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Criminal justice lawyer skills for your resume and career

Q: What skills stand out on Criminal Justice Lawyer resumes?

The skills that would stand out are those that would be gained through real-world experiences, such as an internship or a leadership position in a campus organization. For example, our students are required to complete an internship, but many could not in 2020 because of COVID. Those students' resumes were, on average, lacking the skills that employers would be looking for because they could not get those related experiences.

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Jeremy Olson Ph.D.,

Jeremy Olson Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical criminal justice lawyer skills. We ranked the top skills for criminal justice lawyers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 45.4% of criminal justice lawyer resumes contained criminal justice as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a criminal justice lawyer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 criminal justice lawyer skills for your resume and career

1. Criminal Justice

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use criminal justice:

Researched, developed, implemented and evaluated criminal justice agency programs and services for six-jurisdiction Colonial Community Criminal Justice Board.
Provided oversight of programmatic, administrative and support service operations of all contracted providers of criminal justice behavioral health services.

2. Semester

A semester is a calendar that divides an academic year into sections of fifteen to eighteen weeks. The time system adopted by schools and countries differ. While the half system divides the academic year into two sessions, the quarter system divides the academic year into four sessions.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use semester:

Selected by student-athletes and Academic Advisors as Most Valuable Tutor following 1st semester of employment.
Completed full semester before enlisting in the U.S Army.

3. Public Safety

Public safety can be defined as the well-being or protection of a community, citizen, or nation as a whole. There are 4 basic elements that come under public safety namely: national security, border policy, countering crime, and emergency management.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use public safety:

Performed criminal information searches and retrieval using Texas Department of Public Safety criminal history system access and other databases.
Interacted with numerous agencies and court system for rehabilitation and public safety.

4. Syllabus

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use syllabus:

Invited several guest speakers from the field to add current interest other than the material presented in the syllabus.
Created and distributed course syllabus, course lecture material and learning objectives

5. Law Enforcement Agencies

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use law enforcement agencies:

Certified and released information to local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
Appointed as chief liaison between parole division and various law enforcement agencies.

6. Sociology

Sociology is the study of human behavior through societies, groups, and larger developments. Sociology encompasses virtually every aspect of human interaction, from crime to religion to marriage rituals. This study also looks at how humans divide one another, including race, political, and wealth classes.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use sociology:

Major focus in Sociology includes experience in Social Problems, Behavioral Sciences, and crime related Sociology.
Research Assistant Selected for position by Chairman of the Sociology Department and other faculty members based on scholastic achievement.

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7. Criminal Law

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use criminal law:

Prepared and delivered lectures to students on topics such as criminal law, defensive policing, and investigation techniques.
Facilitated as adjunct instructor in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure courses.

8. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use mental health:

Cultivated positive relationships with mental health professionals, programs and associations.
Arrange diagnostic evaluation for clients who have not previously been connected or have not been connected to mental health services.

9. Criminal Behavior

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use criminal behavior:

Prepared a professional to understand and effectively address the complex issues surrounding criminal behavior.

10. Data Collection

Data collection means to analyze and collect all the necessary information. It helps in carrying out research and in storing important and necessary information. The most important goal of data collection is to gather the information that is rich and accurate for statistical analysis.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use data collection:

Oversee all data collection and analysis as it relates to program development, recruitment, participation and retention.
Learned and applied research design and data collection methods, prepared written reports, and delivered presentations.

11. Research Projects

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use research projects:

Participated in planning, developing, coordinating, and conducting investigative research projects.
Performed detailed and specialized research projects pertaining to fiscal, administrative, and program functions of the agency.

12. GPA

GPA, known as the cumulative grade point aggregate is an indicator of how much dedication, and effort was put into your academic years in college or high school.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use gpa:

Maintained a GPA of 3.3 for the last 4 semesters
Graduated with a 3.54 GPA average.

13. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use cpr:

Perform emergency medical procedures such as CPR, First Aid and the use of AED unit until medical staff arrives.
Skilled in the use of hand held band radios, application of restraint methods, first aid and CPR.

