As a legal assistant, articulating your diverse skills and experience in a concise yet comprehensive manner on your resume can be a daunting challenge. Our guide provides structured tips and examples to help you effectively showcase your qualifications, ensuring your resume stands out in a competitive legal field.
- Sample industry-leading professional resumes for inspiration and legal assistant resume-writing know-how.
- Focus recruiters' attention on what matters most - your unique experience, achievements, and skills.
- Write various resume sections to ensure you meet at least 95% of all job requirements.
- Balance your legal assistant technical expertise with personality to stand out amongst candidates.
If the legal assistant resume isn't the right one for you, take a look at other related guides we have:
Enhancing your legal assistant resume: format and layout tips
"Less is more" - this principle is key for your legal assistant resume design. It emphasizes the importance of focusing on why you're the ideal candidate. Simultaneously, it's crucial to select a resume design that is both clear and simple, ensuring your qualifications are easily readable.Four popular formatting rules (and an additional tip) are here to optimize your legal assistant resume:
- Listing experience in reverse chronological order - start with your most recent job experiences. This layout helps recruiters see your career progression and emphasizes your most relevant roles.
- Including contact details in the header - make sure your contact information is easily accessible at the top of your resume. In the header, you might also include a professional photo.
- Aligning your expertise with the job requirements - this involves adding essential sections such as experience, skills, and education that match the job you're applying for.
- Curating your expertise on a single page - if your experience spans over a decade, a two-page resume is also acceptable.
Bonus tip: Ensure your legal assistant resume is in PDF format when submitting. This format maintains the integrity of images, icons, and layout, making your resume easier to share.
Finally, concerning your resume format and the Applicant Tracker System (ATS):
- Use simple yet modern fonts like Rubik, Lato, Montserrat, etc.
- All serif and sans-serif fonts are friendly to ATS systems. Avoid script fonts that look like handwriting, however.
- Fonts such as Ariel and Times New Roman are suitable, though commonly used.
- Both single and double-column resumes can perform well with the ATS.
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If you happen to have some basic certificates, don't invest too much of your legal assistant resume real estate in them. Instead, list them within the skills section or as part of your relevant experience. This way you'd ensure you meet all job requirements while dedicating your certificates to only the most in-demand certification across the industry.
Don't forget to include these six sections on your legal assistant resume:
- Header and summary for your contact details and to highlight your alignment with the legal assistant job you're applying for
- Experience section to get into specific technologies you're apt at using and personal skills to deliver successful results
- Skills section to further highlight how your profile matches the job requirements
- Education section to provide your academic background
- Achievements to mention any career highlights that may be impressive, or that you might have missed so far in other resume sections
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Proficiency in legal software and case management systems such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, or Clio.
- Experience with legal document drafting, filing, and organization, including pleadings, briefs, and discovery documents.
- Knowledge of legal terminology, court systems, and regulatory requirements relevant to the firm’s areas of practice.
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to conduct thorough legal research and fact-checking.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to liaise with attorneys, clients, and court personnel.
Guide to your most impressive legal assistant resume experience section
When it comes to your resume experience , stick to these simple, yet effective five steps:
- Show how your experience is relevant by including your responsibility, skill used, and outcome/-s;
- Use individual bullets to answer how your experience aligns with the job requirements;
- Think of a way to demonstrate the tangible results of your success with stats, numbers, and/or percentages ;
- Always tailor the experience section to the legal assistant role you're applying for - this may sometimes include taking out irrelevant experience items;
- Highlight your best (and most relevant) achievements towards the top of each experience bullet.
You're not alone if you're struggling with curating your experience section. That's why we've prepared some professional, real-life legal assistant resume samples to show how to best write your experience section (and more).
- Drafted and reviewed over 500 legal documents including contracts, agreements, and motions, leading to a 30% increase in firm efficiency.
- Managed communication with clients, scheduled over 1000 client meetings which enhanced client satisfaction by 25%.
- Organized case evidence and prepared litigation materials for approximately 80 trials, aiding in a 60% win rate for the firm.
- Coordinated with attorneys to prepare for over 150 depositions, ensuring meticulous attention to detail in documentation and scheduling.
- Implemented a new legal research software that reduced research time by 40%, improving overall productivity for the legal team.
- Assisted in the negotiation and settlement of 50+ cases by providing comprehensive legal support and research.
- Monitored and maintained a database of over 700 active cases, improving the tracking system's accuracy and accessibility for the legal team.
