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Legal adviser skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Chad Smith,

Katherine Butler Brem

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical legal adviser skills. We ranked the top skills for legal advisers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 9.9% of legal adviser resumes contained litigation as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a legal adviser needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 legal adviser skills for your resume and career

1. Litigation

Here's how legal advisers use litigation:

Assisted attorneys with employment litigation, administrative disciplinary hearings and requests for police records.
Managed various day-to-day legal/business projects, negation, litigation and implemented company policies.

2. Legal Advice

Here's how legal advisers use legal advice:

Provided legal advice and support to a team of investigators and forensic accountants in investigation and subsequent enforcement action.
Provided legal advice and counsel on issues of international and comparative law relevant to military commissions and detainee operations.

3. Legal Research

Here's how legal advisers use legal research:

Performed extensive legal research on commercial aspects relating to court cases and prepared legal documents accordingly.
Conducted legal research and background investigations in asylum cases.

4. Legal Issues

Here's how legal advisers use legal issues:

Liaised with external service providers /internal departments to ensure all contract / legal issues effectively managed and resolved.
Assist all agency personnel with resolving legal issues which emerge in particular areas of responsibility.

5. International Law

International law refers to the set of governmental rules and regulations followed by a foreign country. In jobs where collaboration with other countries is required, e.g., in aviation-related jobs or import/exports, international law knowledge is essential. One must respect the country's law they are residing in, visiting, or working together. Most countries are strict about their rules, and if you break international law, the authorities can fine or even charge you.

Here's how legal advisers use international law:

Established and maintained electronic international law database.
Ensured that all Regimental activities were conducted in compliance with domestic and international law, regulations, policies, and procedures.

6. Public Policy

Public Policy is refers to a public course of action created and seen-through by a government or government organization in response to a public issue, such homelessness, discrimination, poverty, other forms of bigotry, and public health issues like pandemics. The process of coming up with, and designing a public policy can alone often take quite a while, especially as governments may take quite a lot of time to notice public issues in the first place.

Here's how legal advisers use public policy:

Verified technical analyses in legislation and public policy, including proposals and projects.
Participated in the formulation, execution and interpretation of public policy.

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7. Legal Procedures

Here's how legal advisers use legal procedures:

Supervised legal procedures and the preparation of legal decisions.
Obtained the opportunity of advised and make recommendations to the Senator about new legal documents and regulations and legal procedures.

8. Legal Assistance

Here's how legal advisers use legal assistance:

Drafted legal manual for eligibility for legal assistance, preparation of Wills and Power of Attorneys.
Provided legal assistance with drafting of Wills, Powers of Attorney, and over 200 notaries.

9. Legal Support

Here's how legal advisers use legal support:

Provided legal support to information system colleagues; drafted and negotiated software license agreements, escrow agreements and equipment leases.
Give legal support to the company during company policies, disputes, employment, contracts etc.

10. Legal Opinions

Here's how legal advisers use legal opinions:

Performed contract review; provided legal opinions regarding legal compliance and internal corporate governance.
Reviewed and prepared documents and rendered legal opinions on company, commercial, corporate finance, employment and financial service matters.

11. Intellectual Property

Intellectual properties refer to individuals' intangible or non-physical wealth, which results from their imaginations and intellect.

Here's how legal advisers use intellectual property:

Implemented strategic Intellectual Property protection through strategic patenting and licensing.
Adjudicated intellectual property controversies within the academic community.

12. Real Estate

Real estate is land that has buildings on it. This kind of property consists of permanent improvements either natural or man-made, which include, houses, fences, bridges, water trees, and minerals. There are 4 types of real estate namely; residential real estate, commercial real estate, industrial real estate, and vacant land.

Here's how legal advisers use real estate:

Handled commercial and individual real estate transactions.
Coordinated all types of real estate transactions (Commercial and Residential) and preparation of all documents in register table form.

13. Criminal Law

Here's how legal advisers use criminal law:

Spring 1990 - Fall 2003 Concentrated in general criminal law practice, with over 100 career criminal jury trials.
Key legal counsel for compliance and legal affairs including constitutional, administrative, commercial, and criminal law.

