school resume helps admissions committees easily digest your experiences and qualifications. Using these expert law school resume tips, you can craft a stellar, attention-grabbing resume. 

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7 Law School Resume Examples Winning The Job In 2024

Best for senior and mid-level candidates

There’s plenty of room in our elegant resume template to add your professional experience while impressing recruiters with a sleek design.

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Like this template? Customize this resume and make it your own with the help of our Al-powered suggestions, accent colors, and modern fonts.

Law School Resume

• Law School Application Resumes
• Law School Resume for Current Students
• Post-Law School Resumes

A career in law is both rewarding and intellectually challenging. Practicing law also offers a certain level of prestige and high earning potential.

Due to the diversity of legal practice areas, deciding what to include and omit when writing your law school resume may prove challenging. And if you’re recently out of law school, you’ll also have to write an  attorney cover letter .

We’ve reviewed numerous law school resumes to find what works and distilled what we learned into these seven law school examples.

Whether you’re applying for a full-time staff attorney role out of school, looking for your first internship, or anything in between,  these proven law school resume examples will help you get your next legal position in 2024 .

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• Metrics don’t have to be complicated, nor do they have to be 100 percent perfect. Include rough estimates regarding how much you improved efficiency, how many cases you worked on, or how many issues you resolved. The numbers are there—all you need to do is find them.
• An objective is an optional section that describes your skills and enthusiasm for your future role. Always customize this section for each job you apply for by including the employer’s name and the role you’re seeking.

Law School Application Resume

• You’re far from being done. A winning strategy here is including one or two of your school projects that underscore your research and analytical skills and an understanding of the legal landscape.

Harvard Law School Resume

• Your interactions with clients that led to them deciding to use the services of the law firm would go a long way to pave your way to success.

Law School Student Resume

• Reverse-chronological order is simply putting your most recent experience first. Usually, this means employers will see your most relevant experience first.
• If the job you’ve most recently held isn’t related to the position you’re seeking, that’s okay! Simply highlight transferable skills (preferably any keywords listed in the  attorney job description ).
• Before hitting submit, always  check your resume  for errors and inaccuracies. Make sure you have one full page of content; don’t leave too much white space!

Law Student Resume

• Using a fun  resume template  can make your resume pretty and help you structure your content, keep it to a single page, and even make it easier to read. Plus, you can adjust the template as needed to suit your needs.
• In this section, focus on what you specifically contributed to the project. Were you the founder of a club? Did you lead any community initiatives? Whatever you contributed, show off your leadership abilities and unique skills.

Law Student Recruiting Manager Resume

• Numbers naturally break up the text and are easy to spot, keeping eyes on your resume longer.
• Section headers are an industry standard, but you can improve readability by putting them in bold and adding some color.
• Keep your bullet points short and sweet. Limit them to no more than three lines, and start each one with strong action verbs.

Post-law School Resume

• Only include six to eight skills you would be comfortable talking about in an interview. If you’re not experienced with a particular skill, leave it out.
• Better yet, include metrics like reduced client wait time, increased client numbers, or the number of cases you tackled to show you’ve got the right qualifications.

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Resume Advice & Samples

Resume advice and samples.

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• Review your resume with a CDO counselor prior to applying to jobs. 
• Your resume is a sales tool, not an autobiography. When making decisions about what to include, consider recency and relevancy to the job for which you are applying.  
• Be prepared to discuss everything on your resume in an interview. 
• Be scrupulously honest. Exaggerations or misrepresentation will damage your reputation and professional relationships. 
• Make your resume visually clean and clear. What will an employer see in 30 seconds? 5 seconds? 
• Keep your resume to one page.
• Use a standard font such as Times New Roman or Garamond.
• Select a font size of 11 point or 12 point.
• Create margins no smaller than .5 inches on all sides.
• Use bold, underlining, and italics consistently to enhance readability.
• Make deliberate style choices, then stick to them throughout.
• Ensure your resume is error free.
• Follow our advice, “ Resume Formatting: How to Use Tabs & Styles ” to give your resume a professional look.

Resume Construction

• Include your name, mailing address, cell number, and Yale email address.
• If you do not have a mailing address in New Haven, that is fine, as mailing addresses are becoming optional.
• Add your permanent mailing address to emphasize ties to that area when applying to positions nearby.
• List your gender pronouns if you wish.

Education Section

• List degrees in reverse chronological order.
• Include all courses of study: past, present, and future.
• List each educational institution, location, degree, and degree date (expected date if currently enrolled).
• Do not include high school or LSAT score.
• Think strategically about how much space you devote to each degree. What message are you sending to employers?
• Include at your option with a strategic mindset.
• YLS awards few Honors.
• Moot court/mock trial awards and paper prizes are Honors.
• List Yale Law Journal as an Honor, due to the competitive admission process. List other journals as Activities or create a separate Journal sub-section under Yale Law School.
• List those that are not based solely on financial need and are awarded through a competitive process.
• If space permits, provide a very brief description of the selection criteria.
• Examples: Tilman Scholarship; the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans; and the NAACP LDF Earl Warren Civil Rights Scholarship.
• List scholarship or fellowship awards that are associated with summer or post-graduate employment with the position in the Experience section.
• Do not list need-based scholarships and fellowships, including SPIF funding, summer Mary McCarthy funding, and Kirby Simon travel grants.
• List the following positions as Activities or in the Experience section: Coker Fellow, Research Assistant, Deans’ Advisor, Student Representative, Peer Advocate, Tsai Leadership Program Fellow, and CDO Student Advisor.
• Use this section to emphasize relevant skills and interests including research and writing skills, oral advocacy, teamwork, and leadership.
• Narrow the list, if necessary, by selecting only one of several activities that are of the same genre.
• If applying for public service positions, include as many of your service-related activities as space permits to demonstrate your commitment to service.
• Move particularly relevant, intensive, or skills-enhancing activities to the Experience section. Example: clinics.
• Be clear about the timing of future commitments, however, describing the exact timing of past activities is not strictly necessary.

Optional Sections

• Create a Select Courses sub-section to highlight courses that reflect your interest in a practice area.
• Tailor this section depending on target your employer(s).
• List courses you have already taken and courses you intend to take in the future (with a parenthetical indicating that the course is expected).  
• Create a Study Abroad sub-section in your undergraduate education listing.  
• Create a Thesis sub-section in your undergraduate education listing.
• Include especially if the topic relates to the law.

Experience Section

• List experiences in reverse chronological order.
• Include experiences to which you have committed, but not yet begun; describe using future-tense verbs.
• Dates can be general (e.g., Summer 20XX).
• Omit job titles if unimpressive or do not clarify your responsibilities, however, be consistent about including/excluding titles throughout.
• List experiences that demonstrate knowledge and skills in areas relevant to legal employers, especially research, writing, and analysis.
• Emphasize professional skills including organizational ability, leadership, initiative, creativity, communication skills, common sense, and intellectual ability.
• List both paid and unpaid experiences.
• Include work associated with a scholastic experience, including legal clinic experience, research for a professor, and extensive work for a student organization.
• Rewrite past descriptions written for different industries and audiences. Eliminate jargon and terminology unfamiliar to a general audience.
• Summarize smaller or less relevant positions to fill gaps. E.g., “Held various positions as salesclerk, server, and receptionist while in college.”
• Be prepared to discuss significant gaps at interviews.
• Think strategically about the amount of physical space devoted to each experience. More space = greater emphasis.
• Use action verbs and rich detail in descriptions. E.g., “researched and wrote memoranda on issues of jurisdiction and venue,” rather than “involved in assisting attorneys in the researching and writing of…”
• Languages: List if relevant and/or skill level is high. May be useful to delineate written vs. spoken proficiency. Be scrupulously honest regarding skill level.
• Think strategically about employers’ impressions. Publications show writing skills, but a long list of publications may signal interest in an academic career which may not be well received by non-academic employers.
• Consider selective list or summary if publication list is long.
• Use Bluebook citation format.
• Be clear about co-authored pieces.
• Interests: Include a few special interests that may be compelling and serve as icebreaker topics during an interview.
• Other skills: list only relevant skills, eliminating those which are universal (e.g., MS Word) or unrelated to legal employers’ needs (e.g., C++ programming).

Do Not Include

• Objective or introductory statements.
• Personal information (e.g., marital status, parental status).
• Salary requirements.
• “References available on request.”

Think Ahead to Your Next Resume

Develop your skills and knowledge through career-related experiences

• Summer employment
• Student organizations
• Research Assistant positions
• Leadership positions

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Law School resume examples & templates

What good does a law school resume do?

Your job resume won’t cut it., what are law schools looking for, making long stories short, resume header, community involvement example in a law school resume.

What does a law school resume have in common with a job application resume? Other than their persuasive purpose, only a partial resemblance exists. The differences are important to understand, which is how this writing guide for prospective law students can help. It’s supported by an example of what admissions officers typically look for in a law school resume. 

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What law students do, and how a successful law school resume demonstrates their fitness for this competitive field of study and practice
• How to write a law school resume — the fundamentals, framework and format
• Optimizing each resume section: header, education, experience, skills and more
• Getting every visual detail right

In addition to more than 350 occupation-specific resume examples with writing guides, Resume.io offers tips and tools for virtually everyone on the career continuum, from students to retirees.

What do law students do?

From court case research and brief preparation to contract analysis and mock trials, law students dive deeply immersed in the core legal knowledge and abilities they’ll need as practicing lawyers. 

It’s a career choice that’s already tested their competitive mettle in the law school application phase. Crossing that admissions hurdle foretells the kind of high-stakes job wins that could lie ahead. 

Of course, it takes more than an outstanding resume to get into law school. It’s not meant to be the sole law school application document, nor to replace any other. Some law schools don’t ask applicants for a resume, or it may be optional. 

But experts agree that the only valid reason not to submit a resume is if you are told not to. Otherwise, it’s a self-marketing opportunity no one should miss.

As encouraged by LSAT Engine , an online tutoring resource for law school hopefuls, a resume ideally portrays you as a well-rounded and involved member of your community. This can be beneficial when the admissions team is looking for reasons to accept, waitlist, or deny someone.

Gabriel Kuris, founder of Top Law Coach, provides this usnews.com perspective : “A good resume for law school should clarify the skills and experience you bring from work, school and other activities. It won't paint a full picture of who you are, but it should provide a frame for the admissions committees to understand the rest of the application.”

According to LawSchoolNumbers.com, an open-source database for law school applicants, resumes can have make-or-break importance . “The ideal situation is that an admissions officer comes away from your resume thinking that they would like to meet you, or read your personal statement.”

There’s no way to predict how much time or attention your law school resume will receive. But think about the edge-winning advantage you could gain over other applicants with underwhelming resumes, or none at all —  even GPA and LSAT rock stars. This incentive should not be taken lightly, so your law school resume should not be given short shrift.

Before getting started, here are some things to keep in mind. Relevance is relevant in each instance.

Remember — you’re not applying for a job; you’re seeking career entry. The resume you need is decidedly different, if not entirely rebuilt. 

Resumes from previous job or internship applications are a good starting point, however. They help jog your memory and flag information you could fine-tune for a law school. 

Job 1 is for you to find out and pay attention. Scrutinize the target law school’s application requirements, specifically resume guidelines.

What exactly do admissions officers want and expect? They might even ask you to exclude some resume content, or organize and label it a certain way. And be mindful of any resume length indications.

That brings us to the jury still being out on whether the standard one-page limit applies to law school resumes. Resume.io isn’t alone in advocating this restriction for all job resumes, with rare exceptions. For law school resumes, we also think a single page is best, and likely achievable for the vast majority of applicants. 

Having said that, we realize some law schools have no objection to resumes being two pages or even longer. Again — check the application guidelines.

Selective and specific As long as you’re satisfying the law school’s explicit requirements, here’s why a one-pager could be advantageous to demonstrate your worthiness as a lawyer-to-be:

• Being able to write concisely and precisely is essential for lawyers.
• It also reflects their ability to make relevance-based judgment calls by being selective and specific.

Consider the other elements in your law school application package — notably the separate requirement for a personal statement. 

Wait, what? Isn’t that supposed to be part of your resume — the top section, known as a summary , profile or personal statement? Yes, absolutely when you’re applying for a job. It’s a synopsis of who you are and why you’re the best hire. 

Law schools are also keen to know the person behind your resume — so much so that they request a companion document for that purpose. In essay format, this personal statement gives admissions officers a deeper, introspective insight into why you and law school are a good fit at this time in your life. Your resume should be compatible, consistent and complementary alongside the personal statement, but not redundant.

One less resume task With the provision a long-form personal statement — usually two pages — comes a free pass to exclude the summary altogether in your law school resume.

That’s right … more space for other crucial content!

How to write a law school resume

Let’s get down to basics, with an outline of essential law school resume sections:

Consider this the barebones framework of components. What the second and third sections include depends on individual circumstances. At least one activity-related section may follow, plus additional content deemed relevant. We’ll take a closer look later.

