Many entry-level attorney resume drafts fail because they read like coursework, not legal work, so they lack proof of impact. In today's entry-level attorney resume screening, applicant tracking systems and fast recruiter scans reward clear, relevant results in a crowded pool.
A strong resume shows how you produced outcomes: drafted and filed motions that met court deadlines, summarized depositions into usable issue outlines, reduced research time by creating a citation bank, supported trial prep for a multi-party matter, improved accuracy through cite-checking, and helped resolve client questions faster. Understanding how to make your resume stand out is especially critical when competing against hundreds of other recent law graduates.
Key takeaways
- Quantify legal work with case volumes, deadlines met, and dollars supported—not task descriptions.
- Choose a hybrid format if you lack full-time legal experience but have clinics or internships.
- Mirror exact practice areas, tools, and terminology from each job posting in your bullets.
- Tie every listed skill to a specific project, clinic, or measurable outcome on your resume.
- Place bar admissions and certifications where recruiters expect them—directly after education.
- Write a three- to four-line summary featuring your practice focus, tools, and one quantified result.
- Use Enhancv to turn vague duties into precise, recruiter-ready bullet points faster.
How to format a entry-level attorney resume
Recruiters reviewing entry-level attorney resumes prioritize bar admission status, legal research and writing skills, relevant internships or clerkships, and academic credentials such as law school ranking and GPA. Choosing the right resume format ensures these signals appear early and clearly, improving both recruiter engagement and applicant tracking system (ATS) parsing.
I have significant experience in this role—which format should I use?
Use a reverse-chronological format to position your most recent legal experience at the top, where recruiters expect to find it. Do:
- Lead each entry with the scope of your role, including practice area, court level, and supervising attorney or firm context.
- Highlight legal research platforms, drafting skills, and substantive knowledge areas such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, contract review, or regulatory compliance.
- Quantify outcomes wherever possible—case volumes, documents reviewed, filing deadlines met, or cost savings achieved.
I'm junior or switching into this role—what format works best?
A hybrid format works best because it lets you lead with a focused skills section while still presenting internships, clinics, and academic experience in chronological order. Do:
- Place a skills section near the top that lists core competencies like legal writing, case analysis, client intake, and relevant software.
- Include law school clinics, moot court, legal aid volunteer work, or paralegal experience as transitional proof of practice readiness.
- Connect every action to a concrete result so recruiters can see how your effort produced a measurable outcome.
When does a functional resume make sense?
In limited situations, a functional format can work for an entry-level attorney candidate. Consider it if:
- You're transitioning from a non-legal career—such as compliance, policy, or law enforcement—and need to reframe transferable skills as legal competencies.
- You have a gap between law school graduation and your first legal role due to bar preparation, family obligations, or relocation.
- A functional format is acceptable only when you lack traditional legal work history entirely, and even then, every listed skill should be tied to a specific project, clinic, or outcome rather than presented as a standalone claim.
With your resume's structure and layout in place, it's time to focus on the specific sections that'll showcase your qualifications to hiring managers.
What sections should go on a entry-level attorney resume
Recruiters expect to quickly find your legal training, relevant experience, and practice-ready skills on your entry-level attorney resume. Knowing which resume sections to include and how to order them is essential for maximum clarity. Use this structure:
- Header
- Summary
- Experience
- Skills
- Projects
- Education
- Certifications
- Optional sections: Awards, Publications, Languages
Strong experience bullets should emphasize measurable outcomes, case or matter scope, your specific contributions, and results delivered for clients, clinics, or supervising attorneys.
Is your resume good enough?
Drop your resume here or choose a file. PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.
Now that you’ve organized the key resume components, focus next on writing your entry-level attorney experience section so those elements support a clear, credible case for your qualifications.
How to write your entry-level attorney resume experience
Your experience section proves you can deliver meaningful legal work—not just describe responsibilities you held. Whether through internships, clerkships, or clinical placements, hiring managers at law firms, government agencies, and corporate legal departments want to see demonstrated impact: the legal research you completed, the briefs you drafted, the cases you supported, and the tangible outcomes your contributions produced. Writing a targeted resume that aligns each bullet with the employer's specific needs is the fastest way to prove that impact.
Each entry should include:
- Job title
- Company and location (or remote)
- Dates of employment (month and year)
Three to five concise bullet points showing what you owned, how you executed, and what outcomes you delivered:
- Ownership scope: the caseload segments, legal research projects, client matters, document review processes, or compliance areas you were directly accountable for as an entry-level attorney or legal intern.