14. Legal Services

Here's how legal advisers use legal services:

Provided legal services at the largest record label in Cuba, which records and publishes all contemporary Cuban music artists.
Managed the office of social legal service that provided free legal aid and advice for the poor and underprivileged.

15. Due Diligence

Due diligence refers to the process of auditing, investigating, or reviewing done to confirm the authenticity of relevant facts. In addition to this, it also refers to the evaluation of a party's financial records to determine whether one should enter into a transaction with the said party or not.

Here's how legal advisers use due diligence:

Performed due diligence, and drafted international loan agreements and opinion letters regarding loan viability.
Perform full legal due diligence studies in relation to governmental contracts and agreements.

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What skills help Legal Advisers find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on legal adviser resumes?

Chad Smith

Director of Legal Programs, Catholic University of America

Skills that stand out are those that point directly to a professor's ability to teach, present, and explain. Multifaceted. Personable. Memorable. So, I generally look for public speaking experience, trial experience, excellent communication, writing, and legal research skills.

What soft skills should all legal advisers possess?

Katherine Butler Brem

Clinical Associate Professor, University of Houston

Whether trial or transactional, a lawyer's ability to spot issues and think critically about those issues is crucial to success. The world moves fast, and I think that has encouraged all of us to look for the "quick" answer. We're conditioned to think if we need to know something, we can just look it up. But the law doesn't work that way. First, lawyers have to have a sufficient knowledge base to spot not just the obvious issues but those that are not so obvious. And then the lawyer has to be willing to spend the time and intellectual capital to think hard about the issues, do some research, and then think even harder about them. In a world where "action" represents the typical coin of the realm, it can be difficult for lawyers to exercise the discipline required to slow down and think before they act. But those who do develop a reputation as excellent strategists, and this is a very marketable skill.

What hard/technical skills are most important for legal advisers?

Katherine Butler Brem

Clinical Associate Professor, University of Houston

Two things: Research skills, especially research skills specific to a particular specialty area like tax or immigration. If you're looking for work in these fields, you need to be knowledgeable about where and how to research law relevant to these specialties. Secondly, just minimum competence in the technology you need to practice law in the absence of significant administrative assistance - things like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and billing software.

What legal adviser skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Karen Teoh

Associate Professor of History and Director of Asian Studies, Stonehill College

I would encourage graduates to keep honing their skills in professional communication, global awareness, and emotional maturity/independence. One way to do this is to broaden your horizons as much as possible, using your own initiative. Whether you work, intern, study, travel, or some combination, aim to learn as much as you can about the people and environment in which you are immersed. The more you know about the world around you, whether it ranges as far as one zip code or one continent away, the more you will be able to see things from a variety of perspectives and get a sense of how interconnected our global society is today. Talk to different people; be curious about their work, interests, and viewpoints. Take advantage of your institution's alumni network to request informational interviews. Even as a graduate, you can usually still use your career counseling office's services to get feedback on writing cover letters or speaking well in interviews and presentations.

Do you want to know more?

List of legal adviser skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a legal adviser resume and required skills for a legal adviser to have include:

Litigation
Legal Advice
Legal Research
Legal Issues
International Law
Public Policy
Legal Procedures
Legal Assistance
Legal Support
Legal Opinions
Intellectual Property
Real Estate
Criminal Law
Legal Services
Due Diligence
Legal Analysis
Ethics

Ministry
Human Resources
Administrative Law
Contract Law
Legal Aspects
Subpoenas
Employment Law
Labor Law
USD
Legal Affairs
Arbitration
Human Rights
Legal Proceedings
Immigration Law
Law Firm
Corporate Governance
Criminal Cases

Pro Bono
Business Transactions
Dispute Resolution
Government Officials
Government Agencies
Civil Law
Family Law
USAID
Legal Entities
Public Hearings
NGOs
Legal Rights
Employment Contracts
Business Contracts
Legal Guidance
Afghan

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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