For more ideas, check out these resume examples and writing guides for other legal occupations: lawyer resume sample, attorney resume example, legal assistant resume sample, paralegal resume example, claims adjuster resume sample, immigration lawyer resume sample and legal resume sample.

Choosing the best resume format for law school

Within each section of your law school resume, bullet point listings should appear in reverse chronological order — from most recent to earliest dates. This is consistent with the most commonly used resume format for job seekers.

Otherwise, there’s one significant difference in the way law school resumes are organized: education comes ahead of experience, instead of vice versa in a job application resume.

For the same reasons we emphasize the importance of a distinctive header on job application resumes, law school applicants should not overlook this design detail. It makes your contact information prominent and accessible: name, phone, email and perhaps your LinkedIn profile URL.

Law school resume education example

This first-and-foremost section of a law school resume is usually more detailed than its education counterpart in a job resume. Starting with your most recent degree or certification , list them all in order from highest to lowest level.

Impressive GPAs belong here, along with cum laude distinctions and academic awards. Major and minor subjects might be worth mentioning too, and even coursework or thesis titles if they reflect pertinent expertise and interests.

High school information should be omitted. Below is the education section from a law school resume example.

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY September  2017 - May 2021 

• Magna cum laude.
• President of the Philosophy Club.

Experience sample for law school resume

Often entitled “professional experience,” this part of your law school resume resembles the employment history section that would come first on a job application resume. Besides any work experience you’ve acquired —  whether in an established career or part-time jobs paying your way through school — be sure to include internships. 

Again, in reverse chronological order of dates for each employer, compose three to five bullet points describing your experiences. 

Use action verbs that speak to what you did, learned and accomplished ; avoid rattling off “responsible for” duty lists. And be selective — don’t bore admissions officers with a kitchen sink collection of all your previous jobs. Unless it’s relevant, skip it.

Facts and figures count

Just as we always advise job seekers in every resume writing guide, law school applicants should pinpoint aspects of their experience in measurable terms if possible. 

Peg Cheng, Prelaw Guru founder, shares this resume writing tip from the PowerScore Law School Admissions Guide : “You should list the number of hours worked per week for all jobs and activities. It helps the admissions committee gain a better understanding of the scope of work and activities you’ve been involved in.”

Depending on the nature and scope of your professional experience — especially if scanty — you might also want to highlight volunteer or community service work here instead of in a subsequent activities section.

These law school resume samples for employment history and internships can be modified.

Student Research Assistant at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY  September 2019 - May 2020 

• Served as an effective student research assistant on the project: Social Analysis of Technological Human Interactions.
• Coordinated the collection of data and ensured its reliability.
• Administered strategies essential to the successful management of the research project.

Teaching Assistant at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie  September 2020 - April 2021 

• Worked closely with Professor Timothy Jones to develop learning materials for courses.
• Instructed a weekly class on Introductory Logic.
• Hosted office hours two afternoons per week to provide students with additional support and guidance.

Volunteer and community service service roles are sure to put law school applicants in a favorable light. As noted above, these bullet points could be incorporated into your resume’s experience or activities section, depending on how extensive and relevant.  In our law school resume example below, community involvement is highlighted on its own.

Cultural Center Volunteer, Poughkeepsie October  2019 - May 2021 

• Worked to enhance the center's multi-cultural program offerings, workshops, and events.
• Assisted with the planning for performances and exhibits.
• Wrote and submitted several articles to local news outlets regarding the latest events and programs open to the public.

CV skills example

Even if various skills applicable to your future law career are reflected elsewhere in your CV — which they should be if those sections are written effectively — creating a separate skills list adds prominence. 

The National Association of Colleges and Employers has identified the seven most relevant transferable skills for law students as the ability to: 

• Communicate with people inside and outside an organization
• Work in a team structure
• Make decisions and solve problems
• Plan, organize, and prioritize work
• Obtain and process information
• Create and/or edit written reports
• influence others

Check out a law school CV sample for the skills section below.

• Oral Communications and Listening
• Abilities Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Knowledge of Legal Terminology
• Adaptability
• Highly Organized

Other possible law school resume sections

Other potentially relevant information for a law school resume appears below. How it’s organized depends on the best fit — either in separate dedicated sections or under education, experience or activities subtitles.

• Extracurricular activities
• Affiliations
• Awards and honors*
• Leadership positions
• Publications
• Interests and hobbies

 * Below is an “achievements” example for a law school resume — an alternative to placing in the education section.

National Honor Society  2018 - 2021

Resume layout and design

Looking the part of a legal professional is imperative for a law school resume document. Readability is conveyed in an arms-length appearance of being immaculate, uncluttered and orderly.

Closer inspection reveals carefully thought-out layout and design details. One section flows logically into the next, offset by proportional amounts of white space in the margins and between lines. Fonts are carefully chosen to optimize body text legibility and bold impact in headings. Graphic touches are minimal. 

Aspiring lawyers could never go wrong using a resume template from Resume.io’s extensive collection — perhaps in our professional design category. Click to download your choice, then incorporate your own replacement text using the builder tool.

Key takeaways

• Law school applicants should always submit a resume unless they are told not to.
• A hallmark of law school resumes is the academic emphasis, with a more detailed education section preceding work experience.
• Relevance should determine what your resume includes and how it’s organized. Also be mindful of the law school’s application requirements and instructions.
• Apply the highest standards for professional appearance in your resume layout and design choices.

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Law School Resume Example

Improve your chances of getting into your top school by checking out our downloadable law school resume example and writing tips.

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Related Resume Samples

Law School Resume Template

How to write a law school resume.

Did you know there are different HR-approved resume formats you can choose from?

Copy-paste Law School Resume (Text Format)

FIRST AND LAST NAME

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (123) 456-7891

Address: Street, City, State

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yourprofile

Aspiring legal professional with a Bachelor of Law degree who possesses legal experience gained through internships in law firm environments. Seeking admission to Columbia University School of Law to acquire a comprehensive legal education, refine my analytical and advocacy skills, and prepare for a fulfilling career in environmental law.

Professional Experience

Willkie, Farr, & Gallagher, New York City, NY Legal Intern, January 2023–July 2023

• Deliver proactive support to team of 47 legal professionals in various administrative and research-related tasks
• Develop strategies and arguments for presenting cases
• Develop strong knowledge of civil and commercial dispute resolution and criminal matters
• Contribute to due diligence process for the initial public offering of 20+ clients
• Provide support in drafting letters and conducting research on corporate legal matters

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York City, NY Legal Intern, June 2022–December 2022

• Interviewed 10+ clients and witnesses to determine the facts of a case and assess collected evidence to formulate a defense
• Performed legal research and drafted 50+ client documents and letters
• Prepared briefs, studied multiple legal issues, and observed court proceedings
• Worked with legal clerk and secretary in document retrieval and filing
• Wrote various legal documents and maintained accurate records for attorneys

Birmingham School of Law, Birmingham, AL Bachelor of Law, May 2022 Honors: cum laude (GPA: 3.9/4.0)

Additional Skills

• Understanding of the court system and legal terminology
• Legal research
• Drafting affidavits and letters
• Case file management
• Conducting client interviews
• Windows/Mac and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
• Communication and presentation skills

Between low admission rates and fierce competition, getting into a prestigious law school is challenging.

Nearly all law schools require a resume along with your other application materials. While the application process can be tedious, don’t let your resume become an afterthought.

Having a strong law school resume is important because it gives admissions committees a comprehensive look at what type of experience and skills you can bring to their institution.

Here are four tips to craft a convincing law school resume.

1. Highlight the right skills for a law school resume

When applying for law school, admissions offices aren’t necessarily looking for a list of specific hard skills. However, they are expecting candidates to have certain desirable personality traits and qualities.

Admissions committees want to see that you’re cut out for the stress of law school. While you should certainly include any relevant hard skills you have, soft skills are also essential to any law school resume.

Law school requires hard work and perseverance to study for long hours. Demonstrate you have what it takes by including some of these relevant skills on your law school resume:

• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Leadership skills
• Communication skills
• Organizational skills
• Perseverance
• Language skills
• Technical writing
• Time management skills
• Flexibility

2. Write a strong education section

You’re applying to law school, so your educational background and academic achievements should take center stage on your resume.

Don’t be afraid to add detail to your resume education section , particularly if you have little or no relevant work experience in law.

Your education section should start by stating the following information for each college you attend(ed):

• Institution(s) name
• Location (city & state)
• Years you attended
• Degree name and any minors you have

If you lack significant work experience, consider also listing relevant coursework on your resume and any awards or honors you received while in college. Additionally, you should put your GPA on your resume if it’s above 3.5. If it’s lower simply leave it off, as this might hurt you more than it helps.

Here’s an example of a properly formatted law school resume education section:

New York University, NY, USA | August 2014 – May 2018 Bachelor of Arts, Political Science (Major GPA: 3.89) Magna Cum Laude, Overall GPA: 3.81

3. Emphasize your soft skills

If you’re a student you probably don’t have lots of technical law experience yet (that’s what you’ll learn in law school, after all). So to show admissions you have the skills needed to succeed as a lawyer, you need to emphasize your soft skills.

Soft skills illustrate your ability to work with others, tackle challenges, and take initiative.

Work examples of your soft skills into your resume experience section by describing your past achievements or responsibilities, and providing examples that highlight the traits that helped you succeed.

Here a few examples of soft skills that are useful additions to your law school resume:

• Cooperation
• Conflict management
• Negotiation
• Analytical skills
• Critical thinking

Instead of just listing your soft skills in the skills section of your law school application resume, provide specific examples of how you’ve used them in the past in your experience section’s bullet points.

As long as you aren’t redundant with the soft skills you work into your resume, it helps to illustrate as many as you can to impress admissions committees.

4. Achieve the ideal law school resume length

Law school admissions offices are typically swamped with applications. If you want the best chance of getting into your top school, your law school resume needs to communicate your qualifications quickly and clearly.

To do that, keep your resume length to a maximum of one page. Typically, law schools expect the same standard one-page resume format from every applicant.

Before sending your application in, check the requirements on each law school’s application page, take note, and follow directions. Don’t give admissions committees a reason to disregard your application just because your resume was too long.

If you’re struggling to fill a full page, include academic projects, volunteer work, community projects, articles you’ve published, or student leadership positions you’ve held to show that you’re an ideal law school applicant.

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11 Resume Rules Every Law Student Should Follow

April 27, 2021

[Learn more about how Bloomberg Law can help law students excel in class and  jump-start their careers .]

In today’s virtual world, it is even more important for law students to get their resume right.

“A bad resume is far more detrimental to your job search than a good resume is beneficial – many potential employers view bad resumes as disqualifying,” said Mike Wippler, member of the national law firm Dykema. “Your resume should look professional, be easy to read, tell an accurate and truthful story, and highlight your readiness and skills for the position.”

Learn the top resume rules from the experts to stand out from the crowd and land the legal job you want.

1. Keep It Short.

A good legal resume doesn’t need to be long. In fact, it should be one or two pages at most.

“As a hiring manager, I want candidates to be able to eloquently and succinctly articulate their experience and career goals – this is especially critical for someone who wants to be a trial lawyer,” said Noel Edlin , managing partner of San Francisco-based law firm Bassi Edlin Huie & Blum.

Similarly, “use bullet points effectively – state what you did and how you did it in a way that demonstrates your experience, skills, and the results you achieved,” said the University of Miami School of Law Career Development Office.

“For students or junior lawyers with minimal experience, try to keep it to a single page and succinctly summarize your experience, linking it to qualities that you want to highlight – for example, analytical abilities, taking initiative, [and] attention to detail,” said Katten chief talent officer Melanie Priddy.

[Register for your Bloomberg Law Academic Account for the legal content and tools that you need now and the business intelligence you need as you start your career.]

2. Keep It Traditional.

Traditional legal resumes for law students are structured in three to four sections in the following order: Heading, Education, Experience, and an additional optional section, such as Interests, Languages, or Skills, according to the University of Miami School of Law Career Development Office.

“Do not go crazy with color or design – black type on a white background is preferable, and do not include your photo or other graphics. Pick one font and stick with it,” Edlin said.

Ensure a consistent layout, too. “Use a resume format that is simple, professional, and easy to read,” Priddy said. In this vein, “Formatting should carry through the entire page – bold/italics, font, spacing, indentations, etc., should be consistent throughout.”

3. Proofread Everything.

“A resume is the first example of your ‘work product,’ and it can be hard to overcome a negative first impression if there are errors,” Priddy said. “Proofread your resume and make sure it is free of grammatical errors and typos, including the law firm [name].”

Finally, in proofreading, review abbreviations. “Use abbreviations only if they are universally understood,” said the University of Miami School of Law Career Development Office.

4. Update Contact Information.

“This seems like a no-brainer but be sure you’re providing updated contact information – full legal name, address, email, phone, and LinkedIn profile link,” Edlin said. “It helps save administrative time if we decide to extend an offer of employment.”