- Execution approach: the legal research platforms, case management systems, drafting methodologies, statutory frameworks, or analytical techniques you applied to investigate issues, build arguments, and deliver work product.
- Value improved: the changes you drove in case preparation quality, research turnaround efficiency, contract accuracy, regulatory compliance, or risk mitigation relevant to your practice area or department.
- Collaboration context: how you worked alongside senior attorneys, paralegals, clients, opposing counsel, court personnel, or cross-departmental teams to advance legal matters and meet deadlines.
- Impact delivered: the outcomes your legal work produced—expressed through case resolutions, successful filings, reduced exposure, strengthened compliance postures, or improved processes rather than a list of tasks performed.
Experience bullet formula
A entry-level attorney experience example
✅ Right example - modern, quantified, specific.
Entry-Level Attorney (Litigation)
Hawthorne & Pierce LLP | Chicago, IL
2024–Present
Mid-sized litigation firm representing regional healthcare and technology clients in state and federal courts.
- Drafted and filed twenty-five motions and supporting briefs in Westlaw and LexisNexis-driven research workflows, improving first-pass partner approval from 60% to 85%.
- Managed discovery for three matters using Relativity and Microsoft Purview eDiscovery, reviewing 18,000 documents and cutting review time by 22% through targeted search terms and tagging protocols.
- Conducted eight witness interviews and prepared deposition outlines in collaboration with clients and senior counsel, reducing deposition prep time by 30% and improving issue coverage across key claims.
- Negotiated and memorialized settlement terms for two small commercial disputes, coordinating with opposing counsel and clients to close matters within ten business days and avoid an estimated $40,000 in additional fees.
- Built a contract risk tracker in Microsoft Excel and SharePoint for a healthcare client’s vendor agreements, flagging high-risk clauses and reducing turnaround time for initial legal review by 25%.
Now that you've seen how to structure your experience effectively, let's focus on adjusting those details to match the specific legal role you're targeting.
How to tailor your entry-level attorney resume experience
Recruiters evaluate your entry-level attorney resume through both human review and applicant tracking systems. Tailoring your resume to the job description ensures you pass both screens.
Ways to tailor your entry-level attorney experience:
- Mirror the specific practice areas listed in the job description.
- Match legal research platforms like Westlaw or LexisNexis when referenced.
- Use the exact regulatory or compliance terminology the posting includes.
- Reflect case management systems or e-discovery tools the employer names.
- Highlight relevant bar admission or jurisdictional experience when specified.
- Incorporate the drafting or filing standards the role emphasizes.
- Align your client interaction experience with the collaboration model described.
- Reference litigation or transactional workflows that match the posting's focus.
Every tailored bullet should reflect a real achievement reframed to match the job's requirements, not keywords forced into place.
Resume tailoring examples for entry-level attorney
| Job description excerpt | Untailored | Tailored |
|---|---|---|
| Conduct legal research using Westlaw and LexisNexis to support senior attorneys in complex commercial litigation matters, including breach of contract and business tort claims. | Performed legal research and assisted attorneys with various tasks. | Conducted targeted legal research on Westlaw and LexisNexis to support senior attorneys in commercial litigation, analyzing case law and statutes relevant to breach of contract and business tort claims across 15+ active matters. |
| Draft, review, and revise pleadings, motions, and discovery documents in state and federal court proceedings under the supervision of litigation partners. | Helped prepare legal documents for court filings. | Drafted and revised pleadings, motions to dismiss, and discovery requests for state and federal court proceedings, preparing over 30 filings under partner supervision during a 10-week clerkship. |
| Assist with due diligence reviews for corporate transactions, including analyzing contracts, organizational documents, and regulatory filings using document management platforms such as iManage. | Reviewed documents and supported transactional work for clients. | Supported due diligence for three corporate transactions by reviewing contracts, organizational documents, and regulatory filings in iManage, flagging 12 material issues across 200+ documents for partner review. |
Once you’ve aligned your experience with the role’s requirements, the next step is to quantify your entry-level attorney achievements so employers can quickly see the impact of your work.
How to quantify your entry-level attorney achievements
Quantifying your achievements shows how your work reduced risk, improved accuracy, and moved matters forward. Track volume handled, cycle time, compliance outcomes, error rates, and dollars supported through settlements, recoveries, or avoided costs.
