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Legal clerk skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Shelly Grunsted,

Traci Dingle Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical legal clerk skills. We ranked the top skills for legal clerks based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 13.0% of legal clerk resumes contained litigation as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a legal clerk needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 legal clerk skills for your resume and career

1. Litigation

Here's how legal clerks use litigation:

Utilized several databases for queries and searches locating potential valuable information to assist in investigation for Litigation Agents and Paralegal.
Maintained and organized litigation materials; litigation management; processed correspondence, and various clerical duties, including filing/copying/package assembly.

2. Legal Correspondence

Here's how legal clerks use legal correspondence:

Maintained legal correspondence files and directives.
Composed and revised legal correspondence.

3. Subpoenas

Subpoenas are formal and legal documents issued mostly by a court or some other government agency that demands the presence of the person the document is addressed to, to show up at court. Subpoenas are issued to individuals whom the court wants to appear either as a witness in a particular case in order to testify or to provide any evidence such as an object or a document.

Here's how legal clerks use subpoenas:

Served subpoenas and notice and drafted related affidavits.
Processed legal documents and subpoenas from transcription.

4. Legal Research

Here's how legal clerks use legal research:

Contributed to the collective office staff by drafting legal briefs based upon comprehensive legal research and analysis of discovery documents.
Prepared memorandums of law after conducting legal research into specific and complex housing laws and local administrative regulations.

5. Trial Preparation

Trial preparation is the practice of gathering sufficient raw material for a court case. This preparation is done to make the bases of a case stronger by bringing the facts to light in a way that will give the concerned law bodies a better comprehension of the entire scenario. The method for preparing for a case may differ depending upon its nature.

Here's how legal clerks use trial preparation:

Conducted on site trial preparation including assembly of exhibits, summarizing of depositions and assisting with witness preparation.
Analyzed and organized documents for corporate fraud claim Developed questions for depositions Assisted attorneys with trial preparation

6. Law Firm

Here's how legal clerks use law firm:

Corresponded with expert witnesses, clients, partners, and Suffolk County judges inside a fast-paced New England law firm.
Served as a freelance contractor for providing legal services and legal support to various law firms and non-profit organizations.

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7. Court Dates

Here's how legal clerks use court dates:

Called all clerks' offices in the State of NJ to obtain copies of judgment and court dates for firm clients.
Communicated with Court personnel relative to arraignments, setting motion hearings, and confirming court dates.

8. 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 clerks use real estate:

Assisted in editing purchase agreements, operating agreements, partnership agreements and hotel management agreements for Real Estate Department
Conducted research and analysis of sale-leaseback real estate properties.

9. Computer System

Here's how legal clerks use computer system:

Transferred all paper client files electronically into computer system.
Performed duties as computer systems administrator.

10. Legal Issues

Here's how legal clerks use legal issues:

Researched legal issues including service of process, locating absent defendants and relevant legislation.
Researched legal issues, interviewed clients, attended hearings and community education presentations.

11. Word Processing

Here's how legal clerks use word processing:

Created spreadsheets and generate reports maintaining debtor's personal payment records and accurate documents by using Word Processing.
Performed word processing functions, such as proofing and organizing drafts of documents and correspondences.

12. Legal Memos

A legal memo (legal memorandum) is an informal record of a specific legal issue for helping the parties to remember specific points or for future reference. It's generally written by a law student, a paralegal, or a lawyer.

Here's how legal clerks use legal memos:

Prepared and responded to discovery requests, drafted pleadings, drafted and edited legal memos.
Drafted and edited legal documents, including legal memos and motions for summary judgment.

13. Interrogatories

Here's how legal clerks use interrogatories:

Communicated directly with clients/witnesses to complete interrogatories as a part of discovery in preparation for trial.
Assisted with discovery by preparing requests for admission, production and interrogatories.

14. Legal Process

Here's how legal clerks use legal process:

Prepared a Standard Operating Procedures manual covering legal processes for Commander.
Attended and observed depositions and trials to gain a broader understanding of the preparation, research, and complete legal process.