Similarly, “add a professional voicemail message that confirms who a caller has reached and clear your voicemail inbox regularly so employers can leave you messages,” Priddy said.

5. Boost Your LinkedIn Presence.

In parallel, “complete your LinkedIn profile and add it to the contact section of your resume,” said the University of Miami School of Law Career Development Office.

“Make sure [it includes] a banner image, a good headshot, an about section, and links to any articles you have published,” Edlin said. Similarly, “Be active on the platform by posting/liking content and recognizing the accomplishments of contacts. Try to acquire at least 500 contacts,” Edlin said. “It helps to paint a picture of who you are and stay on the radar of employers.”

[Learn more about how to network effectively and use LinkedIn to get ahead in our Essential Career Toolkit .]

6. Be Truthful.

“Do not include anything that you do not want to discuss in an interview,” said the University of Miami School of Law Career Development Office. Similarly, “do not overexaggerate your language skills – you may be asked a question in whatever language you claim fluency.”

The same holds true for hobbies. “Make sure that any hobbies or interests on your resume are truthful – interviewers will likely ask for details,” Priddy said. “Even if you get hired, it may cost you the job later,” Wippler added.

7. Do Not Assume Reader Knowledge.

“Don’t assume that everybody assumes you have technical skills – if you have them, make sure you point them out,” said Chris M. Smith, partner and co-head of DLA Piper’s New York real estate practice.

“If you’ve done anything that is a little bit different, make sure it shows on your resume,” Smith added. “And if you have a connection at the firm, have them try to put in a good word for you.”

8. Customize the Content.

“Customize your resume for different employers by highlighting experiences relevant to the particular job an employer is seeking to fill,” said the University of Miami School of Law Career Development Office. The same holds true for the cover letter.

“Add something to your cover letter that relates your application to the organization or the law firm in a way that stands out from the generic cover letter,” said Efrén Olivares, deputy legal director of the Immigrant Justice Project at Southern Poverty Law Center. “That’s going to make a difference, and it’ll send your resume to the top of the pile.”

For further customization, “include a two- to three-sentence summary at the top [of the resume] that directly aligns with the job posting,” Edlin said. “Customize this section using keywords in the job description in a way that makes it clear you are a strong candidate for the opportunity.”

9. Reach for “Power” Words.

“Replace generic words with power words and action verbs – ‘advised,’ ‘advocated,’ ‘resolved,’ ‘advanced,’ ‘enhanced,’ ‘maximized,’ ‘achieved,’” said the University of Miami School of Law Career Development Office.

“Oftentimes, your resume is being scanned by machine learning/natural language processing programs that have been programmed to search for keywords, so include keywords you’d find in the job you want,” Edlin said. “Even if your CV is being reviewed by a decision-maker, it may get a one- to two-minute scan, so leverage that time by including keywords that will stand out.”

10. Focus on Relevant Experience.

“When describing prior work experience, include details that highlight your ability to lead and work with a team, collaborate with others, and provide client service,” said Lauren Marsh, director of attorney recruiting at Akin Gump.

“Some students may assume they have no relevant skills if they did not work before attending law school – however, they should be sure to highlight the comparable experience they gained through internships or college activities,” Marsh said. “These are skills we highly value in our candidates, and an indicator they have developed skills that will enable them to be successful at the firm.”

Also, “Where you went to school is not as important to me as what you did there, how you engaged with the community, organizations, and leadership development,” said Jason Starr, litigation director of Human Rights Campaign. “A strong academic record [is important], but what else about you demonstrates a real passion and a real willingness to dig in?”

11. Be Clear About Your Licensing Status.

“Depending upon where you are in the process, you can indicate it in several different ways, and update your resume as you move from one category to the next,” said Shauna C. Bryce, who practiced law and served on a law firm hiring committee before starting  Bryce Legal Career Counsel .

“If you’ve been admitted to practice, are active and in good standing, then your bullet point is simple – something like this: ‘Bar Admission: California.’ If you have not yet applied to take the bar exam but are eligible to take it: ‘Eligible for July 2021 California bar exam.’”

“If you’ve submitted your application to sit for the exam but have not yet sat for the exam: ‘Candidate for July 2021 California bar exam.’ If you have sat for the exam but have not yet received the results: ‘Candidate for July 2021 California bar exam (results pending).’ If you have passed the exam, but not yet been sworn in: ‘California (admission pending).’

[Log in to Bloomberg Law to read the full article: Ask the Hiring Attorney: How do I show my bar status on my resume? ]

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How to Write the Perfect Law School Resume: Examples & Tips

In this article, you will learn about:

How to write a resume for law school applications

What to include in a law school resume, tips for admission resumes for the best law schools, best templates for law school resumes, law school application resume sample.

Applying for a law school takes a will of steel. Law school applications usually consist of the following steps:

• Taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT)
• Researching and selecting law schools to apply for
• Registering with the Credential Assembly Service (CAS)
• Submitting required documentation, including a law school resume, to the school

Not only do you need to ace the test, but you also need to prepare various materials for the admission board to review, including:

• Personal statement
• Transcripts of records
• LSAT scores
• Letters of recommendation
• A law school resume 

Instead of a regular employment resume, law schools usually require a different form of resumes during admission. A law school application resume is more than a list of your skills and qualifications; it should offer a solid review of your background related to the fields of law that you wish to study in the future. 

A law school resume targets the admission committee, serving to highlight your potentials in the law and help you stand out.

Hence, it’s crucial to have a law school resume that demonstrates your readiness for law school.

Although creating a law school application resume can be a feat, it can also be tackled by following the 5 steps below.

Step 1: Research the desired school and major.

To make sure your qualifications meet the requirements, research thoroughly the desired majors and schools before crafting a resume for applying to law school. 

Step 2: Choose the right law school resume format.

After you brainstorm and list your strengths, choose a resume format that best underscores your potential as a law professional for your law school applications.

3 common formats for law school resumes:

• The chronological resume format: This format shows all your previous education and experience in reverse chronological order. It emphasizes your background, either educational or professional.
• The functional resume format: The functional resume format focuses more on your skills rather than your experience.
• The combination resume format: As its name suggests, the combination resume format mixes the chronological format and functional one, showcasing both your skills and experience.

Step 3: Look up other law school resume templates & examples.

Before you start writing your law school resumes, look up templates and examples. You will have a better idea of what to write and how to arrange your experience and skills to stand out.

Step 4: Tailor your law school resume according to the school and major.

To stand a better chance of being accepted by a law school, tailor your law school application resume according to your desired school and major. The key is to highlight the most relevant experience and qualifications that match the keywords in their requirement.

Step 5: Proofread.

Finally, have your law school resume proofread by professional proofreaders, so there’s no typos or other careless, but fatal, mistakes. Then, you are good to go.

1. Resume Header

A resume header contains all the necessary personal and contact information, such as your full name, address, contact information (your phone number and email address), and social media (if applicable).

2. Resume Summary or Objective 

A resume summary describes your background, relevant experience, and qualifications, while a resume objective is a short statement that explains your career prospects. Those with little work experience should opt for a resume objective.

A resume summary or objective is not necessary for a law school resume since the admissions committee is seeking candidates with strong academic backgrounds and prospects. However, include it if you have relevant experience that can set you apart from others. 

Example of a summary for a law school resume:

Goal-oriented undergraduate student in history who is eager to enter a law school. Participated in multiple scholastic activities related to public service both on campus and outside of the university.

3. Education

Education is the most important section in a law school resume.

5 essential elements you need to include:

• Your degree 
• Your majors and/or minors
• School name
• School location
• The year of graduation

Optional information can also be mentioned in the education section in a law school resume:

• Honors and awards
• GPA, if above 3.7
• Relevant courses 

Example of education on a law school resume:

BSc in International Relations University of Alberta (Alberta, Canada) 05. 2016 to 06. 2020

4. Work Experience

All relevant jobs should be included in reverse chronological order in the experience section. The name of the organizations where you previously worked should come first, followed by the location and employment dates.

Showcase skills that are relevant to the fields of law you want to study. You can put both hard and soft skills on your law school resume.

Example of skills to put on a law school resume:

• Foreign languages
• Academic writing
• Computer skills
• Research database
• Google analytics 
• Communication skills
• Critical thinking
• Problem-solving
• Collaboration
• Conflict resolution

6. Extracurricular Activities

Extracurricular activities on the resume can significantly help you stand out in the law school application process. Admissions committees are seeking enthusiastic and engaged students.

This is especially relevant in law schools, where the number of student clubs and groups is high. Include as many relevant extracurricular activities as you can.

Example of extracurricular activities to put on a law school resume:

• UCLA debate team

Member of the Organization of Digital Diplomacy (ODD)

• Host of the philosophy club at UCL

7. Awards & Honors

List any honors, awards that you previously received outside school, along with the years in which you received them.

8. Hobbies & Interests

Hobbies and interests, like extracurricular activities, show your character. If you have hobbies and interests that you haven’t already mentioned on your law school resume, be sure to include them in this section. For hobbies, put activities you’ve taken part in.

As for interests, they are things that you enjoy doing. Avoid being general as this section can also add value to your law school resume as much as other sections.

When applying for the best law schools, for example, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc., you want your application documents to be perfect, including your test results and resumes.

Here are 5 tips for writing the perfect law school resumes.

👍 Customize the resume for the law school.

Read the requirement for the desired schools carefully, and match the keywords in the requirement in your law school resumes.

Formatting and length matter too. Each law school has different rules for formatting and length. If you are applying for Yale Law School, then you should customize your Yale law school resume. If you are applying for Harvard Law School, your Harvard law school resume should follow their standards.

👍 Highlight what makes you unique.

While applying for a law school, you should stress your achievements, education, and grades as well as the work experience on the resume.

These are the things that would make you stand out among other law school candidates.

👍 Quantify results on your law school admissions resumes.

To quantify means to express with numbers. Use numbers such as in the given example to support your statement:

"Researched 20+ cases and made presentations to attorneys."

👍 Use resume action words.

Action words , such as “represented”, “researched”, “devoted”, and “supervised”, are strong and compelling verbs that accentuate your skills and responsibilities on your law school resume.

👍 Prioritize your education on your law school resume.

Education is more noteworthy on a law school resume. Its importance outweighs a resume objective or a resume summary because law schools are often looking for strong academic qualifications over professional experience.

You might still be wondering what else you need to pay attention to when you look up law school resume templates online. Here are three frequently asked questions about the best law school application resume template:

📝 How long should a law school resume be?

Law school application resume’s length should be one to two pages long at most unless it is otherwise stated in the requirement. 

📝 What is the best font to use in a resume for law school admission?

The format and style of the law school resume should be professional. Choose a legible font and provide appropriate margins at the top, bottom, and sides of each resume page. The most optimal fonts are Calibre, Cambria, and Helvetica and the font size should be no larger than 12 and no smaller than 10.

📝 What format should a resume for law school applications be in, Word or PDF?

You should also have your law school resume template in the correct format, so choose PDF unless the school specifies otherwise. PDF retains the layout you laboriously design.

Hayden Harris

E-mail: [email protected] Phone number: +886 912345678

Goal-oriented undergraduate student in history who is eager to enter a law school to apply research skills, communication skills, and leadership skills. Had multiple scholastic activities related to public service both on campus and outside of the university.

BA in History  University of Alberta (Alberta, Canada) 05. 2013 to 07. 2017

University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada  Assistant Professor 2020 - present

• Supervised new undergraduate students.
• Assisted professors in their research, instruction, and supervision.

XYZ Law, Alberta, Canada  File Clerk 2014 - 2017

• Researched 20+ cases and made presentations to attorneys.  
• Created documentations for more than 200 cases.
• Public speaking
• Presentation skills
• Japanese (fluent)
• Korean (fluent)

Extracurricular Activities

UA Debate Team

• Instructed a group of 50 students on how to debate on issues using critical thinking.
• Translated texts from Japanese to English.
• Wrote 100 articles on ongoing issues regarding digital law in Japan.
• Published articles on the ODD website.

Host of the History Club at the University of Alberta

• Assisted BA students with their thesis and assignments.

Awards and Honors

• Contributed to  A Brief History of Ryukyu published by XXX in 2018.
• Won public speaking contest at the University of Alberta in 2017.

Hobbies and Interests

• Language learning 
• Community service
• Creative writing
• Graphic design

Cake provides the best resume making tools & templates to help you create the perfect law school resume. Take your career journey to new heights - create a resume online (free download) now! 

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--- Originally written by  Yu-Jen Shih  ---

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How to Write a Successful Law School Resume (+Examples)

How do you write a law school resume? 

That’s what you’ll learn today. After all, a law school resume is one of the most underestimated and underused aspects of law school applications. 

Want to learn more? Read on!

What is a law school resume? 

Your law school resume lists sections that cover your education, legal and other professional experience, and possibly categories including personal interests or community involvement. 

The length depends on your experience. But at the same time, the length of your law school resume hardly matters. 

What matters is how you  position  your resume. And that’s what you’ll learn today.

But first, let’s find out – is a law school resume the same thing as any other resume? 