Quantifying examples for entry-level attorney
| Metric | Example |
|---|---|
| Cycle time | "Cut first-draft turnaround from five days to two by using Westlaw templates and a clause library across twelve routine motions." |
| Accuracy rate | "Reduced citation and Bluebook errors by 60% after building a LexisNexis cite-check checklist and running peer reviews on thirty briefs." |
| Compliance | "Maintained 100% on-time court filings for forty-two deadlines by tracking tasks in Clio and confirming service within twenty-four hours." |
| Risk reduction | "Flagged eight high-risk contract clauses in a fifty-agreement review, preventing two noncompliant data-sharing terms and escalating fixes to counsel." |
| Revenue supported | "Supported a $180,000 settlement by organizing 1,200 pages of discovery, drafting an exhibit index, and summarizing deposition testimony for negotiation." |
Turn vague job duties into measurable, recruiter-ready resume bullets in seconds with Enhancv's Bullet Point Generator.
Once you've crafted strong bullet points for your experience section, you'll want to apply the same level of precision to presenting your hard and soft skills.
How to list your hard and soft skills on a entry-level attorney resume
Your skills section shows you can handle legal research, writing, and case support—recruiters and applicant tracking systems scan this section for exact keywords, then confirm them in your experience—so aim for a balanced mix of role-specific hard skills and job-ready soft skills. entry-level attorney roles require a blend of:
- Product strategy and discovery skills.
- Data, analytics, and experimentation skills.
- Delivery, execution, and go-to-market discipline.
- Soft skills.
Your skills section should be:
- Scannable (bullet-style grouping).
- Relevant to the job post.
- Backed by proof in experience bullets.
- Updated with current tools.
Place your skills section:
- Above experience if you're junior or switching careers.
- Below experience if you're mid/senior with strong achievements.
Hard skills
- Legal research, Westlaw, LexisNexis
- Case law synthesis and briefing
- Statutory and regulatory interpretation
- Legal writing and memorandum drafting
- Motion practice support and drafting
- Contract review and issue spotting
- E-discovery platforms and workflows
- Document review and privilege logs
- Citation formats: Bluebook
- Deposition and hearing preparation
- Litigation case management software
- Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat
Soft skills
- Translate facts into legal issues
- Write clearly under deadlines
- Ask targeted clarifying questions
- Manage competing case priorities
- Communicate updates to stakeholders
- Collaborate with attorneys and paralegals
- Maintain client confidentiality standards
- Handle feedback and revise fast
- Prepare concise oral summaries
- Escalate risks with recommendations
- Track details across large records
- Stay calm in adversarial settings
How to show your entry-level attorney skills in context
Skills shouldn't live only in a bulleted list on your resume. You can explore curated resume skills examples to see how top candidates present their competencies effectively.
They should be demonstrated in:
- Your summary (high-level professional identity)
- Your experience (proof through outcomes)
Here's how strong entry-level attorney examples handle both.
Summary example
Detail-oriented attorney with two years of civil litigation experience at a mid-size firm. Skilled in legal research, Westlaw, and client communication. Drafted motions contributing to a 90% favorable ruling rate across 15 cases.
- Reflects realistic early-career experience
- Names role-relevant tools like Westlaw
- Includes a measurable litigation outcome
- Highlights client communication soft skills
Experience example
Associate Attorney
Brennan & Cole LLP | Chicago, IL
June 2022–Present
- Conducted legal research using Westlaw and LexisNexis, supporting case preparation that achieved favorable outcomes in 12 of 14 motions filed.
- Collaborated with senior partners to draft pleadings and discovery requests, reducing document turnaround time by 20%.
- Managed client intake interviews and case summaries, improving internal tracking accuracy by 30% using Clio.
- Every bullet includes measurable proof
- Skills appear naturally within achievements
Once you’ve tied your legal abilities to real coursework, clinics, and projects, the next step is to structure an entry-level attorney resume with no experience so those examples read as credible qualifications.
