Lawyer Resume: Example, Specialisation and What to Write

Offerly·2026·~5 min read

In short

For a lawyer, specialisation and case results decide: which deals/disputes you handled, with what outcome and risk exposure. Vague 'supported operations' loses to specifics. The ATS scans for the practice area and tools in the posting: corporate, contract, litigation, compliance.

What recruiters and the ATS look for in a lawyer resume

Specialisation: corporate, contract, litigation, IP, employment, compliance
Result: cases won, deals closed, risk reduced, amounts
Industry and scale: market, company/deal size
Tools: legal research, contract management, LegalTech

ATS keywords

These phrasings come from real job postings — include the ones your experience backs up so the system can match you:

contract law corporate law litigation / arbitration compliance legal research M&A / deals employment law claims / disputes due diligence intellectual property

Strong bullet examples: before → after

Replace duties with results. Numbers (N — use your real ones, never invent them) turn a line into proof:

BeforeSupported the company's operations.

AfterHandled N contracts a month, reduced legal risk on N disputed clauses without losing deals.

BeforeWorked on litigation.

AfterWon N of N arbitration cases, protecting the company from $N in potential losses.

BeforeVetted counterparties.

AfterIntroduced a due-diligence checklist — cut counterparty review from N to N days.

Common mistakes in a lawyer resume

'Supported operations' with no specialisation or result — level unclear.
No numbers (cases, deals, risk amounts) — hard to gauge practice scale.
No practice area from the posting — weak match with the ATS and hiring manager.

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Frequently asked questions

What skills should a lawyer resume list?

Specialisation for the posting (contract, corporate, litigation, compliance) plus results: cases won, deals closed, risk reduced. A generic 'lawyer' is weaker.

How do I show a lawyer's results in numbers?

Number of cases/contracts/deals, dispute outcomes, risk saved, review speed. If amounts are confidential, use ranges and shares without inventing.

Do I need different resumes for corporate vs litigation?

Yes. Practice areas want different experience. Tailor the resume to the specific posting and its area of law.

Resumes for other roles: Sales manager resume · Developer resume · Marketing resume · Project manager resume · Data analyst resume · Designer resume · Finance resume · HR resume · Product manager resume · QA engineer resume · Systems analyst resume. Related: ATS-friendly resumes, how to tailor your resume to a job.