How is a law school resume different from other resumes? 

Here’s the thing: 

Law school resumes differ from other resumes. Your audience isn’t an employer, but instead, you’re looking to persuade the admissions committee that  you  are the applicant they want. 

And law schools want to see a broader and more diverse array of experiences than a job would. 

So there’s a big difference between a law school resume and any other resume. 

But how important are law school resumes, really? Here’s what you need to know. 

Does a law school resume matter? 

When I send back a client’s resume with a million-one edits (only slightly exaggerating), I am often asked  “Does my resume matter for law school?”  

After all, you might already have talked about your activities and work experience in your essays. So then, what’s the point of the law school resume? Why do law schools still ask for one?

Your law school resume is your opportunity to share with law schools:

• How you have spent your time
• What your qualifications are
• What kind of interests you have developed

In my opinion, the law school resume is an underused asset.

As I said, it is an  opportunity . How you structure your resume, what you decide to include, and how you describe your activities and experiences, are all strategic decisions in crafting your own personal narrative.

A well-written resume will highlight the traits, experiences, and qualifications law schools are looking for—like: 

• Analytical and writing abilities 
• Community engagement
• Self-financing your education
• Athletic talents
• Cultural or volunteer activities
• Language proficiencies
• Juggling multiple responsibilities
• Creativity & innovation 

And by having a resume that highlights these aspects of you already, your personal statement can avoid the  biggest mistake of being just a glorified cover letter .

So yes, your resume does matter for law schools. 

Now that you know what a law school resume is and why you should focus on writing one that really stands out, let’s move on to  how  to write a winning resume. 

How do you make your law school resume stand out? 

Now you might be wondering: 

What should be on a law school resume? 

The simplest explanation is this: 

Your resume is often an undervalued strategic part of your application. How you frame your experiences and organize your resume  should go to the broader theme  that you’ve curated for your entire application. 

Your resume needs to be  unique to be an asset  – in fact, I spend a lot of time with my clients figuring out how to strategically frame their resumes. 

For instance, if a client wants to go into legal academia, we organize and describe their experiences to highlight the traits and skills they need for that job. 

Overall, your resume will generally contain some combination of these main headers, depending on your background:

• Professional Experience and/or Employment
• Community Engagement
• Publications
• Accomplishments
• Skills/Interests

Let’s look at each of these below. 

Before we dive into the individual law school resume elements, how long should your resume be? 

Your resume can be  one or two pages.  Law schools don’t really care about the length, as long as you’re not using a tiny font to keep it to a single page, or adding in unnecessary details to make it two pages. 

A two-page resume is not necessarily better than a one-page resume, and vice versa. 

Also, even if you are recently out of undergrad, if you have a lot of things to include, a two-page resume is fine. 

Similarly, on the flip side, if you’ve been at the same job for the past decade, just because you’ve been out of school for a while, doesn’t mean you have to have a two-page resume.

Next, let’s take a look at what to include under each header. Scroll down to see examples of resumes, but use these sections to fill out your own template. 

Unlike other fields or jobs, law schools (and law in general) care a lot about your education, so  put this section first. 

You should include all your  degree institutions  and  certificates , but you do not need to include things like every summer school you attended. 

If you transferred during undergrad, you would want to include both schools. You could include a study abroad institution either separately, or under your undergraduate institution.

You will include schools in  reverse chronological order , up until high school. Remember, law schools do not care about high school so don’t include it at all!

You can see how to format this via the samples law school resumes at the end of this post, but you’ll want this section to include the following information for each educational institution:

• Name of institution, city, state
• Official name of degree (B.A., B.S., M.S., etc.), date conferred or anticipated
• Major & minor
• GPA (only if near or above the law school’s median,  if you have a low GPA , don’t include)
• Honors (such as magna cum laude, thesis title, Dean’s list semesters, honor societies, scholarships/awards received)
• Activities (this is only if you have so many activities that you don’t have room in the body of your resume. You can include minor activities here that you devoted less time to).

Professional experience and/or employment 

What you include in this section will depend on your background.

If you apply straight from undergrad or within a few years of graduating: 

You can include any jobs or internships you’ve held during (and after) college. (Just not work experience from high school.)

Even if it was just waitressing or working at the local Target, law schools want to see how you spent your time. And they will applaud the fact that you worked while also managing your college courses. 

For work experience while in college, I always suggest including the number of hours you worked per week. You can see one of the samples at the end of this blog post on how to format it. But law schools really value this kind of work ethic and real-world experience.

If you apply after working for a while: 

You can leave some jobs out that don’t necessarily fit within your field. Though generally, you’ll still want to include most jobs in order to account for your time.

Consider creating two separate categories if your work experience seems to be all over the place. For instance, you could have all your internships under “Professional Experience” and your summer jobs working at Old Navy, or your during-college waitressing gig under “Other Employment” or something along those lines.

Similarly, if you’ve had more than one main career, divide up your headers by career topic, rather than strictly going in chronological order. So if you had a career as an educator and then shifted, you might write your headers as “Teaching Experience” and “Biotechnology Experience.”

How to describe your work experience

Even “unglamorous” jobs will boost your application. 

Law schools don’t only care about applicants with “professional” work experience or those with prestigious internships. Applicants who had to support themselves by working at the local coffee shop or scooping ice cream in the summer are seen as applicants who have grit and determination.

Admissions officers also focus mostly on  what  you did in your role. So don’t talk about the company selling billions of dollars in x widgets, but instead, how you managed an account of x clients by doing xyz. Get as specific as you can about the tasks you performed there.

Instead of saying something like “acquired the skills of managing and leading,” you want to show how you acquired those skills through action descriptors. So you would want to instead write, “Supervised two field canvassers across 20 districts.”

What to include 

Include the following information for this section:

• Employer name, job title, city, state, dates of employment.
• One to four bullets describing accomplishments and responsibilities. Start each bullet with an action word (e.g., led, supervised, coordinated, planned).
• If the purpose of the organization/company isn’t obvious to the admissions officer, explain it.
• If employment while also in school, include the number of hours worked per week.

Include your college and post-college extracurricular activities, and a description of your involvement and responsibilities for each. Do not include anything from high school (have I said this enough?!).

The point of this section is to demonstrate your interests and passions, and most importantly, to show that you had focus and commitment. If your level of involvement wasn’t enough to have much to say, then include it under your Education section as a single bullet. (See the sample law school resumes below). 

If you were only involved in an activity for a short period of time, you can help it not look like just a resume filler by describing how you participated extensively. You might say something about how you “attended weekly events” or “assisted in planning weekly events for fellow students.”

Community engagement 

You could also title this “Community Service,” or “Volunteer Work” whichever you think most applicable. This can include volunteer activities, involvement in religious organizations, fieldwork for elections, and so on. 

Your community engagement doesn’t have to be something official to be worth including on your resume. If you, on your own, volunteer at the local library every weekend, even if it’s not part of some organization, definitely include that!

If you’ve only volunteered for a single day, like Relay for Life, or if you’ve only done one or two community service events organized by your sports teams or your fraternity/sorority, don’t include that volunteer work as a separate section.

You can put that you did this under your Greek life description (if Greek life even merits its own entry in the body; often I tell clients to just put it under your Activities section as a single bullet). 

If you don’t have any volunteer work, don’t try to exaggerate something. It will only bring attention to the fact that you don’t have much volunteer experience. Let admissions officers instead focus on what you do have, not what you’re missing or what your weaknesses are.

Publications 

If you did research or wrote a paper that got published, where you were the author or a co-author, include the citation and if the title doesn’t make it obvious what it is about, include a single bullet briefly describing the project.

I’ve also had clients use this section to note podcasts they’ve won awards for, or significant speeches they’ve given.

If you have a series of publications, list them separately like you would on a CV, even if that means your resume has a third page.

Skills/interests 

Skills and interests typically go in a single section and include just one or two lines. 

For skills, you can include things like language fluency (and listing out your level of competency), musical abilities, computer languages, etc. Do not include things most other applicants will know how to do (e.g., word Office, social media, Adobe, etc.). 

For interests, make these very specific. Don’t just say general (cough, boring) interests like “reading, traveling, cooking.” What specific kind of books do you like to read? What things do you cook? 

Your interests should be ones that you consider significant, and it is ok to demonstrate that you have a specific religious or political affiliation. Think about things that make you unique, memorable, and likable, and include those.

What mistakes should you avoid when creating your law school resume? 

What are the top mistakes you should avoid on your resume? Let’s find out. 

First and foremost, your law school resume isn’t the same thing as a job resume, so skip: 

• An Objective
• Summary of Qualifications
• Relative Coursework 

Your resume also has to be readable. Don’t use a font size that’s smaller than 11 pt or make margins tiny. 

You can narrow margins  slightly , but only if you have to. Instead, try to be more concise in your descriptions.

Also, you don’t have to stick with a chronological order of your experiences or activities. You can be creative with how you group your different experiences. 

For instance, I had a client who had two very involved passion areas: education and gender violence. 

So instead of going in chronological order of when she did all the activities, we instead made two separate headers (“Education” and “Gender Violence”). Within each header, we then put her activities in chronological order. This showed her focus and well-built passion, instead of just making it look like she had scattered interests.

Language 

Don’t use jargon or acronyms (unless they’re obvious) when describing your roles and responsibilities. You want to make sure that no matter the background of the admissions officer, he/she knows what you’re talking about.

Also, don’t embellish your experiences. Any embellishment will set off an admission officer’s alarm bells and undermine your entire application. 

If you did something above and beyond, by all means, include it. But don’t try and make your filing work as a front desk associate sound like you were the one drafting the files.

A common mistake is to include high school activities and experiences. But law schools do not care about what you did in high school. You are applying for a professional degree now. They want to see you are mature and can thrive without the support of your parents or high school teachers. 

So unless you did something extremely out of the ordinary for your age in high school—like were in the Olympics at age 16 or part of a professional adult symphony, —leave off your high school experiences.

On that same note, don’t include skills every law school applicant will have. Every law school applicant can use Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Every law school applicant can type. You don’t need to tell law schools you have these (or other similarly obvious) skills.

Now you know what to include and what not to include in your resume.

But what are some real-world examples of law school resumes? Here you go!

Law school resume examples

These law school resume examples are real examples of some of my clients’ resumes. 

Use what we talked about above to understand why they’re written and formatted the way they are.

   The college senior with a lot of experience

  The applicant with over a decade of professional experience

  The college senior with more minimal experience

Helpful resources

Finally, here are a few helpful resources – top law school resume pages: 

• University of Pennsylvania
• Harvard Law School
• Stanford University
• Yale Law School
• University of Chicago 

Over to you!

There you have it! Now you know how to create a law school resume. 

What it comes down to is using your resume as an opportunity to build on your application and stand out from the masses.

Want to get a curated strategy for getting into law school, even if you don’t have the perfect GPA, LSAT score, or resume? 

Read more about working with me here.  

Learn more: 

How to Write a Law School Personal Statement

How to Write a Diversity Statement for Law School

Hope you enjoy this blog post! Want to know how to use the power of your personal statement to get into your dream law school, even if you aren’t the “perfect” applicant?

Get the three exercises that have helped countless law school applicants craft a wildly successful personal statement

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How to Stand Out & Get Admitted to the Law School of Your Dreams

Law School Application Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

• Resume Examples
• Resume Text Examples

How To Write a Law School Application Resume

• Entry-Level
• Senior-Level

Law School Application Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

Mark Watney (384) 492-4029 [email protected] 812 Ridge Avenue, Mars, PA 14052

Recent college graduate with high academic honors and strong legal internship experience.

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Sociology, Pre-Law Concentration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA | 2022

• 3.8 GPA | magna cum laude
• Honors Thesis: “Environmental Considerations of Transnational Corporate Law”

Co-Curricular Activities

Pre-Law Club | 2018 to 2022

• Vice President (2021 to 2022)
• Member (2018 to 2022)

Writer / Assistant Editor, The Legal Brief | 2020 to 2022

[Monthly newsletter produced by the CMU Pre-Law Department for students, faculty, and staff.] 

Volunteer, Pre-Law Department Job Fair | 2019 to 2022

Work Experience

Legal Intern, Roth, Mayhern & Associates, Pittsburgh, PA | January 2022 to May 2022

[Small firm focused on international law.]

• Reviewed discovery documents for principal lawyers
• Attended and observed court sessions with firm’s head litigator
• Researched and wrote a well-received court memorandum on environmental violation case
• Helped research and write 3 finding summaries

Office Assistant, Bertolli & Mathers, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA | January 2019 to December 2021

[Large corporate law office.]

• Filed documents and correspondence for past and current cases in the firm’s law library
• Assisted front desk staff with clerical duties such as copying, answering email queries, and directing phone calls
• Legal Research & Analysis
• Task Prioritization
• Teamwork & Collaboration
• Time Management
• Writing, Editing & Proofreading

Mary Russell (203) 384-0394 [email protected] 221 Baker Street, San Francisco, CA 10394

Paralegal with 8+ years of experience. Well-versed in legal terminology, with broad knowledge of procedures of law and court practices.

Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA | 2017 | 3.7 GPA

• Coursework included American Foreign Policy; American Political Processes; International Relations; Legal Frameworks for Change

Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies, Bryant & Stratton College, San Francisco, CA | 2014 | 3.6 GPA

• Coursework included Civil Litigation; Contract Law; Criminal Law & Procedures; Law Office Management & Technology; Legal Research & Writing

Paralegal CORE Competency Exam (PCCE) Certification, National Federation of Paralegal Associations | 2019

Professional Experience

Paralegal, Cohen & Sons LLC, San Francisco, CA | September 2016 to Present

• Draft various legal materials including client letters, pleadings, and memoranda
• Read, analyze, and interpret legal documents, case law, and statutory law
• Conduct legal research, gather data, and prepare reports for use in presentations and court
• Attend court hearings, and assist the firm’s principals as needed during trials

Paralegal, Miltock & Benson, Inc., San Francisco, CA | June 2014 to September 2016

• Researched, analyzed, and summarized past cases related to corporate and business law
• Maintained calendar and other confidential materials for senior partner
• Collaborated with business office manager to process and maintain billing and accounts receivable
• Helped draft and file legal documents and correspondence in support of upcoming cases
• Reported directly to firm’s senior partner
• Legal Documentation
• Public Speaking & Presentations
• Writing & Proofreading

Alona Twelvetrees (584) 394-3029 [email protected] Helena, MT 10928

Administrator with 13+ years of experience in Montana state government. Passionate about upholding the sovereignty and legal rights of Native Americans. Naturally curious and committed to learning new legal topics and concepts.

Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, Montana State Capitol, Helena, MT | October 2009 to Present

Assistant to the Director (September 2015 to Present)

• Promoted to serve as liaison between state and tribal governments, attending and speaking at meetings for both
• Research and write white papers, reports, memoranda, and more on issues of Native American sovereignty and legal rights to be presented to the governor and other state officials
• Work with director and other state officials to resolve individual complaints and legal issues faced by tribes
• Seek consensus among tribes, and work toward including their shared goals in state initiatives

Office Manager (October 2009 to September 2015)

• Public-facing role focused on addressing all in-person visitors’ questions and concerns
• Handled phone queries and mail correspondence including letters from constituents
• Helped director troubleshoot and resolve issues consistently and fairly
• Proposed system improvements that raised filing efficiency by 50%

Associate Degree in Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, Blackfeet Community College, Browning, MT | 2009

• 3.6 GPA | cum laude
• Coursework included Federal Indian Policy & Government; Legal Research & Writing; Tribal Criminal Law & Procedure
• Completed office management internship at Blackfeet Tribal Government Headquarters (Browning, MT)

Writing a law school application resume is similar to writing a resume for a job. Start by determining key characteristics the law school might be looking for in students. Look at your own experience and accomplishments, and present those facts in a way that aligns with the law school’s focus or mission.

This guide provides actionable advice about creating professional experience and education sections. It also discusses the type of format and template you might want to use and what skills and action verbs might be relevant.

1. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your law school application qualifications

Your profile section may be your first introduction to an admissions officer or panel. This short blurb — keep it to four or fewer sentences — can serve a few purposes. It should highlight some of your best qualities or most impressive achievements, teasing them to persuade someone to read more of your resume or application.

Your profile can also express enthusiasm for a specific law school and hint at your reasons for wanting to attend. However, it should still be professional.

Profile Example #1

Profile example #2, 2. outline your law school application experience in a compelling list.

Focus on results and value in this section rather than simple lists of job duties or extracurricular activities. Use bullet points, action verbs, and actual measurements to create a story about why you’re an ideal candidate for a law school.

For example, you might write that you “contributed to research for dozens of legal briefs as an intern” or that you “suggested an updated filing process that reduced file room man-hours by 10%.”

Mine your volunteer, academic, and professional work for information for this section.

Professional Experience Example #1

Legal Intern,  Roth, Mayhern & Associates,  Pittsburgh, PA | January 2022 to May 2022

Professional Experience Example #2

Paralegal,  Cohen & Sons LLC,  San Francisco, CA | September 2016 to Present

3. List any education and certifications relevant to law school applications

Education credentials enhance your value as an applicant and demonstrate you have the qualifications and experience to succeed in law school. Because law schools require previous degrees, ensure your education is clearly spelled out on your resume. Find easy templates for including your degree below.

Certifications are less common for law school applicants. However, if you’re making a career change and entering law school after working in another field, your certifications might help demonstrate your work ethic, leadership capability, or other traits. For example, a project management certificate positions you as an applicant who can multitask, problem-solve, and plan for large efforts.

• [Degree Name]
• [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
• Bachelor of Science in Sociology
• Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA | 2022

Certifications

• [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
• NALS Certified Professional Paralegal, The Associated for Legal Professionals, 2020

4. Include a list of skills and proficiencies related to law school applications

Adding relevant skills to your resume helps flesh it out and create a more impressive overall document. Pick some of your most impressive skills to list in their own section, especially if you can back them up with more information in your cover letter.

Also, work key skills into your profile summary and professional experience section. Think about how you can combine skills with accomplishments, such as “developed leadership experience as law club president” or “conducted research projects on various legal topics, including personal injury, criminal law, and labor laws.”

How To Pick the Best Law School Application Resume Template

It might be tempting to up the ante on your resume’s wow factor with unique design elements or an eye-catching font. However, these additions tend to make resumes harder to read. Instead, look for a template that presents a clean, professional design. Simple fonts and well-aligned resume components will please most admissions panels more than distracting visual flourishes.

Find a template that offers room for academic achievements and provides creative freedom in completing various sections. This makes it easier to add volunteer work and extracurriculars to your resume, if relevant.

Frequently Asked Questions: Law School Application Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for law school application resumes -.

Law schools know you’re attending to learn, but when you can position yourself as an active candidate who provides value to others, you may impress admissions panels. Including action verbs on your resume helps you create a more dynamic narrative about your accomplishments and experience, which can set you apart from other applicants.

The right action verbs also make your resume easier to read and scan, ensuring admissions professionals can get right to the important elements of your application.

Some action verbs to consider using on your resume include:

How do you align your resume with a potential law school? -

When sending resumes with law school applications, do a little homework to ensure your document makes the grade. Read through the law school’s brochure or website to understand what type of student tends to succeed there. Look for terms that are repeated or seem important to the faculty or school, and consider how you might work those terms into your resume naturally.

The job market for attorneys is expected to grow by 8% through 2032, a pace that’s faster than average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Aligning your resume with a potential law school’s needs or mission is a small step toward joining the ranks of lawyers in the future.

What is the best law school application resume format? -

For potential law school students, the combination resume format is a good choice. This format provides plenty of room for work experience as well as skills lists. It creates a well-rounded document that captures your knowledge and the effort you put in to build it.

A combination format also leaves room for creatively capturing accomplishments. For example, you may want to include specific coursework or academic achievements, volunteer work, or experience unique to a student, such as work-study efforts.

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A cover letter allows you to show enthusiasm and passion for the next step in your career. You can use our lawyer resume cover letter examples as a guide for how to write and format this letter. Be personable but also concise and professional. In a few paragraphs, tell the admissions office or other relevant personnel why you’re a great option for their school.

Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

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The journey to becoming an attorney at law is a long, tedious, and strenuous one. It involves years of secondary education, being near the top of your class, and extreme attention to detail. However, if a candidate wishes to practice law in the United States, they’ll have to create a law school  resume  which will help them gain entry to this specialty university.

Like any other resume, the quality of your law student resume can make the difference between being denied or gaining entry. While there are several similarities between a resume for law school and any other higher-level university, sometimes it’s a good idea to review legal resume examples before you get started.

If you are wondering how to write a resume for law school, this article is for you.

In the information below, we’ll show you a law student resume that was written by using a law school resume template. We will show you which sections you should include in this resume, how to format any resume for law school and some best practices for creating the content that will help you shine over the competition.

Example Law School Resume

Today’s top-tier law schools will only admit the cream of the crop. Candidates need to showcase exceptional educational credentials, a dedication to learning the US legal code, and the ability to multitask. These skills and attributes should be articulated on your entrance resume. You can review a great sample law school resume directly below to see how our candidate Candace accomplishes these objectives.

Download this resume example - Law school

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Candace’s law school application resume is clean, neat, well-structured, and easy to read. You can see that each section is formatted using the same font, is listed in reverse chronological order (newest to oldest format) and is grammatically accurate. She used a law school resume builder to format every section in a clean and easy-to-review manner. 

She has written an opening statement in the sample law student resume specifically to the school she is applying for, versus writing one, generic objective. The law graduate resume tells a story from start to finish, showing the admissions team why she is an exceptional candidate for their prestigious law school.

Let’s break down each section included in this resume for law school application in the information below.

Law School Resume Tips: How to Make a Resume for Law School in 2024

Most law school resume examples are written quite well. However, they lack practical tips that are specific to the type of resume - or give you structure on how to write that law school graduate resume. Like any other endeavor, writing a law school admissions resume is easier when you start with a plan of attack.

The organization is the key, which is possible when you start by creating a master resume. Essentially, a master resume is a working word document, that permits you to write details about each relevant section, edit the content, organize the layout and structure, and fine-tune the content.

So – let’s start writing your law school resume.

The first item for law school resumes writing checklists is to create one. While most law schools will communicate with you about their admission requirements, there are some important sections you’ll want to include in your resume.

• Contact Information
• College Education
• Professional Experience / Internships
• Community Involvement
• Personal Hobbies & Activities

1. List Your Contact Information

Consistency in writing a legal school resume starts by listing accurate and updated contact information. This will include your full legal name (that matches your application exactly), mailing address, email address, and a good contact phone number. We recommend listing your mobile phone, as several college admissions members will send text alerts to students to inform them of their application status.

When you utilize a law school resume template, inserting your contact information will be seamless and organized professionally.

You’ll notice that we don’t recommend inserting a resume objective. There is a reason for this. When you’re applying to a specialty, higher-level educational facility, candidates invited for an interview will be selected on their qualifications. Your opportunity to sell yourself to the school will be in person. So, don’t worry about writing a resume objective or personal statement for a law school admissions resume.

2. College Education for Law School Resume

For a law school application resume, the college education section is extremely important. In most job application resumes, listing the basics about your education is good enough – simply write the location, degree earned, GPA, and date of graduation. It's also advised to include your LSAT results when submitting a resume and application to the admissions committee.

When you’re applying to admissions officers from your law school, remember this key point - they're looking for relevant information. They've likely supplied you with the requirements, so make sure you follow their lead in the education section.

The legal school admissions staff needs to verify that you’ve taken the required courses that will prepare you for the specialty education of law school. As such, your law school resume format for this section should follow our sample resume to the “T”. There is no need to include your high school – just insert the relevant information required by your law school.

How to Format this Section

When it comes to your law school application resume format, here are some specifics.

• Start with your highest degree earned. (Bonus Tip* - If you’ve graduated with great distinction or at least the top 10 to 15 percent – and have earned Magna Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude designation – a list that next to your degree, as we did in the sample resume above).
• List the location and date of graduation.
• List the awards earned.
• Showcase your affiliations. This would include honors society, Greek houses, or others.

3. Professional Experience for Law School Resume

Contrary to popular belief, the professional experience section within a law school resume template does not need to be filled with multiple law firm positions. Most law school admissions experts suggest that showcasing previous experience that focused on the candidate’s ability to articulate – both oral and written communication are just as crucial.

If you are creating a law student resume with no legal experience, focus on those jobs where you’ve showcased positive legal skills – such as written and oral communication. Work experience is important - but a law school wants to see relevant professional experience. While listing applicable legal experience is crucial – it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have that professional experience.

When you review Candace’s law student resume to Harvard Law School, you’ll notice that she focuses on two jobs – one was her law clerk position, the other is as a professional writer of online content. Within each job listing, she provides the name of the employer, dates of employment, and then bullet points of her key tasks.

The bullet points in law school application resumes will extrapolate on critical skills that are vital for an attorney at law. Some of these skills include persuasive communication, attention to detail, organizational skills, research abilities, and analytical thinking.  Formatting for this section is crucial, as you want them to review your ability to organize content.

4. Community Involvement & Extracurricular Learning

If there is one section in Candace’s law school resume example that truly stands out – it’s her community involvement and extracurricular learning. The best law schools pay a lot of attention to the extracurricular activities – or community involvement of their candidates.

Social responsibility is a crucial component of serving as an attorney in the United States – and should be a natural objective of anyone who wishes to practice law. However, those candidates who spend their time improving their understanding of the legal process, becoming advocates for others, or supporting non-profit organizations will stand above those who do not.

Your community or social involvement section should be formatted similarly to your professional experience. List the name of the organization, dates of involvement, and bullet points of your responsibilities – or tasks completed.

As you’re applying to a law school, it’s a solid idea to include several key power words or buzz terms that will showcase your soft skills (or interpersonal skills).