How do I write a entry-level attorney resume with no experience
Even without full-time experience, you can demonstrate readiness through clinics, internships, and academic projects. If you're building a resume without work experience, focus on these areas:
- Law clinic client representation
- Judicial internship case research
- Moot court appellate brief writing
- Pro bono intake and referrals
- Contract review for student orgs
- Legal writing seminar memoranda
- Bar association committee projects
- E-discovery training and simulations
Focus on:
- Practice-ready writing samples and citations
- Case research depth and accuracy
- Client-facing work with outcomes
- Tools: Westlaw, LexisNexis, Relativity
Resume format tip for entry-level entry-level attorney
Use a combination resume format because it highlights legal skills and writing samples first, while still showing internships, clinics, and projects. Do:
- Lead with a targeted legal summary.
- Add a "Legal Experience" section.
- Include a "Selected Writing" section.
- Quantify scope, volume, and results.
- List tools used on each bullet.
- Drafted two moot court appellate briefs using Westlaw and Bluebook citations, improving team score by 18 percent and earning a top-five finish.
Now that you've established the foundation for your resume, it's time to highlight your education—often the strongest section for candidates entering the legal field.
How to list your education on a entry-level attorney resume
Your education section helps hiring teams confirm you hold the required legal credentials. For an entry-level attorney, this validates your foundational knowledge and readiness to practice law.
Include:
- Degree name
- Institution
- Location
- Graduation year
- Relevant coursework (for juniors or entry-level candidates)
- Honors & GPA (if 3.5 or higher)
Avoid listing specific months or days. Use the graduation year only for a cleaner format.
Here's a strong education entry tailored for an entry-level attorney:
Example education entry
Juris Doctor (JD)
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC
2024 | GPA: 3.7/4.0
- Relevant Coursework: Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, Legal Research & Writing, Contract Law, Criminal Law
- Honors: Dean's List (six semesters), Moot Court Board Member, CALI Award in Legal Research & Writing
How to list your certifications on a entry-level attorney resume
Certifications on your resume show an entry-level attorney's commitment to learning, proficiency with legal tools, and alignment with practice needs, even before full-time experience builds.
Include:
- Certificate name
- Issuing organization
- Year
- Optional: credential ID or URL
- Place certifications below education when they're older, general, or less relevant than your degree and law school achievements.
- Place certifications above education when they're recent and directly tied to your target practice area or required tools.
Best certifications for your entry-level attorney resume
- ACEDS Certified E-Discovery Specialist (CEDS)
- NALA Certified Paralegal (CP)
- Westlaw Certification
- LexisNexis Certification
- International Association of Privacy Professionals Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US)
- FINRA Securities Industry Essentials (SIE)
- Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
Once you’ve positioned your credentials where hiring managers can spot them quickly, you’re ready to write your entry-level attorney resume summary to connect those qualifications to the role you’re targeting.
How to write your entry-level attorney resume summary
Your resume summary is the first thing a recruiter reads. A strong one instantly signals you're a qualified candidate worth interviewing for an entry-level attorney role.
Keep it to three to four lines, with:
- Your title and years of relevant legal experience.
- Practice area or industry focus, such as corporate law or litigation.
- Core skills like legal research, contract drafting, or regulatory compliance.
- One or two quantified achievements from internships, clerkships, or law school.
- Soft skills tied to real outcomes, such as collaboration that improved case prep efficiency.
PRO TIP
At the entry level, emphasize specific legal skills, relevant coursework, and early contributions from clerkships or internships. Highlight tools like Westlaw or LexisNexis. Avoid vague phrases like "passionate legal professional" or "hardworking self-starter." Recruiters want proof of what you can do, not personality declarations.
Example summary for a entry-level attorney
Entry-level attorney with litigation internship experience and strong legal research skills. Drafted 30+ memoranda using Westlaw during a clerkship, reducing senior associate review time by 15%.
Optimize your resume summary and objective for ATS
Drop your resume here or choose a file.
PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.
Now that you've crafted a summary that highlights your strongest qualifications, make sure the header above it presents your contact information clearly and professionally.
What to include in a entry-level attorney resume header
What to include in a entry-level attorney resume header
A well-structured resume header lists your key identifiers and contact details so recruiters can spot you fast, trust your credentials, and screen your entry-level attorney application.
Essential resume header elements
- Full name
- Tailored job title and headline
- Location
- Phone number
- Professional email
- GitHub link
- Portfolio link
A LinkedIn link helps recruiters verify experience quickly and supports screening.
Do not include photos on a entry-level attorney resume unless the role is explicitly front-facing or appearance-dependent.
Keep the header compact, consistent, and easy to scan, and match your job title and headline to the posting's exact wording.
