Law Clerk Resume Example & Writing Guide

A law clerk is a person who works with lawyers, helping them research cases, write briefs, and decide how to proceed with their cases. They’re often hired right out of law school or after practicing as a paralegal or legal assistant.

As a law clerk, you’ll work directly with lawyers in their most important cases and projects. You’ll gain valuable experience that will look great on your resume and help you stand out when you apply for future jobs in the field of law.

Here are some tips to follow when writing your law clerk resume plus an example for reference.

How to Write a Law Clerk Resume

Here’s how to write a law clerk resume of your own.

Write Compelling Bullet Points

The best way to make your resume stand out is to use strong, specific language. And one of the best ways to do that is by using bullet points to describe your experience.

For example, rather than saying you “assisted attorneys with legal research,” you could say you “conducted extensive legal research on a wide variety of topics for a team of 15 attorneys, providing them with over 100 pages of analysis and citations for use in courtrooms across the state.”

The second bullet point paints a much clearer picture of what you did and the results of your work. And it also provides a specific number to demonstrate the scale of your work.

Related: What Is a Law Clerk? How to Become One

Identify and Include Relevant Keywords

When you apply for a law clerk role, your resume is likely to be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. These programs look for specific terms related to the job, like “trial experience” or “estate law” in order to determine whether your skills and experience match the job description. If you don’t have enough relevant keywords on your resume, the ATS might discard your application before a human ever sees it.

To make sure this doesn’t happen, focus on including keywords throughout all sections of your resume. Here are some of the most commonly used law clerk keywords:

Showcase Your Technical Skills

Law clerks use a variety of software programs and systems to complete their work, so it’s important to list any relevant technical skills you have. Programs like Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint), Google Suite (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar), and social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter are all commonly used by law clerks. Additionally, law clerks may be called on to use specific software programs relevant to their industry, so it’s important to be familiar with as many programs as possible.

Related: How Much Does a Law Clerk Make?

Remember The Basics

As you draft your resume, there are a few basic rules to keep in mind.

Make It Easy to Scan

There are a few things you can do to make your resume more legible and easy to scan, such as left aligning your text, using a standard font size and type, and limiting the amount of formatting you use. You should also use bullets instead of paragraphs to list your experiences, and keep each bullet point to two lines or less. Finally, be sure to leave some white space on the page so that key points are highlighted and the document is easier to navigate.

Be Concise

When it comes to the length of your resume, brevity is key. A resume should be one or two pages long, depending on your level of experience. For recent graduates or those early in their careers, a one-page resume is best. If you have more than 10 years of experience, a two-page resume is appropriate. When trimming down your resume, focus on removing unnecessary information and highlighting the most relevant details.

Check Your Work

Proofreading your resume is important in order to make sure it looks professional and error-free. Spellchecking is a good place to start, but it is not foolproof. Be sure to read through your resume yourself, as well as have someone else do so. Beware of easily confused words, and make sure that your tense is consistent throughout the resume.

Consider Including a Summary

Your resume should always include a summary statement, also known as a resume objective. This is a brief introduction that explains who you are, what you do, and what you’re looking for. A well-written summary can help to attract the attention of potential employers and showcase your most relevant skills and experiences. When creating your summary, be sure to play up your soft skills, mention your most highly transferable experiences, and clearly state your intentions. Keep it brief and to the point, no more than three sentences.

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