5. Personal Hobbies & Activities

Consider this section as an optional one – or the cherry on top of the resume for law school application sundae. Today’s attorney is personable and needs to showcase charisma, and the ability to engage in social situations. Nothing better showcases these attributes than adding some personal flair to your law school resume.

In this section, feel free to share some of the personal hobbies or activities you are passionate about participating. Keep it simple with the format, such as listing the activity, the dates, and some key bullet points of accomplishments.

6. References

The reference section is essentially an opportunity for you to share personal or professional peers that can vouch for your work ethic and personal integrity. You should select references that may have legal or professional experience. If not, make sure to gather references from undergraduate or graduate college professors, previous employers, or one listed in your professional experience section.

Like any section of your resume, consistency is crucial in the reference section of a law school resume. Always verify their contact information and ensure it’s up to date. More importantly, make sure you have their permission to be contacted if needed.

How to Format This Section

The reference section should only list the name and place of employment of your reference. You don’t want to list their private contact information on a resume – as that would be a violation of their privacy. Simply write “available upon request” and provide that information if the hiring manager requests. You can indicate on your cover letter that you have references available on request as well.

Final Points on Writing a Law School Application Resume

One of the most difficult professional schools to receive admission to is a law school. Whether you’re applying to Harvard Law, Yale, or a local law school, writing a powerful and organized law school resume is a vital component to becoming accepted.

We’ve provided a roadmap – not only with Candace’s law school resume example but also each section in the content above. The key is to use perfect grammar, the correct language, and take advantage of a law school application resume template. When you edit all your content in a master resume document, paste it in a text file, then paste in the template, you’ll save time, and ensure the resume appears clean, neat, and organized.

Beyond documenting the relevant experience and customizing your resume for the specific job you’re applying for, make sure to follow these crucial tips.

• Make sure your law school resume is reader-friendly and flows from beginning to end.
• Always write your resume on a plain white background with black font.
• Edit the document SEVERAL TIMES – through Grammarly.com and visual inspection.
• Ensure its well-spaced, organized, and professional.
• List all education, professional experience, and community involvement in chronological order.
• Verify your reference's contact information and use ones that support your resume.
• Finally, read it out loud a few times before you’re ready to paste the content into a law school resume template.

Starting the job search for an attorney at law position begins once you graduate from law school and pass your bar exam. However, you need to gain entry to the law school. Mainly - your academic achievements are going to do most of the work for you. But academic performance is not the only entrance criteria.

When you take time to review every word your write, choose the right tone, select action verbs that make sense, and ensure the document flows from start to finish, you’ll provide the admissions team with a clean and organized resume that will support your application to law school.

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Law Student Resume—Samples, Template & 20+ Tips

You’ve always been an overachiever, and now you’re on your way to acing law school. Here’s how you write a law student resume that gets you your first job.

You’re about to take your biggest step yet to becoming a legal professional.  Getting into law school was a big achievement, sure: but now it’s time to put those skills into practice. 

So, whether you’re applying for an entry-level legal job or a law internship, be brave and put your better foot forward with a law student resume that’s gavel-clack crisp.

In this guide:

• A law student resume sample better than most.
• How to create the perfect law student resume job descriptions.
• How to write a law student resume with no legal experience.
• Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing the job of your dreams.

Save hours of work and get a job-winning resume like this. Try our resume builder with 20+ resume templates and create your resume now.

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Need an academic CV or resume?

• Law School Resume
• Academic CV
• Student Resume
• College Application Resume
• Research Assistant Resume
• Internship Resume
• College Freshman Resume
• College Student Resume Example
• Graduate School Application Resume
• MBA Application Resume
• Scholarship Resume

Also, check out these law-related resume guides:

• Legal Resume
• Law Clerk Resume
• Attorney Resume
• Legal Assistant Resume
• Paralegal Resume
• Technical Writer Resume
• Federal Resume

Sample Law Student Resume

Maria Richard

Law Student

Personal Info

Phone: 601-309-6447

E-mail: [email protected]

linkedin.com/in/mariajrichard

Highly motivated J.D. student, holder of a BA in Philosophy with a strong emphasis on ethics and questions regarding judiciary reach. Received the Dean’s Award for Writing at UCLA and independently recruited two clients worth a combined $150,000+ while working at King Asset Management. Seeking to apply proven research and reasoning skills as a dedicated intern at Goldstone & Partners. 

Education 

Juris Doctor Program

UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Expected graduation date: 2022

Current GPA :  3.9

Coursework:  Criminal Law, Contracts, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Legal Research and Writing

Achievements: 

• Received the Dean’s Scholarship for exceptional academic performance

BA in Philosophy

2015–2019

Coursework:  Practical Ethics, Judiciary and Punitive Systems, Studies in Rhetoric, Formal Logic, Aesthetics

Achievements:

• Received  Dean’s Award for Writing  for essay “Jurisdiction/prudence”, 2019
• Invited to postgraduate study group focused on Kant and Schopenhauer, 2018

Experience 

Administrative Assistant

King Assets Management

2019–present

• Prepared 20+ agreements per month for approval by the company lawyer, 98% of which were accepted without changes.
• Demonstrated a working knowledge of 2000+ pages of regulations and protocols.
• Participated in seven committees, collectively drafting 12+ new policies.
• Recruited two clients, each worth $70,000–95,000 p.a.

ElectroShack

• Handled cash, card, and check payments without error.
• Identified three attempts at using fraudulent credit and gift cards.
• Created online shift-swapping system used by store staff since 2016.
• Upsold 56% of purchases with POS promotions.

Key Skills 

• Business document preparation
• Business/administrative writing
• Interpersonal skills
• Deductive reasoning

Certifications

• LibreOffice Certified Advanced User, 2019
• First Aid, CPR, AED, American Red Cross, 2016
• Spanish (Rioplatense dialect) – native speaker
• English – native speaker
• French – advanced

Now here’s how to write a law student resume they’ll love:

1. Choose the Right Law Student Resume Format

This is a general guide that works well in most cases, but before you apply for an internship or an entry-level job, make sure to always check with the organization for a full list of application requirements.

The key to Alan Shore’s physical appeal? Understated elegance. Here’s what that looks like in resume format form:

Law Student Resume Format

• Use the reverse-chronological resume format , but put your education before your work experience.
• Choose an understated resume font like a Noto or Calibri in 11–12 pt.
• Leave all your resume margins at one inch and plan for plenty of white space.
• Follow the recommended length. How many pages should a resume be , anyway? Simple: one page if at all possible.Don’t go over two pages.
• Include at least these resume sections: Resume header , Profile, Education, Experience, and Skills.

You’re probably well aware that it’s better to save your resume in PDF rather than *.docx , but double check if that’s what the organization or company wants. Some companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) that don’t deal too well with PDF. In that case, your ATS resume should be a Word file, or whatever format the company prefers.

2. Write a Compelling Law Student Resume Objective or Summary

Start with a resume profile statement that sums up your candidature and highlights your strengths.

Got some work experience to lean on?  Then go with a resume summary statement , it’ll let you augment your academic achievements with work accomplishments .

• One adjective (efficient, detail-oriented, highly motivated)
• Your status as a law student or graduate
• What proven skills you’ll leverage in order to succeed in your studies
• Two or three of your most impressive achievements, with at least one academic and one work-based achievement.

These law student resume examples show how:

Law Student Resume Examples—Summary

The first example is concrete, with achievements quantified wherever possible.

Not enough work experience to go this route? Need to write a law student resume with no legal experience? No worries— Write a resume objective statement and leave the spotlight solely on your academic and volunteer work.

Law Student Resume Objective—Examples

Getting that overwhelmed feeling? Write your law student resume objective or summary last. It’ll be less stress and a better result all round.

3. Your Education Is Key—Treat It as Such

Education isn’t everything when applying for entry-level law opportunities. Far from it.

So-called life skills are extremely important. But your college education is likely to be your greatest asset at this point in your career. So list your degrees (with majors), school names, and years attended.

Then add subsections and bullet points that cover some or all of the following:

• Thesis titles
• Thesis supervisors
• Publications
• Conference papers
• Coursework (only what’s relevant)
• GPAs (if 3.7+)
• Achievements
• Awards and scholarships

This law student resume example shows how:

Law Student Resume Template: Education Section

Education  

Current GPA:  3.9

Short on paid work experience?  Expand on your resume education section even more by including select projects and extracurricular activities and accolades.

The ResumeLab builder is more than looks. Get specific content to boost your chances of getting the job. Add job descriptions, bullet points, and skills. Easy. Improve your resume in our resume builder now .

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4. Draft the Perfect Law Student Resume Job Description and Skills Sections

Compelling arguments often have this in common:  They’re based on factual, verifiable statements.

Show them what you’re capable of by describing what you’ve already done. Make your resume work history section a barrage of accomplishments.

How to write job descriptions for a law student resume:

• Re-read the application guidelines.
• List some of the skills this particular employer might value.
• Think of times you’ve used those skills to benefit your previous employers.
• Write resume bullet points that describe the above and back them up with numbers. Quantifiable achievements work much better than a bland list of duties. 

Law Student Resume Template—Job Descriptions

• Prepared agreements for approval by the company lawyer, almost all of which were accepted without changes.
• Demonstrated a working knowledge of many regulations and protocols.
• Participated in various committees focused on drafting new policies.
• Recruited a couple of clients on own initiative.

One more thing: Select the right  skills to put on your resume . Be extremely selective in which and how many skills you include. Here are some examples to get the ball rolling:

Law Student Resume Skills Section—Sample

Hard Skills

• Document preparation
• Paper filing
• Digital filing
• Advanced spreadsheet skills
• Academic writing
• Technical writing
• Proprietary POS software

Soft Skills

• Critical thinking
• Customer service
• Organization
• Time management
• Detail orientation
• Collaboration
• Inductive reasoning

5. Stack Your Law Student Resume With Added Sections

Robert Shapiro doesn’t get juries to see past key evidence by doing the bare minimum.  There’s more to your candidature than your education, experience, and skills.

Paint a fuller picture— Add one or two extra sections:

• Additional Activities
• Foreign Languages
• Classes Taken

Hobbies and Interests

• Volunteering
• Professional References

These two law student resume examples show aye vs nay:

Law Student Resume Examples—Extra Sections

• LibreOffice Certified Advanced User
• First Aid, CPR, AED, American Red Cross
• Binge-watching shows on Popcorn Time
• Photographing clouds that look like things (other than clouds)
• Listening to creepy true crime podcasts by candlelight

There’s nothing wrong with listing hobbies and interests.  But everything you add has to be directly relevant to your application.

One last thing:  You should always assume a cover letter is required until told otherwise.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.

CREATE YOUR COVER LETTER NOW

Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here .

For a law student resume that gets interviews:

• Use the law student resume template given up top. It’s as tight as a David E. Kelley script.
• Put relevant achievements  in your resume profile, education, and work history sections to show you’re the best candidate.
• Select the right law student skills. Make sure your choices are appropriate to the position and organization to which you’re applying, all while playing to your strengths.
• Write a law student cover letter. It’s basic etiquette and a great opportunity to put your enthusiasm on display as you make an opening statement.

Got any remaining questions as to how to make a resume for law students that really stands out? Still not sure how to write a law student resume with no legal experience? Drop us a line down below. We’ll be sure to get back you.

About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process

At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines , ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets . Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.

Dominika is a job expert with a focus on career development and onboarding processes. At ResumeLab, she co-manages our team of career experts.

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How to Write a Resume for Law School Applications

The resume you include with your law school application is crucial to your candidacy. It is worth investing time and effort into making sure it shows you at your best.

Should applicants create a resume from scratch for law school applications? If you already have a resume for the purpose of applying to jobs and programs, feel free to draw on it for your law school resume. But be aware of some critical differences.

For one, a job search resume and a resume for law school applications will be read by different audiences, and should be tailored to reflect those differences. A hiring officer would quickly scan your resume to see your work history and assess whether you align with the requirements for the position. Hiring officers will often discard most resumes received after a cursory glance and then compare remaining candidates to determine which ones to interview.

In contrast, law school admissions officers do not assess your skills and qualifications and compare you against specific requirements. They are holistically evaluating how you present yourself and how you spent your time during and after college.

Your resume is a crucial part of the holistic admissions process because it provides law school admissions officers with a window into the "data" of your life: how you have spent your time and what roles and projects have been most significant to your personal development. The resume is also an overview of your career to provide extra context by interpreting your essays, letters of recommendation, transcript, and other materials.

To tailor a resume for law school applications , take the following steps:

Format professionally

Simplify sections

Write plainly

Perfect each bullet

Be honest and complete

Format Professionally

Navigating the information on your resume should be easy and intuitive. Flashy resumes with unique designs may help you stand out when looking for a job in a creative field, but law school admissions officers are looking for a simple, professional resume designs. Focus on concision and professionalism.

Limit yourself to one or two pages, depending on the length and breadth of your career.