Example
Entry-level attorney resume header
Jordan M. Carter
Entry-level attorney | Bar candidate | Civil litigation and legal research
Chicago, IL
(312) 555-01XX
your.name@enhancv.com
github.com/yourname
yourwebsite.com
linkedin.com/in/yourname
Once your contact details and key credentials are clearly presented at the top, you can strengthen the rest of your application with additional sections for entry-level attorney resumes that add relevant context and support.
Additional sections for entry-level attorney resumes
When you lack extensive legal experience, additional sections help you stand out by showcasing relevant skills, knowledge, and interests that strengthen your candidacy. For example, listing language skills on your resume can be a strong differentiator for firms with international clients or multilingual communities.
- Languages
- Publications
- Bar admissions and certifications
- Pro bono work
- Professional affiliations
- Honors and awards
- Continuing legal education
Once you've rounded out your resume with sections that showcase your full range of qualifications, it's worth pairing it with a cover letter to tie everything together for hiring managers.
Do entry-level attorney resumes need a cover letter
An entry-level attorney resume doesn't always require a cover letter, but many employers expect one. If you're unsure about the basics, understanding what a cover letter is and how it complements your resume can help you decide. It helps most in competitive roles, clerkships, and firms with formal hiring processes. It can make the difference when your resume needs context.
Use a cover letter to add value in these situations:
- Explain role or team fit by connecting your coursework, clinics, or internships to the practice area and the team's work.
- Highlight one or two relevant projects or outcomes, such as a memo, motion draft, or research result, and state the impact in plain terms.
- Show understanding of the business context by referencing the employer's clients, users, or industry, and how legal work supports their goals.
- Address career transitions or non-obvious experience by explaining the link between prior work and entry-level attorney responsibilities.
Drop your resume here or choose a file.
PDF & DOCX only. Max 2MB file size.
Even when you include a cover letter to add context beyond your resume, using AI to improve your entry-level attorney resume helps you sharpen the document employers review first.
Using AI to improve your entry-level attorney resume
AI can sharpen your resume's clarity, structure, and impact. It helps refine language and highlight relevant qualifications. But overuse strips authenticity fast. Once your content feels clear and role-aligned, step away from AI assistance. If you're wondering which AI is best for writing resumes, the answer depends on how much control you want over formatting and tone.
Here are 10 practical prompts to strengthen specific sections of your entry-level attorney resume:
- Strengthen your summary: "Rewrite this entry-level attorney resume summary to emphasize legal research skills, academic achievements, and bar admission status in three concise sentences."
- Quantify experience bullets: "Revise these entry-level attorney experience bullets to include measurable outcomes like case volumes, document counts, or deadlines met."
- Tighten legal skills: "Review this entry-level attorney skills section and remove vague terms. Replace them with specific legal competencies relevant to junior associate roles."
- Improve internship descriptions: "Rewrite these legal internship bullets for an entry-level attorney resume. Focus on concrete tasks, responsibilities, and results."
- Refine education details: "Restructure the education section of this entry-level attorney resume to highlight honors, relevant coursework, and law review participation."
- Align with job postings: "Compare this entry-level attorney resume against the following job description. Identify missing keywords and suggest where to add them."
- Clarify pro bono work: "Rewrite this pro bono project description for an entry-level attorney resume. Emphasize client impact, legal issues addressed, and skills applied."
- Polish certification entries: "Format the certifications section of this entry-level attorney resume. Include bar admissions, completion dates, and issuing jurisdictions clearly."
- Eliminate redundancy: "Scan this entry-level attorney resume for repeated phrases or redundant bullets. Suggest concise alternatives that preserve meaning."
- Sharpen action verbs: "Replace weak or generic verbs in this entry-level attorney resume's experience section with precise legal action verbs like drafted, counseled, or negotiated."
Stop using AI once your resume sounds accurate, specific, and aligned with real experience. AI should never invent experience or inflate claims. If it didn't happen, it doesn't belong here.
Conclusion
A strong entry-level attorney resume shows measurable outcomes, role-specific skills, and a clear structure. Use precise bullets, consistent formatting, and targeted keywords to highlight research, writing, client service, and case support.
This approach signals readiness for today’s hiring market and near-future needs. When your entry-level attorney resume is easy to scan and backed by results, hiring teams can quickly see your value and fit.