- Implemented cost-saving strategies that reduced office supply expenses by 15%, directly impacting the firm’s profit margins.
- Contributed to legal strategies in high-profile cases, which resulted in successful outcomes for 95% of the cases.
- Supervise a team of 5 legal assistants, increasing team productivity by implementing effective workflow processes.
- Develop expert knowledge in e-discovery platforms, leading the digital document management for complex litigation cases.
- Foster strong relationships with clients, earning commendations for exceptional client service reflected in 80% client retention rate.
- Managed the calendaring of court deadlines for over 200 individual cases, ensuring 100% compliance with all legal timelines.
- Developed a system for tracking billable hours that increased billing accuracy and reduced disputes with clients by 20%.
- Coordinated international legal communications for multi-jurisdictional cases, streamlining efficiencies and cutting response time by half.
- Managed the transition to a remote work setup for the legal assistant team during the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining 100% operational continuity.
- Assisted with the preparation of briefs and legal arguments for over 40 appellate cases, contributing to a 70% success rate on appeals.
- Regularly conducted legal research that was instrumental in the development of case strategy for litigation in federal courts.
- Instrumental in the establishment of a new compliance protocol for regulatory affairs, reducing the risk of client non-compliance by 40%.
- Trained 10 new legal assistants over 5 years, creating a mentorship program that was later adopted firm-wide.
- Organized an average of 30 monthly client presentations, enhancing the firm's reputation for effective communication.
- Led the due diligence process for a $200 million M&A transaction, ensuring a seamless transition and integration of legal operations.
- Pioneered the use of litigation support tools which reduced document review time by 35%, directly benefiting case preparation.
- Facilitated a series of legal seminars that educated clients on intellectual property rights, enhancing the firm's subject matter authority.
Quantifying impact on your resume
- Specify the number of attorneys supported on a daily basis, demonstrating capacity to manage multiple demands and provide efficient legal assistance.
- Include the amount of legal documents prepared each week, indicating proficiency in document management and attention to detail.
- State the percentage of accuracy achieved in document filing and case management, highlighting meticulousness and organizational skills.
- Quantify the reduction in document preparation time achieved through process improvements, showing an ability to increase efficiency.
- List the number of legal research memos completed, reflecting research skills and comprehensive understanding of legal issues.
- Mention the volume of correspondence managed, such as emails and letters, to emphasize communication skills and workload management.
- Provide the scale of litigation support provided, like managing evidence in a certain number of cases, to exhibit your involvement in significant legal procedures.
- Share the number of client intakes or interviews conducted, proving your ability to handle client relations and gather pertinent information.
Action verbs for your legal assistant resume
Four quick steps for candidates with no resume experience
Those with less or no relevant experience could also make a good impression on recruiters by:
- Taking the time to actually understand what matters most to the role and featuring this within key sections of their resume
- Investing resume space into defining what makes them a valuable candidate with transferrable skills and personality
- Using the resume objective to showcase their personal vision for growth within the company
- Heavily featuring their technical alignment with relevant certifications, education, and skills.
Remember that your resume is about aligning your profile to that of the ideal candidate.
The more prominently you can demonstrate how you answer job requirements, the more likely you'd be called in for an interview.
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Mention specific courses or projects that are pertinent to the job you're applying for.
How to showcase hard skills and soft skills on your resume
Reading between the lines of your dream job, you find recruiters are looking for candidates who have specific software or hardware knowledge, and personal skills.
Any technology you're adept at shows your hard skills. This particular skill set answers initial job requirements, hinting at how much time your potential employers would have to invest in training you. Showcase you have the relevant technical background in your communicate, solve problems, and adapt to new environments. Basically, your interpersonal communication skills that show recruiters if you'd fit into the team and company culture. You could use the achievements section to tie in your greatest wins with relevant soft skills.
It's also a good idea to add some of your hard and soft skills across different resume sections (e.g. summary/objective, experience, etc.) to match the job requirements and pass the initial screening process. Remember to always check your skill spelling and ensure that you've copy-pasted the name of the desired skills from the job advert as is.
Top skills for your legal assistant resume:
Legal research
Document drafting
Knowledge of legal terminology
Litigation support
Case management
Filing court documents
Regulatory compliance
Transcription
Proficiency in legal software
E-discovery
Attention to detail
Communication skills
Organizational skills
Discretion and confidentiality
Time management
Professionalism
Adaptability
Problem-solving
Teamwork
Stress management
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If you happen to have plenty of certificates, select the ones that are most applicable and sought-after across the industry. Organize them by relevance to the role you're applying for.