Simplify Sections

Keep the sections on your resume short and simple. The standard headings are Education, Experience, and Activities. Some applicants also include Honors and/or Skills and Interests. Don't include a summary or objectives section because your goals here are self-evident.

Take out any job skills irrelevant to law school, except perhaps for advanced technical skills. Mastery of a computer programming language is impressive, but familiarity with desktop software is widespread.

Use section headings and ample spacing so that readers don't have to hunt for crucial points in a sea of text. Recent graduates may put the education section ahead of experience but list entries within each section in reverse chronological order.

Entries in the education section should include the degree and major or majors, an institution's name and location, and the graduation date. You might also list your GPA, both overall and within your major, although both numbers will appear in your transcript.

Remove anything from high school, except perhaps brief references to prizes or athletic achievements. As impressive as your young life may have been, that was your bridge to college. Now that you aspire to attend professional school, your resume should focus on adulthood.

[Next Read: How to Format Your Law School Personal Statement ]

Write Plainly

Use plain without jargon or wordiness. Imagine a reader who is smart and educated but unfamiliar with your field. Take care to express your responsibilities and achievements so that anyone can understand.

For example, most people will tune out when reading a tongue-twister like: "Interfaced through client-facing interactions to implement knowledge transfer solutions for product functionality" Instead, try something like: "Met with clients to teach them how to use products effectively."

Older applicants who have been in the workforce for many years should be cautious about taking out the jargon and translating responsibilities and achievements into plain English. Terms like "deliverables," "synergy," "deal flow," "downstream," "operationalize," and "matrix" may sound vague and meaningless to admissions officers unaccustomed to corporate buzzwords.

Perfect Each Bullet

Carefully craft each bullet point on your resume. Each position or experience should rarely require more than three bullet points.

Each bullet point should be one complete sentence, although the final period is optional. Begin the sentence with an active verb in the past tense for former positions or present tense for current jobs. Highlight your role, task, or responsibilities. Be specific and concrete.

Ideally, each bullet point should provide evidence of high performance. Mention how often or how many times you did something, the results of your work, or how you compared to others in your position.

For example, "performed administrative tasks" is uselessly vague. Instead, replace that with "won praise from supervisors for courteous demeanor and efficient handling of hundreds of calls per month." 

Be Honest and Complete

Be truthful. No law school is expecting applicants to be movers and shakers. Embellishments that are at odds with other application materials like recommendation letters may undermine your credibility and turn off reviewers.

Include every significant position and avoid chronological gaps longer than a few months. At the same time, on’t stretch minor events like brief acts of community service into whole entries.

Finally, be sure comply with any specific application instructions. Then, proofread carefully! Typos or formatting glitches can look unprofessional and distract reviewers from key points.

A good resume for law school should clarify the skills and experience you bring from work, school, and other activities. Ultimately, it should frame the rest of your application into a complete picture of who you are.

[Next Read: What to Send Law Schools After You Apply, From Updates to Letters of Continued Interest ]

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12 Law School Resume Tips + Example

Law student resume example + writing tips.

The top law schools have time and resources to  handpick the best applicants for admission . The committee will pay attention to your  LSAT score, GPA, letters of recommendations, and a resume . The latter often becomes a stumbling point even for the top students. The thing is,  writing a resume for law school is different  from writing one for employment. You have to emphasize whole  different characteristics  and use a  different writing style .

Whether you are looking to get accepted in Yale, Harvard, University of Chicago or other prestigious law school, you need to refine your resume so that it meets the high standards of such schools. Today, the experts of our online resume services will reveal the tips and tricks for writing a  persuasive resume  for your school application.

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Law student resume example

Here is a good example of a law student resume so you could get the idea of how to organize yours and what sections to include:

Image:  https://resumelab.com/resume-examples/law-student

Why is this a good resume?

• This resume is one page long, which is the ideal length for a student resume. It is neatly formatted, and all sections are clearly divided. Resumes with clear professional formatting have a higher chance of getting noticed.
• In the objective statement at the top, this student lists the degree in progress and academic awards. They also list professional achievements (recruiting clients worth $150,000) and career goals.
• This candidate briefly lists experience, quantifying their responsibilities whenever possible, which is valued by hiring managers. The education section includes school names, degrees, a GPA of 3.9, and relevant coursework.
• This law student resume also features relevant skills, such as legal research, deductive reasoning, and business document preparation. They also mention language proficiency.

You can use a similar law student resume template, but remember to list your unique educational background, work history, and achievements that will distinguish you from the competition. Here are some pointers to help you out.

10 Tips to write a law student resume that will get you noticed

1. use the traditional resume sections.

In a law school resume, main sections are the same as in a typical job search resume (however, it doesn't mean that the content should be the same – we'll talk about it later). These must-have sections include summary of qualifications, education, experience, and awards/accomplishments. Any other sections are optional – for instance, you may wish to include a Skills section if you have valuable or rare skills that can set you apart for the committee.

2. Capitalize on your law student skills

If there's plenty of space left in your law student resume, add relevant skills. You can find the needed skills in the job description or other industry resources. The skills section can help you pass the ATS screening, as skills often work as keywords.

The exact list of skills to include depends on your specialization and the target position. Here are some skills that are nice to have:

• critical thinking
• customer service
• legal research
• criminal law
• interpersonal skills
• legal documents
• negotiation
• corporate law
• time management

3. Highlight your academic accomplishments

What all schools pay attention to is your education section. Degrees, academic achievements, honors, scholarships, GPA, and thesis – all this adds points to your candidacy. List the degrees starting from the most advanced ones, and leave the high school information out. Include achievements such as Dean's list, honor societies, student awards and contests, and more. You might want to include some coursework (such as Federal Income Tax, International Law or Business Associations) if relevant. List accomplishments under each degree, or create a separate “Honors/Awards” section if there's plenty of them.

4. Emphasize other academic engagements

Do you have journal articles published, have you receive a grant or maybe, you were doing research work in the university and beyond? If these academic activities are relevant for your target law specialization, include them on a resume. Some schools pay attention to your academic and research background, so adding these details can influence your chance of getting admitted. If you want to achieve stellar career success, read our post where  women in business share their success tips .

5. Focus on legal experience

If you already have relevant experience (for example, as an intern or an administrative assistant), leave your irrelevant summer jobs out. Expand on your legal jobs, listing both your daily duties and achievements with figures. Have zero legal experience? Consider adding academic projects, such as doing a research for your professor, participating in student organizations, or volunteering in a law office or a non-profit organization.

If you haven't had even a law internship yet, you may add one or two irrelevant jobs. Be sure to highlight transferable skills that are important for a law firm.

6. Keep the length reasonable

For students, a one-page resume will suffice. This length allows you to present professional and educational history comprehensively. Yet, if you have extensive work experience or were involved in lots of relevant student activities, go for a second page. Keep the content highly relevant, and if the second page is absolutely necessary, use it.

7. Add a law student resume objective

The objective statement is nice to have in any student's resume. It lets you introduce the highlights of your education and skills, plus it explains to employer what position you're after and how you can contribute if hired.

Remember to keep your objective to 3-4 sentences. You can add the law degree, academic achievements, and professional highlights. Don't make it all about you - instead, think about the contribution you'd like to make in the law firm.

8. Put achievements and awards above the fold

Your law student resume is supposed not only to list your degree in progress and a couple of internship. You also need to boast a few accomplishments that showcase your ability to meet the highest standards and achieve ambitious goals.

Be sure to list academic achievements, such as the Dean's List, high GPA, or a student award. If you've had internships or relevant jobs, be sure to include numbers and percentages to illustrate your contribution. If you have plenty of achievements, consider creating a separate section for them.

9. Add professional accomplishments

The descriptions of your past jobs shouldn't consist of job duties only. You also need to mention at least a few specific achievements. Instead of writing “Generated new business”, say “Increased business with existing clients by 25%”. Such specific details show your ambition and orientation on results, which is important both in the workplace and in academia. Moreover, such achievements set you apart from other applicants whose experience and education is similar to yours.

10. Attach a law student cover letter

Submitting a cover letter with your law student resume is basic etiquette. Moreover, it is a chance to express your enthusiasm and your fit for the role. Send a short-and-sweet letter expanding on your achievements in law school and the hands-on skills you've acquired on internships and entry-level position. Keep it to 3-4 sentences and absolutely relevant to the organization you are applying to.

If you're writing a resume for the first time , it will be helpful to get an external opinion about it. Send your resume to our experts, and we will critically evaluate your resume and tell what could be improved about it to maximize your chances for interview. This service is free of charge.

Tips to organize your resume

Now that you know what information to add to your law student resume, it's time to organize it effectively. Here are the formatting tips to follow:

• Put your name and contact details at the top. Avoid fancy resume builders that place these details at the bottom or don't include them at all. The hiring manager won't spend time looking for ways to contact you.
• Don't add personal info, such as marital status, age, ethnicity, or religious beliefs. In the US, it is considered unprofessional and will result in rejecting your application.
• Write in bullet points. Today, presenting your projects and achievements as a bullet point list is considered a standard. Plus, bullets make your resume easier to read.
• Use a reverse chronological order. List your degrees and jobs starting with the most recent one.
• Include hard and soft skills. Mention job-related skills like in a sample law student resume above. Make sure to adjust the skills and all resume content for the target job ad.

How to compose a law school application resume?

Writing a law school resume is different from composing a resume for a job. You should't use the resume you use for job application to apply to a law school because they have different purpose.

When applying to law school, you don't need to impress recruiters in seconds. Law school admissions evaluate candidates thoroughly and pay attention to your overall background and values, not just the skills you have. Here are some pointers to guide you.

• Emphasize any details that distinguish you, such as community engagement, research interests, and volunteer work in addition to you education and work history.
• Keep it to one page. A one-page resume is a standard length for law school application. If your school has guidelines for formatting and content to include, follow them precisely.
• Adapt to the values of your law school. All top schools have values and expectations from the prospective students. For example, some prefer admitting experienced professionals, whereas others may pay more attention to community engagements, voluntary work or athletic accomplishments. Figure out what matters most for your school – and revolve the resume content around these details.
• Leave out irrelevant experiences. While an employer might appreciate your experience in McDonalds, admission officers wouldn't be much interested.

A resume isn't the only decisive factor for a law school committee. Yet, a thoughtfully written and well organized resume will certainly attract their attention. If you need a concise and effective resume, we can help. Our writers know the specifics of writing resumes for law schools and will help capitalize on your strengths.

Bonus: How to succeed in law school?

Your study in a law school can be an extremely rewarding experience if you approach the studying process right. To become an effective student, follow the recommendations below:

1. Read all the assigned materials

More importantly, do the reading on time. Law schools have extensive curriculum, so if you delay the reading for a week or two, you'll find it very tough to catch up with your classmates. Take notes as you read – it helps you prioritize the information and remember more.

2. Revise before class

Revise the notes you've taken as you read textbooks or during the previous lectures. This will help your brain focus even before the lecture begins. As a result, you'll feel more concentrated and involved in the discussion during the lecture.

3. Pay attention and take notes

At times, lectures can be boring. Yet, procrastinating and surfing the web isn't the most effective way to spend the lecture time. Pay attention to what the professor is saying and ask questions at once if something isn't clear. Take notes of the key concepts, books and learning strategies the tutor recommends.

4. Treat networking seriously

Studying in a law school isn't all about classes. It's also a tremendous opportunity to build your professional network early on and establish your reputation. Take your time to get to know your peers, tutors and senior students better. Once you graduate, you'll find it easier to land a job or an internship if you know many professionals in your field.

5. Stay organized

The number of classes and written assignments can overwhelm. To stay on top of everything, get a planner or use an app. Keep track of your assignments, projects, exams, and other important activities. In this case, you won't forget anything and will organize the learning process effectively.

Stand out with a professional law resume

The competition for legal jobs is tough, and having an effective resume can make all the difference. If you are not happy with the way your resume looks, entrust it to professionals. Our dedicated writers will highlight the exact qualifications that employers look for, boosting your chances to be shortlisted.

Our experienced writers can create a powerful resume suitable for each position. However, you may also request a specific resume depending on the job you are applying for, thus it will be tailored individually for your profession:

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• UB Directory
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• 5 Law School Resume Templates: Prepping Your Resume for Law School

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Prepping Your Resume for Law School

Published December 10, 2018 This content is archived.

Guest blogger Ashley Wilson-Rew is Content Strategist & SEM at protocol 80, Inc.

With everything you need to submit for law school -- you shouldn’t let your resume fall through the cracks. How can you be sure your law school resume highlights your best attributes?

It may seem like there are an endless amount of materials you need to submit to get into law school --  LSAT scores, letters of recommendations, and a personal statement are just a few among them. A resume could easily get lost in the midst.

However, a resume is a crucial element to your law school application process. It’s not something that is always required, but if it is, you’ll want to take some time creating it. You won’t want to throw it together the night before it’s due.

How is a law school resume different from a career resume?

A law school resume emphasizes your academic achievements.