15. Clerical Support

Clerical support performs activities that must be done in every workplace in order to support the company going forward. These duties, which come within the category of clerical support, are typically delegated to entry-level employees since they are simple and easy to learn. Even though clerical duties like printing and filing are easy, they require time and in many instances, other workers are preoccupied with other activities and unable to keep up with all that needs to be accomplished. As a result, many businesses employ clerical support staff who are solely responsible for these duties.

Here's how legal clerks use clerical support:

Provided essential clerical support with legal documentation spanning the last century.
Provide administrative and clerical support for election and canvass.

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What skills help Legal Clerks find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on legal clerk resumes?

Shelly Grunsted

Executive Director - Center for Student Success, Director, First Fidelity Integrated Business Core Program (IBC), Associate Professor, The University of Oklahoma

Depending on the job, but some that stand out: experiential learning experience, leadership skills, communication skills, problem-solving/analytical, internship experience, and collaboration efforts/group-work

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

Traci Dingle Ph.D.

Professor, Berkeley College

The most essential hard or technical skills needed for Legal Specialists are computer skills. Learning or improving on these capabilities through formal training, certifications, or even free online courses is wise if you are unfamiliar with trending programs or suites. COVID-19 has shown how essential it is to have technological skills since traditional workspaces have shifted into working from your home space.

What soft skills should all legal clerks possess?

Traci Dingle Ph.D.

Professor, Berkeley College

Important soft skills include emotional intelligence and attention to detail. Working in the legal field, you may interact with attorneys, clients, or the public during stressful times. Accordingly, it is crucial to have self-awareness to be able to understand and control your emotions. It is also essential to gauge the feelings of others to provide the needed resources to support them and to show empathy, as working through the legal process may be emotional for some. Lastly, it is vital to exercise attention to detail when drafting documents or when talking with clients, as errors or not remembering important information about the client may imply that you or the office does not care about the client. Remember, you are a representative of the office, and your actions also reflect back on your colleagues.

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

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Associate Professor of Classics, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

No question our economy has been hit hard, and the job market will be very competitive, for students in all courses of study but those who have solid training in the Humanities, along with the strong writing and communication skills that come with it, should do well. Good writers and critical thinkers are essential across the board, and those who have studied history, philosophy, oratory, and literature at its source (that is, the Classics) are well equipped to be competitive in any market.

What type of skills will young legal clerks need?

Deirdre Kelly

Assistant Dean for Career Development, Western State College of Law

Young graduates will need the same traditional legal skills that they have always needed. Additionally, they will need to be resilient and creative to weather a more challenging and ever-evolving work environment. They will need to be very disciplined and able to work independently if they are working more remotely and have enough technical skills to navigate the virtual world. New graduates will need to think about how they build relationships with their co-workers and develop mentors, as well as develop clients and networks if the future means working remotely more and not as many in-person meetings.

What technical skills for a legal clerk stand out to employers?

Paula Smith

Assistant Dean for Career & Professional Development, Texas Tech University

Legal employers are seeking young lawyers with a good academic grasp of the law, excellent legal research and writing skills, advocacy abilities including negotiation, trial, and appellate exposure, and personal attributes of integrity, teamwork, diligence, resilience, and an expectation of success.

Do you want to know more?

List of legal clerk skills to add to your resume

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

Litigation
Legal Correspondence
Subpoenas
Legal Research
Trial Preparation
Law Firm
Court Dates
Real Estate
Computer System
Legal Issues
Word Processing
Legal Memos
Interrogatories
Legal Process
Clerical Support
Legal Proceedings

Telephone Calls
Probate
Court Orders
Court Appearances
Summary Judgment
Demand Letters
Legal Forms
Administrative Tasks
Travel Arrangements
Court Proceedings
Client Interviews
Employment Law
Client Intake
Office Equipment
Family Law
PowerPoint

Management System
Legal Support
Legal Articles
Court Hearings
Civil Litigation
Child Support
Law Library
Police Reports
Pacer
Court Cases
Arbitration
Criminal Cases
Summonses
LexisNexis
District Court
Legal Assistance

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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