Showcase academic background with education and certifications' sections
Listing your education and certifications should be a rudimentary part of your resume writing.
Including your relevant academic background - in the form of your higher education degree and niche-specific certificates - will prove knowledge of the industry.
For your education section:
- Start by including your degree, followed by start and graduation dates, as well as the institution;
- You could include relevant coursework, major/minor , or GPA, only if your've just graduated from college or if this information would further support your application;
- If you have an "ongoing" degree, you can still list it in case you think your diploma can impress recruiters or it's required;
Follow a similar logic for your certifications section by listing the institution, alongside dates you've obtained the certificate. For some of the most recent and relevant industry certificates , check out the next part of our guide:
The top 5 certifications for your legal assistant resume:
- Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) - National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA)
- Accredited Legal Professional (ALP) - NALS...the association for legal professionals
- Professional Paralegal (PP) - NALS...the association for legal professionals
- Advanced Certified Paralegal (ACP) - National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA)
- Registered Paralegal (RP) - National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA)
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List your educational qualifications and certifications in reverse chronological order.
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Writing the legal assistant resume summary or objective: achievements, keywords, dreams, and more
Deciding on whether to include a resume summary or resume objective should entirely depend on your career situation.
If you have:
- Plenty of relevant achievements you'd like to bring recruiters' focus to, make use of the resume summary. Ensure each of your achievements is quantified with concrete proof (e.g. % of cases solved).
- Less applicable experience, utilize the resume objective. Within the objective include a few noteworthy, past successes, followed up by your professional dreams.
As a bonus, you could define in either your legal assistant resume summary or objective what makes you the perfect candidate for the role.
Think about your unique hard and soft skills that would make your expertise even more important to the job.
These legal assistant professionals have completely covered the formula for the ideal resume introduction:
Resume summaries for a legal assistant job
- Dedicated legal assistant with 7 years of experience delivering comprehensive support to legal teams, specializing in personal injury and family law. Key strengths include in-depth research abilities, management of complex legal documentations, and a track record of increasing firm efficiency by 30% through process improvements.
- Accomplished administrative professional transitioning into the legal field, bringing over 10 years of exemplary record-keeping, scheduling, and client relations skills. Eager to apply meticulous attention to detail and superior organizational acumen in a challenging legal support environment.
- Energetic marketing manager aspiring to leverage a decade of experience in strategic communication and stakeholder engagement to thrive in a legal assistant role. Expert in crafting persuasive narratives, with a keen interest in applying these skills to support legal proceedings and client advocacy.
- Results-oriented legal assistant equipped with 5 years of experience in intellectual property law, culminating in successfully managing the patent filing process for a major tech firm. Proficient in legal research, drafting, and case preparation, aiming to contribute to high-stakes litigation with a proactive and detailed approach.
- Keen to launch a career as a legal assistant, I bring a fresh perspective bolstered by a recent top-tier paralegal certification and a strong desire to support justice. Committed to applying my academic knowledge in real-world scenarios and to learning from seasoned legal professionals.
- Eager to embrace the challenges of a legal assistant, I am armed with a bachelor's degree in political science and a passion for law. Ready to invest my analytical, research, and communication skills in a supportive role while gaining invaluable hands-on experience in a dynamic legal setting.
Extra legal assistant resume sections and elements
Creating a winning legal assistant resume isn't about following a rigid formula. The key is to tailor it to the job requirements while maintaining your unique personality.
Consider including these additional resume sections to enhance your profile:
- Awards - Highlight industry-specific awards as well as any personal accolades to demonstrate recognition of your expertise and achievements;
- Hobbies and interests - Share your interests outside of work. This can provide insights into your personality and indicate whether you'd be a good cultural fit for the organization;
- Projects - Detail significant projects you've been involved in, focusing on your contributions and the outcomes;
- Publications - If you've authored or co-authored academic papers or other publications, include them to establish your credibility and in-depth knowledge of the field.
These sections can give a more comprehensive view of your capabilities and character, complementing the standard resume content.
Key takeaways
- Invest in a concise legal assistant professional presentation with key resume sections (e.g. header, experience, summary) and a simple layout;
- Ensure that the details you decide to include in your resume are always relevant to the job, as you have limited space;
- Back up your achievements with the hard and soft skills they've helped you build;
- Your experience could help you either pinpoint your professional growth or focus on your niche expertise in the industry;
- Curate the most sought-after certifications across the industry for credibility and to prove your involvement in the field.
