5 Rules For A Stronger Legal Resume

In the past few decades, we’ve seen a lot more lateral movement in the legal profession. Once an industry where people would spend their entire careers at one or two firms, employment in the legal profession now more closely resembles what we see in other industries with people making moves more frequently. It’s not uncommon for Attorneys, Paralegals, and other legal professionals to have four, five or more positions over the course of their professional lives.

This, combined with firm mergers, name changes, dissolutions, and practice group moves can result in a candidate’s resumes being cluttered and giving the impression of a person who can’t hold a job for very long. Some of this is unavoidable, but over the years we’ve seen some ways where candidates can present these events in ways that can actually make the candidate’s resume stronger.

1.       Following a Partner or Attorney Group – If you moved from one firm to another with a Partner or Attorney group, absolutely note this on the resume. Typically, it’s best to note this by the entry of the firm you left, but it can also be done on the entry for the destination firm.

2.       Recruited by Former Partner or Attorney - If you did not leave with the group but were recruited by the Partner or group at a later date, this should also be noted in a similar way as if you moved with the group, substituting ‘moved with’ with ‘followed’ or better yet ‘recruited by’.

3.       Promotions – Absolutely note this! Promotions can be handled in a number of ways, for example: simply indicate that you were promoted from one title to another (especially if the two roles had similar duties) above the description of the roles’ duties and responsibilities. Alternatively, list the titles with the dates you were in those roles (most recent at the top of the list), with a description of duties and responsibilities below the list. There are other ways of handling this as well. The important thing is to make sure all the roles are under a single employer, not multiple entries of the same company.

4.       Firm Mergers – If your firm merged with (or was acquired by) another firm and assumed the larger firm’s name, combine the two employer entities on your resume as a single employer and use the name of the new entity.

5.       Name Changes – If your firm’s name has changed over the years, use the current name. There is no need to provide a list of former names. If the firm’s name has changed after you left, use the name in effect when you were last employed at the firm.

These won’t apply to everyone, but if they are applicable to your resume, your resume will be stronger.