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Legal Counsel Resume Examples 2023

Research Summary. We analyzed 898 legal counsel resumes to determine which ones land the most jobs. Below you'll find examples of resumes that can help you get an interview (and a job offer) from companies like Amazon and Splunk. Here are the key facts about legal counsel resumes to help you get the job:

  • The average legal counsel resume is 554 words long
  • The average legal counsel resume is 1.2 pages long based on 450 words per page.
  • Legal advice is the most common skill found on a legal counsel resume. It appears on 11.1% of resumes.
After learning about how to write a professional legal counsel resume, you can make sure your resume checks all the boxes with our resume builder.

Resume

Legal Counsel Resume Example

 
Samuel Daniels
Legal Counsel
Contact Information
Jersey City, NJ
(820) 555-3860
Skills
  • Legal Department
  • Intellectual Property
  • Anti-Money Laundering
  • Court Decisions
  • Counsel
  • Legal Compliance
  • Non-Disclosure Agreements
  • Internal Clients
  • Civil Rights
  • Electronic Document Review
Employment History
Legal Counsel
2016 - Present
American International Group
Jersey City, NJ
  • Drafted and reviewed master service agreements and NDAs.
  • Developed and implemented the department's first LEMC policy/procedure training manual for AIG's local corporate governance offices worldwide establishing compliance.
  • Restructured legal department, focusing attorneys time based on risk profile of transactions.
  • Provided legal counsel and support to subsidiary insurance and investment companies, financial advisors, broker-dealers, and financial planners.
Contract Attorney
2015 - 2016
Bayer
Los Angeles, CA
  • Provided expert prosecution for patents centered on anti-microbial chemical compounds and processes of manufacture, biotechnology, and device patent applications.
  • Provided counsel to clinical trial teams in several countries.
  • Drafted more than 100 patent applications for the Chemical Analytical Development and Formulation Development groups at Novartis.
Judicial Law Clerk
2008 - 2015
Bayer
Los Angeles, CA
  • File motions and documents in various departments at Daley Center, including spindle motions in both Civil and Law Divisions.
  • Prepare and process legal documents and papers, such as estate planning binders and property deeds.
  • Presented "Allegations of Domestic Violence in Dissolutions" at the 2012 Missouri Bar Family Law Conference.
  • Draft letters and send faxes to clients, opposing counsel, witnesses, and experts.
Education
Doctoral Degree Law
2005 - 2008
Southwestern Law School
Los Angeles, CA
Master's Degree Political Science
2004 - 2005
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Bachelor's Degree Political Science
2001 - 2004
University of California - Davis
Davis, CA
 
 
Raymond Sullivan
Legal Counsel
Contact Info
New York, NY
(920) 555-6915
Skills
Misdemeanor CasesCriminal CasesBusiness DevelopmentLicense AgreementsCounselBond HearingsCourt ProceedingsLoan ApplicationsLegal DepartmentHipaa
Employment History
Legal Counsel
2018 - Present
Bank of America
New York, NY
  • Key Accomplishments: Selected as one of four high-level legal compliance contacts for Bank.
  • Managed the legal affairs of the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Banking, REO and Corporate Properties Groups.
  • Explain decisions and reasons for decisions made by the VA, communicate information orally and in writing to Veterans.
  • Teamed with national and international counsel to resolve asbestos, environmental, and insurance coverage litigation matters.
Assistant Public Defender
2017 - 2018
Kings County Education Office
New York, NY
  • Negotiated plea bargains in thousands of criminal cases.
  • Argued pre-trial motions before the court, including motions to suppress and motions for a speedy trial.
  • Supported the County Attorney's Office criminal prosecution case load by appearances at preliminary hearings and trials.
  • Handled criminal cases from initial arraignment through plea bargain or jury trial.
  • Handled criminal cases from inception at the filing stage until resolution at trial, plea, or dismissal.
  • Conduct investigations for trial preparation including interviewing witnesses, visiting crimescenes, and reviewing discovery materials.
Solicitor
2012 - 2013
Broadridge Financial Solutions
Boston, MA
  • Promoted from Asset Recovery Specialist.
  • Participated in proceedings with agency counsel.
  • Coordinate highly successful State-wide law enforcement training with the Georgia Police Academy.
  • Briefed barristers and appeared with counsel at High Courts throughout United Kingdom.
  • Coordinate and facilitate initial loss mitigation efforts with associated departments, foreclosure counsel, investors and mortgage insurance companies.
Education
Doctoral Degree Law
2014 - 2017
New York Law School
New York, NY
Master's Degree Business
2013 - 2014
Monroe College
Bronxville, NY
Bachelor's Degree Management
2009 - 2012
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, MA
 
