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Assistant state attorney skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

James Tomaszewski,

James Tomaszewski

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical assistant state attorney skills. We ranked the top skills for assistant state attorneys based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 15.5% of assistant state attorney resumes contained litigation as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an assistant state attorney needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 assistant state attorney skills for your resume and career

1. Litigation

Here's how assistant state attorneys use litigation:

Recognized for ability to integrate sophisticated analytic, investigative, organizational, negotiation, and litigation skills toward case disposition.
Conducted extensive pretrial litigation including taking and defending depositions, mastering discovery matters, and engaging in motions practice.

2. Criminal Cases

A criminal case is a court proceeding in which a person is charged with committing a crime against the state or the community. Such individuals are brought for trials, to decide they are guilty or not. There are two kinds of criminal cases misdemeanors and felonies. A misdemeanor is a crime on a lower level like traffic offenses or minor assaults. While felonies are offenses on a higher level.

Here's how assistant state attorneys use criminal cases:

Prosecuted felony and misdemeanor criminal cases; supervised the Drug Court program; prosecuted juvenile criminal cases
Prosecuted a variety of criminal cases while handling a voluminous caseload and making charging decisions.

3. Appeals

Here's how assistant state attorneys use appeals:

Researched and drafted several successful appeals.
Drafted appellate responses to misdemeanor appeals

4. Law Enforcement Agencies

Here's how assistant state attorneys use law enforcement agencies:

Worked with various state and local law enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate and successfully prosecute numerous felony cases.
Worked closely with numerous federal law enforcement agencies to develop various investigations, identify trends and common characteristics.

5. Criminal Division

Here's how assistant state attorneys use criminal division:

Intern in Criminal Division *Research, drafting of Motions and pleadings, assisted US Attorneys with evidence review
Assigned to various criminal divisions with positions in misdemeanor, juvenile and felony courts.

6. District Court

Here's how assistant state attorneys use district court:

Review and effectuate mandates from upper review Court (Circuit Court, District Court of Appeal or Florida Supreme Court).
Negotiated and argued sentencing using the advisory Sentencing Guidelines before the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia.

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7. Felony Cases

Felony cases are regarded as serious and violent crimes such as murder, rape, kidnapping, burglary, and arson. Compared to misdemeanor and petty crimes, felony cases involve greater punishment such as incarceration and even the death penalty..

Here's how assistant state attorneys use felony cases:

Defended and conducted depositions in felony cases including depositions of expert witnesses.
Prosecuted misdemeanor and felony cases against juvenile offenders.

8. Legal Issues

Here's how assistant state attorneys use legal issues:

Researched multifaceted legal issues and prepared legal memorandums of law.
Evaluated legal issues and determined filling decisions.

9. Federal Agencies

Federal agencies are specialized departments of government set up by the government to perform specific duties. They can have responsibilities such as management of resources, overlooking of financial position of industries, national security issues, and so on.

Here's how assistant state attorneys use federal agencies:

Represented federal agencies in employment discrimination cases under Title VII.
Advise and assist federal agencies in on-going criminal investigations.

10. Misdemeanor Cases

A misdemeanor crime is a type of criminal offense that is more critical than a citation but less serious than a felony charge. In this criminal charge, one can be punished with fines and prison time. Types of misdemeanors include destruction, trespassing, or public intoxication, and other actions that can land you in lawful dispute. Many attribute a misdemeanor as a crime having to do with a failure in one's moral judgment rather than something more serious like killing someone.

Here's how assistant state attorneys use misdemeanor cases:

Evaluated and determined final filing decisions for misdemeanor cases presented by law enforcement departments.
Prosecuted complex criminal felony and misdemeanor cases and tried numerous jury and non-jury trials.

11. Circuit Court

Here's how assistant state attorneys use circuit court:

Argued over 100 trials before the District & Circuit Courts of Maryland with a success rate of over 80%.
Served as a specialty unit prosecutor screening, filing, and trying domestic violence cases in the Circuit Court.

12. Federal Courts

Federal courts refer to designated law system units mandated to rule cases that involve the constitution, the federal laws, cases entailing bankruptcy, the general conduct of the ambassadors and public ministers in treaties, and crimes that involve different states.

Here's how assistant state attorneys use federal courts:

Prepared and argued briefs before the local and federal courts in the District of Columbia.
Represented the State of Florida in oral argument in appellate proceedings before the Florida Supreme Court and Federal Courts of Appeal.

13. Juris

Here's how assistant state attorneys use juris:

BAR ADMISSIONS Admitted in Connecticut, Juris No.

14. Violent Crimes

Here's how assistant state attorneys use violent crimes:

Completed service as senior felony-level attorney in Career Criminal Unit with specialization in repeat offenders and violent crimes.
Prosecuted more than 70 jury trials involving violent crimes - armed robbery, aggravated assault, homicide, mayhem.

15. Legal Memoranda

Here's how assistant state attorneys use legal memoranda:

Conducted motor vehicle infraction trials, researched and drafted legal memoranda and assisted in plea bargaining negotiations.
Gathered information regarding defendant s criminal history and drafted legal memoranda for submission to judicial system.

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What skills help Assistant State Attorneys find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on assistant state attorney resumes?

James Tomaszewski

Director of the Center for Professional Development, University of Cincinnati

Demonstrated commitment to a particular practice area, especially experiential learning opportunities such as externships and clinics.

What soft skills should all assistant state attorneys possess?

James Tomaszewski

Director of the Center for Professional Development, University of Cincinnati

Engagement, Resilience, Responsiveness, Respectfulness, Integrity.

What hard/technical skills are most important for assistant state attorneys?

James Tomaszewski

Director of the Center for Professional Development, University of Cincinnati

Excellent writing skills.

What assistant state attorney skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Charity Rohlfs J.D.

Associate Professor of Paralegal Studies, Website

GenAI! Which means highlights the importance of skills like organization, communication, and consensus building. The legal field has historically been technology hesitant, but the pandemic and AI have forced the use and adaptation of technology. AI’s exponential growth will require new skills at a lightning fast pace. A bellwether in the legal field is eDiscovery as it requires the ability to organize massive amounts of information as well as clearly and concisely communicate the information. AI is helping paralegals and attorneys do just this! Finally, in a world that often hides behind screens, having the ability to build consensus and connect with others will be invaluable.

Do you want to know more?

List of assistant state attorney skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for an assistant state attorney resume and required skills for an assistant state attorney to have include:

Litigation
Criminal Cases
Appeals
Law Enforcement Agencies
Criminal Division
District Court
Felony Cases
Legal Issues
Federal Agencies
Misdemeanor Cases
Circuit Court
Federal Courts
Juris
Violent Crimes
Legal Memoranda
Civil Litigation
Child Support

Criminal Law
Bench Trials
National Security
Legal Research
Civil Division
Subpoenas
Child Abuse
DUI
Legal Advice
County Court
Oral Arguments
Legal Intern
Defense Counsel
Court Proceedings
Motion Practice
Financial Crimes
Police Reports

Prosecutions
Crime Victims
Pre-Trial Motions
Domestic Violence Cases
Criminal Charges
Interrogatories
Sexual Assault
Appellate Briefs
Management System
Jury Selection
Criminal Investigations
Criminal Prosecution
Motion Hearings
Non-Jury Trials
Traffic Cases

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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