14. Blackboard

Blackboard Learn is a web-based learning management system or virtual learning environment that provides information management for courses and learning materials. It is a scalable software with a customizable open architecture and strong security authentication protocols. Blackboard Learn is used by various Universities around the world to provide course management for their students.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use blackboard:

Create intuitive and interactive video lectures, lecture slides, and Java-based question banks for Blackboard.
Developed online education curriculum for WEBCT and Blackboard templates.

15. Scholarship

A scholarship is financial support given to a student. The financial support will be utilized for the student's schooling. Some scholarships are awarded because of academic achievement (merit-based), while other students receive this because of lack of funds (need-based). The benefactor usually sets the scholars' criteria and defines what and how the support will be utilized. It could be used to pay tuition, purchase books, allowance, or other educational expenses that the student may incur.

Here's how criminal justice lawyers use scholarship:

Obtained a Five-Thousand dollars scholarship for outstanding Hispanic community leader.
Spring, 2016 Psychology Activity Based Scholarship Recipient Spring, 2016

5 Criminal Justice Lawyer resume examples

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What skills help Criminal Justice Lawyers find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on criminal justice lawyer resumes?

Jeremy Olson Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Penn State University Wilkes-Barre

Three skills that can help make people stand out when applying for criminal justice lawyer jobs are communication, analysis, and argument formation. Lawyers have to listen to and speak with a wide variety of people, and they have to read a lot of different types of information. They have to do that in a way that the attorney can understand what they’re being told or reading well enough to determine what is and is not important to their case at any given time. They then have to synthesize that information into the totality of their case as they form a very clear argument for why something did or did not happen. They then communicate that argument to other parties like opposing counsel or the jury.

What soft skills should all criminal justice lawyers possess?

Jeremy Olson Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Penn State University Wilkes-Barre

We’ve asked this question to nearly every professional guest, internship supervisor, and employer we’ve interacted with within the time we’ve been teaching. The answers are always the same, regardless of their field. The top three answers are interpersonal communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Rounding out the list of the six most important soft skills are time management, leadership, and the ability to adapt. Since we have heard the need for these skills so often, we have incorporated ways of acquiring them throughout the criminal justice curriculum here at Penn State Wilkes-Barre.

What hard/technical skills are most important for criminal justice lawyers?

Jeremy Olson Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Penn State University Wilkes-Barre

The hard skills for our field are clear and accurate writing & speaking, the ability to search and find relevant information using multiple databases, the use of technology, and speaking a second language which can include sign language. Also, acting skills help in this field. Whether it happens in open court or in a closed interview room, there are times when you have to pretend to love things you detest and to detest things you love. It helps to be convincing when you need to do either.

What criminal justice lawyer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Kayla Wimberley J.D. TTU Law 2011

Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development, Texas Tech University

Legal research and writing continue to be the hallmark skills for attorneys. I don't see this changing any time soon. I do think AI will continue to make its way into our practice, so having some knowledge of the use of AI would be helpful. However, this is a people/humanity centered field. You can't fake humanity.

What type of skills will young criminal justice lawyers need?

Christina Bohannan

Professor, Lauridsen Family Fellow in Law, and Director of Master of Studies in Law Program, University of Iowa

Graduates will need to have excellent analytical and communication skills. They will need to understand how the law intersects with their clients' business or other interests. They will also need to have cultural proficiency to work with diverse clients and coworkers with different ideas, cultures, and backgrounds.

Do you want to know more?

List of criminal justice lawyer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a criminal justice lawyer resume and required skills for a criminal justice lawyer to have include:

Criminal Justice
Semester
Public Safety
Syllabus
Law Enforcement Agencies
Sociology
Criminal Law
Mental Health
Criminal Behavior
Data Collection
Research Projects
GPA
CPR
Blackboard

Scholarship
Emergency Situations
Substance Abuse
Domestic Violence
Community Services
Child Abuse
Crisis Intervention
Ethics
Terrorism
Correctional Facility
Social Justice
CJ
PowerPoint
III

Local Law Enforcement
Incident Reports
Legal Research
Criminal Cases
Windows
Crime Prevention
Guest Speakers
Food Service
Juvenile Delinquency
JAN
District Court
Subpoenas
Technical Assistance
Criminal Investigations

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.

Criminal Justice Lawyer skills FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

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