Legal Assistant Resume Examples and Job Description
Legal assistants help lawyers and attorneys with their work. Use this resume example to help you get hired for this position?
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What to Highlight in a Legal Assistant Resume
A legal assistant assists registered attorneys with their cases. The job titles may be administrative assistant, paralegal legal secretary or other names. Regardless of the title, you need to prove that you have the skills and certifications necessary for the job you’re applying to.
When writing a legal assistant resume, highlight both the routine skills and the more difficult skills that are required for the job role. Hiring managers are looking for someone who will work well in a law office, so in addition to specialized legal skills, other skills like communication and attention to detail are equally important.
Build my resumeLegal Assistant Resume Structure
Your resume structure will depend on the resume format that you use to write your resume. You can use the chronological, functional or combination formats, all of which prioritize different elements in your resume. Regardless of which format you end up using, the headings will be the same.
Header
The first thing that recruiters will see on your resume will usually be your header. A professional resume header includes your full name, phone number, email address and job networking links, like LinkedIn.
Resume summary or objective
The next section is your resume summary or resume objective. This is a two to three-sentence paragraph full of action verbs and short, snappy sentences that highlight your experience and best skills.
Skills
This section needs to showcase what skills you’ll use to provide support to the law office if you get hired. Here are some legal assistant skills that you’re likely to use:
- Gathering depositions
- Legal research skills
- Looking through case files and court filings
- Court document management
- Organizing pleadings
- Writing and signing affidavits
- Understanding legal terminology
- Filing subpoenas
- Managing spreadsheets (Microsoft Office Excel)
- Trial preparation
- Handling phone calls
- Time management
- Communication skills
- Interpersonal skills
Remember that in any legal assistant resume, you need to include both hard skills and soft skills. Be sure to closely reflect the skills featured in the job description as required skills.
Work History
If you have work experience in the legal industry, list it in this section. Include as much experience as possible, including relevant internship or volunteer work experience.
Education
In this section, list your education whether you have an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree or e a Paralegal Studies certificate.
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Do’s and Don’ts for a Legal Assistant Resume
- Include experience that you have with specific software. If you are fluent with LexisNexis or Microsoft Excel, include that in your resume.
- Use metrics to create a clearer picture of what you can do for an organization. It’s better to use numbers to showcase your impact. For example: “Handled administrative duties for a legal firm of 50 employees.”
- Mention specific non-identifiable cases where you played a crucial role in the legal outcome. Terms like “Managed a death penalty case” or “Handled a $1 million lawsuit” can help you discuss these cases without mentioning names.
- Include completely unrelated professional experience. A hiring manager won’t care about your food service job from a few years ago, for example – but if you can show skills from your food service job that apply to administrative work, then include them.
- Try to create your own resume from scratch. The ResumeHelp resume builder will help you find a beautiful, professionally-designed template that you can use instead.
- Include identifying information from past clients on your resume. This may be a breach of contract or just generally seen as non-professional.
FAQ: Legal Assistant Resumes
Have questions? We’re here to help.
Do I need to include a cover letter for a legal assistant application?
A cover letter is an important part of most job applications, and it’s important that you write one for each job you apply to. If you lack cover letter writing skills, use the ResumeHelp cover letter builder instead.
How can I write a legal assistant resume without a lot of experience?
To write your legal assistant resume with less experience, include volunteer, internship or academic experience. This is a great way to showcase your skills even if you’ve never held a legal assistant job.
How do I change my legal assistant resume to apply to different jobs?
The best way to personalize your legal assistant resume is to look for resume keywords (such as skills or qualifications highlighted in the job description). These keywords allow you to tailor a general legal assistant resume example specifically to the job, and show a hiring manager exactly what they’re looking for.
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