An important thing to keep in mind is that your audience is the admissions committee, and not a future employer. You’ll have to be careful about your specific word choice, the skills you present, and the accomplishments noted. These all need to match the qualifications that law schools are looking for.

It’s important to note your passions while illustrating how you spent your time in college. Any leadership positions, professional responsibilities, and volunteer experiences could be beneficial to highlight.

Another thing to keep in mind when writing your resume is to make sure it matches your personal statement. You want to be transparent and cohesive about who you are. Your resume and personal statement should compliment one another.

These are just a few tips to help you craft your law school resume. Below is a list of law school resume templates you can follow to help you get into your dream school!

5 Law School Resume Templates & Examples

1. this example from redrocketresume has all the necessary information to impress the admissions committee..

It includes:

• Academic experience (education AND any research, writing, or teaching experience)
• Relevant employment (including non-law employment that demonstrates desirable qualities in a lawyer)

2. This template from International Student highlights leadership experience & special skills.

Learn more about the law school admissions process and School of Law community through an individual meeting with one of our staff members.

[Learn More]

3. Here’s a fantastic example template from U.S. News & World Report.

4. The Girl’s Guide to Law School provides a before & after law school resume example.

5. This resume template from Calling All Questions goes into depth with plenty of outside experiences.

You might want to follow this if you’re already in law school or soon-to-be graduating:

Office of Admissions University at Buffalo School of Law 408 O'Brian Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260 716-645-2907 [email protected]

Submit this form to receive an application fee waiver.

Law School Resume Examples and Writing Guide

Law school resume examples are hard to come by, even though they can be a useful resource when trying to create your own. One of the main reasons for this is that applicants often don't realize that there's a difference between a regular work resume, a CV for graduate school , and a resume for specific programs such as an MBA resume or law school resume. In this post, we will go over those differences, show you some top-tier law school resume examples, and give you some tips for creating your own.

>> Want us to help you get accepted? Schedule a free initial consultation here <<

Article Contents 10 min read

What is a law school resume.

A law school resume is a required document in applications to most law schools in Canada and the United States. Applicants often focus on perfecting law school personal statements , figuring out how to study for the LSAT , and reviewing potential law school interview questions , and while these are essential components of the law school application, a strong resume can be just as important. Law schools like to get a sense of who you are as a person and what you've done outside of the classroom, so a good resume can significantly impact your ability to gain admission.

Furthermore, most admission committees use your resume as an initial screening tool. They will start by reviewing your resume before reading your essays or any other application components to find out about your general background, achievements, and overall profile. This helps them decide if your application is worth considering. If you are called for an interview, the admissions board will usually ask questions related to your resume, so it's a good idea to learn how to prepare for your law school interview with your resume in mind.

When done correctly, your law school resume should showcase your accomplishments, experience, and skills in a way that will stand out to the admissions board.

Most law school applicants already have a resume that they use to apply for work or volunteer positions. It is important to understand that there are key differences between this resume and the one you need to submit with your law school application. Much like the other components of your application, your resume needs to be specifically designed for the reader. In this case, you are addressing the admissions boards of the school you are applying to. You need to keep in mind that the information they're seeking is different from what a potential employer would be interested in.

Both documents should result in a compelling, accurate, and flattering portrayal of your background. However, while your job-seeking resume needs to show your aptitude for a specific line of work, your law school resume should show your readiness for law school and your fit for your chosen institution. A hiring manager typically has a specific list of technical skills or qualifications that they are scanning for on a resume. For example, if they are hiring a graphic designer, they'll be looking at the resume to see how familiar the candidate is with the industry, if they have any experience in graphic design, or if they are trained to use a particular software. In contrast, law school admissions committees will probably spend more time thoroughly reviewing your resume and trying to determine if your background has prepared you for their law school. They will be looking for evidence of the qualities that the school values and focusing on things like your academic achievements and communication skills.

To put that into context, take a look at the two resumes below. Both of these resumes belong to the same person, so they obviously showcase a similar background. That said, you can clearly see that they have chosen to highlight different parts of their experience on the different documents. The first resume is designed for a potential employer. It includes a resume objective or summary at the very top and has a list of specific skills that the employer is likely to be interested in. The second resume is better suited for a law school application as it has more information about the applicant’s academic background, and instead of listing skills, they have highlighted some awards/honors that showcase transferable skills which can be useful in law school.

Would you first like to see a summary of some key tips we discuss later in this article? Check this out:

Law resume example #1

Now that you have a better idea of what a law school resume is and what it needs to communicate, let’s talk about how you can craft a strong one for yourself:

Law school resume format & layout

Your law school resume needs to be clean, professional, concise, and well-organized. The aim is to make it as easy to read as possible. It's important to check the requirements of the law school you are applying to, as they may have specific instructions for your resume. If that is the case, you should make sure to follow those instructions as it shows the admissions board that you take your application seriously and that you can take directions.  

Unless otherwise specified, these are our recommendations for the format of your law school resume:

Your law school resume needs to communicate a substantive amount of information in a very precise manner. To make it easy to read and to provide only the most pertinent information, we recommend sticking to bullet point lists that convey the key achievements for each experience and project you worked on. Each bullet point should have a maximum of three lines to avoid cluttering up the page.  ","label":"Writing style","title":"Writing style"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

Law school resume sections & content

There is no golden resume template to get you into law school. The key to success is making sure that your resume is structured in a way that is easy to follow and read. That means keeping everything neat and separated into clearly labeled sections. Your resume should include the following sections:  

• Contact Information 
• Education 
• Work Experience (professional experience and volunteer experience) 
• Additional Achievements/Information (Such as awards and honors, special projects, certifications, Skills, Interests/Activities)  

Now, let’s go over what needs to be included in each section. It may seem obvious, but the truth is that applicants often make mistakes when it comes to the content of their law school resume. You have to carefully decide what to include and, just as importantly, what you leave out.

This is, without a doubt, the easiest section on your resume. As suggested by the section's name, you should keep it simple and provide that they need to contact you. We've provided a basic list of information to include below, but of course, you can tweak this list for your specific profile. 

You should include the following: 

TIP : While including a LinkedIn profile is optional, it does give admissions officers another opportunity to learn more about you, so including it may be to your benefit. 

2. Education

Remember that you are applying for an academic program, so your academic background is very important. You should write your education section in reverse chronological order, meaning that the most recent education should be listed first. If you are still completing a degree, you should still list it with your anticipated date of completion. 

For every degree, you should have a new entry. Each one should include the name of the degree, the university you attended, your graduation year, your major and minor (when applicable), your GPA (if it is competitive), any honors or significant achievements, key projects, research work, and meaningful coursework.  

That said, if you have been working for a significant number of years and have more work experience, then you can opt to keep these entries brief and make your work experience the focus of your resume. In that case, your education entries should only mention the name of your degree, the institution, the year of graduation, your major and minor, and key achievements that highlight the qualities that your chosen law school values.  

3. Work experience

Often, this is where applicants err by trying to cram in too much information. Depending on your level of experience, this section can take up to 3/4 of your resume, but you need to make sure that it only includes relevant information. You should stick to the following:

Write your summaries in bullet points, with each point having one to three lines, and use action verbs such as "improved", "managed" or "modified". Be specific and quantify your achievements whenever possible but remember that you can provide more information about the skills you gained and what you learned in your personal statement. You can look at law school personal statement examples to get a better idea of how to do that. 

As with the education section, you should write it in reverse chronological order and divide it into different subsections. For example, you can include a subcategory for research experience or volunteer experience, depending on your background.   

4. Additional achievements and information

This is the section where you get to highlight some of the things that do not fit into the other categories that we've discussed. This includes significant extracurricular achievements, relevant skills and certifications, awards and honors, associations/clubs with leadership roles, and interests. If you only have something to add in one of these subcategories, then you can make that your main category and list the relevant information.

You should only include high-stake accomplishments and information that is relevant to your application, which showcases abilities or qualities that would make you a stronger candidate for law school. For example, if you are a chess club member, you don't need to add it to your resume because it doesn't add much to it. On the other hand, if you created a chess club and led members to an important tournament, you should mention that because it shows your leadership potential. To make your resume more enticing, you can separate the information into different subcategories, as done in the example below: 

ADDITIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND INFORMATION:

Honors and awards

Doe Senior Society - March 20xx

• One of thirty members of the Class of 20xx to be inducted into University of X's oldest Honor Society

Research project Smith Scholarship Finalist – March 20xx

Founding member of New City Chess Tournament (NCCT) - Oct 20xx to present

• Recruited chess players in xx community
• Organized and supervised an annual tournament for over 36 players 

Be consistent with the rest of your application:

Your resume is just one component of your law school application. It is supposed to give the admissions board an overview of your academic and professional background, which your essays and other application documents will then explain in detail. The easiest way to achieve this is to be honest, avoid exaggerations and thoroughly proofread all of your documents.  

For example, suppose you’ve chosen to write a law school diversity statement in which you mention that you’ve spent a significant amount of time volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters to help children who come from the same socioeconomic background as you, but then your resume shows that you were only a volunteer for one month. In that case, your word choice may cause the admissions board to be confused or, even worse, suspicious. It is important to pay attention to the details and stick to telling the facts in a flattering way rather than trying to embellish your experience.  

Focus on actions and results

Instead of listing tasks and functional responsibilities as you would for a job-seeking resume, you should try to focus on actions and quantifiable results. You want your resume to highlight your skills and the best way to do that is to use action verbs such as ‘created’, ‘led’, or ‘performed’. Whenever possible, you should also mention measurable results and long-term achievements as they are more memorable and help put things into context for the reader. The aim is to show the admissions board the impact that your achievements had and qualities that will serve you well in law school. 

For example, instead of saying 'Was responsible for converting paper filing system into a digital system,' you should say 'Overhauled office paper filing system and digitized it, thus increasing efficiency.' The second sentence tells more of a story than the first one, highlighting your ability to take a project, see it through and effect change.  

Skip the technical jargon

When you are applying for a job, you want your potential employer to know that you are knowledgeable about your industry. You also know the likelihood of them understanding your line of work's acronyms and technical jargon is relatively high. In that case, you should feel free to use certain technical words. However, on your law school resume, you should avoid all jargon that is not legal.  

Keep in mind that the admissions board will be looking at the content of your resume and your communication skills. Suppose they have to look up every other word or acronym on your resume because it's particular to the industry you were working in at the time. That experience will not only be unpleasant for them, but it will also tell them that you do not know how to communicate effectively.   

Prioritize adult education and work experience

We're not saying that your high school accomplishments are unimportant or that you shouldn't mention them at all but this isn’t a high school resume , so try to keep these to a minimum. Your law school resume should only mention significant experiences and prestigious accomplishments from high school. Like if you achieved a distinctive honor like being valedictorian, for example.  

On the other hand, things like your high school GPA or involvement in the chess club do not need to be mentioned. Law schools are more interested in what you've done and who you are as an adult. For example, a 3.7 GPA from one of the best undergraduate business schools will be more impressive than a 4.0 GPA in high school.  

Proofread thoroughly

After you've finished the final draft of your law school resume, you should step away from it and come back to check it with fresh eyes. Make sure that there are no grammatical errors or typos, that your format is consistent throughout, and that it follows the school guidelines (if any). You can also invest in a law school admissions consulting  service to maximize your chances of having a solid resume and getting into law school.  

Law resume example #3

Law resume example #4.

A law school resume is a short document that provides a snapshot of the applicant's academic and professional background. It is an integral part of most law school applications.

We do not recommend that you do this. Your work resume is supposed to grab an employer's attention, and they're looking for specific technical skills that show them that you can perform in a particular line of work. On the other hand, your law school resume is part of an application to an academic program, which means that the admissions board will be looking for a different set of transferable skills to see if you are ready for law school.

In short, yes! Law school resumes can be used as a screening document for some admissions committees. Furthermore, they give you a chance to showcase your background in a way you may not be able to in the other documents that comprise your application.

Ideally, one page long, but this will depend on your experience level. You should try not to have more than two pages.

Your resume should give the admissions board of your chosen school an overview of your academic and professional background. Therefore, it should consist of your contact information, education, work experience, and any relevant additional information (Such as awards and honors, special projects, certifications, Skills, Interests/Activities) 

It's completely optional. That said, you should keep in mind that the aim is for the admissions board to get to know you, so if your LinkedIn has additional information that can strengthen your candidacy, then you should include it.

You should list any volunteering, internships, and campus leadership roles. Furthermore, you can expand your education section by including relevant coursework or projects.

You can include some information about your high school experience but keep this short because law schools are far more interested in the adult version of you. You should only include your high school's name, your graduation year, and significant achievements.

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Resume for Law School

Your resume is one the several components that ultimately comprise your applications to law school. Law school admissions committees are very interested in how you spend your time and energy outside of class, so it is essential that you create a strong, accurate, and flattering portrayal of yourself on your resume.

How to Convert a Job Resume to a Law School Resume

Consult this blog post for tips on converting your job resume to a law school resume that highlights your qualifications.

Law School Resume Samples

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