Legal Assistant Sample
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A Legal Assistant keeps the legal office going and organized while supporting attorneys with all functions. A legal resume should be concise and simple to showcase abilities and achievements in a professional manner.
Expert Tip
You should never use a creative resume
Many job seekers think that an eye-catching resume template will help them stand out to hiring managers and increase their chances of landing an interview. This is a myth put out by resume builders that value design over content.
The truth is that most hiring managers prefer a traditional resume format.
Creative resume templates, like the one pictured here, can actually hurt your chances of landing an interview. Instead, you should use a basic resume format that quickly communicates your basic information and qualifications–like the one included below.
Legal Assistant resume (text format)
How confident are you feeling about your resume? If you need more help, you can always refer to the following resume sample for a position.
Name
Title
City, State or Country if international
Phone | Email
LinkedIn URL
LEGAL ASSISTANT PROFESSIONAL
Dedicated bilingual/multilingual Legal Assistant highly regarded for XX years of progressive experience providing outstanding attorney support in and out of court. Exemplary educational qualifications include an XX degree from XX. Utilizes exceptional written communication skills to clearly and effectively draft motions, pleadings, and briefs. Experienced in delivering high-quality work product in a variety of subject matter areas, organizing client files and documents, and delivering high-quality assistance to senior attorneys in pursuit of client interests.
CORE COMPETENCIES
Trial Support
Discovery
Case Management
Client Counseling
Problem Solving
Legal Research and Writing
Document Control
Scheduling
Pleadings
Negotiation
Billing
Motions
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Legal Assistant II
Company | City, ST | Year to Present
Responsibilities
Assisted attorneys with management of routine case files.
Prepared Replevins and non-complex pleadings, documents, correspondence, and affidavits.
Conducted basic research such as title searches, estate checks, asset location and skiptracing.
Generated over $XX in revenue annually.
Contacted clients, borrowers, attorneys, and courts to ensure for daily status updates.
Negotiated payment arrangements and sale or return of assets/collateral for attorney/client.
Legal Assistant
Company | City, ST | Year to Year
Responsibilities
Received and processed all office payments in the form of checks, cash, and credit or debit cards.
Composed and revised legal documents for attorneys, including letters, dispositions, and court filings.
Answered direct attorney phone lines and acted as liaison between clients and attorneys.
Ensured legal documents were processed and handled in a timely and efficient manner in order to comply with appropriate regulations and deadlines.
Filed all documents through a web database for all office clients.
Legal Assistant
Company | City, ST | Year to Year
Responsibilities
Managed initial client intake. Improved relationships with Spanish speaking clients by providing translation services and ensuring opened lines of communication.
Handled heavy case load and assisted with all aspects of the litigation cycle including legal research, factual investigation, medical records review, document management and trial preparation.
Reviewed, organized, and summarized records for over XX clients using software such as Excel, Adobe, and TrialWorks among others.
Drafted legal documents including motions, brief inserts, discovery documents, correspondence and legal memoranda.
Helped create, populate, and translate the firm's website.
Trained and mentored interns and new hires.
EDUCATION
Complete School Name, City, St/Country: List Graduation Years If Within the Last Ten Years
Complete Degree Name (Candidate) – Major (GPA: List if over 3.3)
Relevant Coursework: List coursework taken (even include those you are planning on taking)
Awards/Honors: List any awards, honors or big achievements
Clubs/Activities: List clubs and activities in which you participated
Relevant Projects: List 2-3 projects you have worked on
Everything you need to write your legal assistant resume
Now that you’ve seen an example of a job winning Legal Assistant resume, here are some tips to help you write your own. You should always begin with a summary section. Remember to use basic formatting with clear section headings and a traditional layout. Finally, be sure to include top skills throughout your resume. We’ve included several examples common for Legal Assistant below.
Let’s start with your resume summary section.
1. Summary
The resume summary replaces the out-of-date resume objective. A summary outlines the most impressive parts of your resume for easy recall by your potential employer, while also serving to fill in personal qualities that may not appear elsewhere on the page. Remember that summaries are short and consist of pithy sentence fragments! You can check out the Legal Assistant resume example for more information!
Expert Tip
Always start with your most recent positions at the top of your resume. This is called reverse-chronological format, and keeps your most relevant information easy for hiring managers to review.
2. Formatting
Our experts recommend you start your resume with a resume summary, like the one above. Other common sections are Work Experience, Education, and either Skills or Core Competencies. Here are some guides from our blog to help you write these sections:
Some resumes will include other sections, such as Volunteer Experience or Technical Skills. When it comes to what sections you need to include on your resume, you will know best!
Other sections for you to consider including are foreign language skills, awards and honors, certifications, and speaking engagements. These could all be relevant sections for your resume.
3. Appropriate skills
Trial Support
Discovery
Case Management
Client Counseling
Problem Solving
Legal Research and Writing
Document Control
Scheduling
Pleadings
Negotiation
Billing
Motions
Attorney Support
Communications
Briefs
Quality Assurance
File Organization
Documentation
4. Experience section
Your Work Experience section should make up the bulk of your resume. This section should include your relevant job titles, companies that employed you, and the dates you were employed.
To demonstrate how to write an effective Work Experience section for your resume, let's dissect two bullet points from the example above. • Generated over $XX in revenue annually. This bullet is strong because it has a measurable, showing how much money you can bring in annually. • Managed initial client intake. Improved relationships with Spanish speaking clients by providing translation services and ensuring opened lines of communication. This bullet shows a skill that not everyone else will have, so it makes you stand out among other applicants. It also puts your language skills in context, which makes them more compelling.
Let’s wrap it up!
Standout resumes will include a resume summary, a traditional reverse-chronological layout, and the skills and experience relevant to your job target. This resume example shows how to include those elements on a page. It’s up to you to insert your personal compelling qualifications.
Keep your resume format easy to scan by both humans and computers; our resume template is designed by our experts to satisfy both audiences. And be sure to include your own skills, achievements, and experiences. Job-winning resumes are resumes that successfully market you, leading recruiters and hiring managers to want to learn more!
Finally, emphasize your interest with a customized cover letter. When writing, remember that the resume and cover letter should support each other. Check out our cover letter tips and examples for more advice.
Didn’t get the specific answers you were looking for on this page? Hire a professional resume writer to get the advice you need to land your next job.
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