Just getting anyone's input who wants to take a look at my legal resume. Thanks!! It's not in dire need of help (I hope!) but I love the critique!
Legal Girl
123 Street #3 Sacramento, California 95811
(916) 123-45678 ● legalgirl@lawschool.com
EDUCATION
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento, CA
Juris Doctor to be conferred, May 2010
Fall Semester Grades:
Legal Research and Writing A-, Contracts A-, Torts A.
Activities:
Legislative Staff Writer, McGeorge Law Review, 2008-2009
Public Legal Services Society, 2007 – Present
BarBri Representative, 2007-2008
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Bachelor of Arts, August 2005.
Major: Philosophy, Minor: Government
Activities:
University Democrats, December 2000 – May 2005
Students for the ACLU, January 2002 – May 2003
EXPERIENCE
Voluntary Legal Services Project, Sacramento, CA
Employment Law Clinic Volunteer, August 2007 – Present
• Interview clients, summarize the clients' employment law problems and present the information to a panel of employment law attorneys for advice.
• Convey this advice to the clinic clients and provide assistance in completing forms and preparing employment discrimination complaints, wage claims and demand letters.
California Energy Commission, Sacramento, CA
Contract Officer, February 2007 – Present
• Inform control agencies and contractors regarding California energy contract requirements, procedures and policies.
• Negotiate contract terms with contractors and prepare language for contract terms pertaining to procedural requirements.
Chicago Title, Austin, TX
Title Researcher, May 2004 – August 2005
• Used sophisticated software programs and county records to research estates to ensure they could be legally sold.
• Prepared and reviewed property documents to ensure there were no errors for properties and allow for proper transfer of title.
Childcare Provider, Austin, TX January 2001 – August 2005
• Responsible for one child’s safety and well-being.
United States Army Reserves
Army Reservist, September 2000 – November 2004
• Transported personnel and cargo in heavy duty vehicles.
Notify Jeans
Speedo
Arizona
Wow! You have a ton of experience. I'd be impressed by your resume as it is. But since you asked for feedback, here's what I think.
The only thing I would reconsider is the child care experience. I'm sure you learned a lot of skills from it, but if I were the hiring manager at Dewey Cheatham and Howe, I wouldn't see how that makes you qualified to be a lawyer — unless you were going into a field focusing on kids. (Which may be possible.)
However, if there is something from that experience that would make you a great lawyer, maybe you could explain it in the resume. Or if the experience has taught you relevant interpersonal skills that would help you do the job, it could be part of the cover letter.
Just my two cents!
1Definitely get rid of the childcare stuff; there's no way to make it relevant to your legal experience and putting it on there may make someone question your judgment(I'm a former biglaw attorney and did a lot of interviewing for my firm). If you have class rank information you should put that in.
Another impression I had when reading this is that no 1L would only be taking 3 classes, esp. when one of them was LR&W, and that coupled with your not listing your overall GPA would make me question if you're trying to hide a really bad grade. Obviously firms will have your transcript, but not putting it there upfront would seem a bit sketchy to me if I were looking at this in a pile of resumes. I'm wondering if perhaps you're in school part time given that it looks like you're also working at the CEC - either way, I can't even tell if you're a 1L or what from your resume, and I should have all that info at my fingertips first time I see your resume. Employers tend to regard part-timers with good grades very highly, because it shows you can work hard, multi-task, and still excel, so if that's what you're doing, highlight it, don't hide it!
Also, put that you're on the law review first (bolded if possible!) and then your position second - you want that to immediately catch the reader's eye. If you've been published in your law review or are going to be published, you should put that on your resume in a separate section at the bottom (name of the article, cited *correctly* BBook LR style and expected date of publication/date of publication). I'd also change it to JD expected as opposed to "to be conferred" but I'm kind of a stickler! If possible, I'd try to beef up the section with your work at the Employment Law Clinic. First of all, you're probably considered a student-attorney, not a volunteer, so if that's the case, say so. Be as specific as you can about things you've done without violating client confidentiality, of course. And if you need to cut stuff from your resume so you have room, your college activities aren't relevant unless you were an officer or can show some other kind of serious involvement.
I hope this was all constructive criticism and you don't take anything I said with offense. You've got great grades, firms will highly value your military service (if there's anything you can put in there to beef it up, go for it) and I think you'll do well in your job search. Just make sure you're highlighting YOU and what makes you different and unique, and you should be fine. Good luck!
2I work at a biglaw firm (marketing, not as an attorney - thank god!), I would second everything als1626 wrote, but strongly encourage you to include sample matters from Employment Law Clinic. You can scrub any identifying client information and just write generically about the matters.
Good luck!
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