Lawyer Skills for a Resume
Firms and organizations hire lawyers for sound judgment, persuasive advocacy and careful work. Show your practice area, the matters you handle and the results you achieved for clients.
Updated
13 skills at a glance
Hard skills
What the work takes, how a hiring manager judges each skill, and a bullet point that shows it.
Legal research and writing
Show briefs or memos and what they achieved.
Example bullet pointWrote a summary judgment brief that disposed of three of the plaintiff's five claims.
Motion practice
Show the motions you drafted and argued, in which courts, and how they came out.
Example bullet pointArgued discovery and dispositive motions in state and federal court.
Depositions
Give the number of depositions you took or defended.
Example bullet pointTook and defended more than 30 depositions, including expert witnesses.
Discovery management
Show how you managed discovery efficiently.
Example bullet pointManaged discovery in a multi-party case, negotiating search terms that cut review costs.
Trial advocacy
Name the trials you worked on, first or second chair, and your part in them.
Example bullet pointSecond-chaired two jury trials and examined witnesses in both.
Contract drafting and review
Name the kinds of agreements you draft and review, and for whom.
Example bullet pointDrafted and negotiated supply, licensing and services agreements for corporate clients.
Negotiation
Show settlements or deals you negotiated.
Example bullet pointNegotiated a settlement that resolved a dispute for less than a third of the claimed damages.
Legal research tools (Westlaw, Lexis)
Name the tools and how you use them efficiently.
Example bullet pointUsed Westlaw and Lexis to research quickly and keep billed research time down.
Soft skills
Shown through what you did, never claimed as adjectives.
Judgment
Show advice that helped a client choose well.
Example bullet pointAdvised a client to settle early after weighing the trial risk, avoiding costly litigation.
Persuasion
Show arguments that changed a court's or an opponent's position.
Example bullet pointPersuaded opposing counsel to withdraw a motion with a well-researched response.
Composure
Show calm in court or in tense negotiations.
Example bullet pointHandled hostile witnesses calmly in cross-examination.
Client communication
Show how you kept clients informed and confident.
Example bullet pointSent clients clear updates after each development, with their options and costs.
Attention to detail
Show errors you caught in contracts or filings.
Example bullet pointCaught an indemnity clause that would have exposed a client to unlimited liability.
Licenses and certifications
Give them a section of their own, with who issued each one and the year or expiry date.
- State bar admission
- Federal court admissions
- Board certification in a specialty, where available
Keywords from lawyer job postings
Use the ones that are true for you, in your bullet points as well as your skills list.
- litigation
- depositions
- motions
- trials
- commercial
- discovery
- state and federal courts
- summary judgment
- clients
Each posting has its own words. Our guide to tailoring your resume to a job description shows how to find them and where to put them.
Where to put your skills
- In a skills section: a short list of the hard skills the posting names, in its words.
- In your bullet points: every skill that matters should show up in something you did, with a result. That is where a hiring manager believes it.
- In your summary: two or three of the skills the job asks for most.
More on choosing them in how to choose and prove the skills on your resume.
Questions
What skills should a lawyer put on a resume?
Research and writing, motion practice, depositions, discovery, trial advocacy, contract drafting, negotiation and research tools, plus judgment, persuasion and client communication.
Should I list bar admissions?
Yes, near the top: each state and federal court where you are admitted.
How do I show results as a lawyer?
Describe matters and outcomes, such as motions won, settlements reached or deals closed, while respecting confidentiality.
Put them to work
Start from an attorney resume that already uses these skills, for an invented person, and make it yours in the builder.