 
Samuel Daniels
Legal Counsel
Jersey City, NJ
sdaniels@example.com
(820) 555-3860
Experience
Legal Counsel
2016 - Present
American International GroupJersey City, NJ
  • Drafted and reviewed master service agreements and NDAs.
  • Developed and implemented the department's first LEMC policy/procedure training manual for AIG's local corporate governance offices worldwide establishing compliance.
  • Restructured legal department, focusing attorneys time based on risk profile of transactions.
  • Provided legal counsel and support to subsidiary insurance and investment companies, financial advisors, broker-dealers, and financial planners.
Contract Attorney
2015 - 2016
BayerLos Angeles, CA
  • Provided expert prosecution for patents centered on anti-microbial chemical compounds and processes of manufacture, biotechnology, and device patent applications.
  • Provided counsel to clinical trial teams in several countries.
  • Drafted more than 100 patent applications for the Chemical Analytical Development and Formulation Development groups at Novartis.
Judicial Law Clerk
2008 - 2015
BayerLos Angeles, CA
  • File motions and documents in various departments at Daley Center, including spindle motions in both Civil and Law Divisions.
  • Prepare and process legal documents and papers, such as estate planning binders and property deeds.
  • Presented "Allegations of Domestic Violence in Dissolutions" at the 2012 Missouri Bar Family Law Conference.
  • Draft letters and send faxes to clients, opposing counsel, witnesses, and experts.
Skills
Legal Department
Intellectual Property
Anti-Money Laundering
Court Decisions
Counsel
Legal Compliance
Non-Disclosure Agreements
Internal Clients
Civil Rights
Electronic Document Review
Education
Doctoral Degree Law
2005 - 2008
Southwestern Law SchoolLos Angeles, CA
Master's Degree Political Science
2004 - 2005
University of California, BerkeleyBerkeley, CA
Bachelor's Degree Political Science
2001 - 2004
University of California - DavisDavis, CA
 
Create My Resume
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How your resume should look:

  • The job title on your resume should match your application for the role.
  • Ensure your work experience focuses on achievements, rather than responsibilities.
  • Recruiters and hiring managers suggest fitting your resume on one page.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Legal Counsel Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Legal Counsel templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Legal Counsel resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Legal Counsel Resume

Legal Counsel Resume Format And Sections

1

1. Add Contact Information To Your Legal Counsel Resume

Your name should be the biggest text on the page and be at or near the top of the document.

Your address doesn't need to include your street name or house number - listing your city and state works just fine.

Your email address should be professional, but not your current work email address. It's not a good look to use your work email for personal projects (job-searching).

Your social media can be included if you have a fully-fledged LinkedIn page or another social media page that showcases your relevant skill set.

Legal Counsel Resume Contact Information Example #1

Dhruv Johnson

d.johnson@email.com | 333-111-2222 | www.linkedin.com/in/dhruv-johnson

Do you want to know more?
How To Write The Perfect Resume Header
2

2. Add Your Relevant Education To The Resume

Your resume's education section should include:

  • The name of your school
  • The date you graduated (Month, Year or Year are both appropriate)
  • The name of your degree
If you graduated more than 15 years ago, you should consider dropping your graduation date to avoid age discrimination.

Optional subsections for your education section include:

  • Academic awards (Dean's List, Latin honors, etc. )
  • GPA (if you're a recent graduate and your GPA was 3.5+)
  • Extra certifications
  • Academic projects (thesis, dissertation, etc.)

Other tips to consider when writing your education section include:

  • If you're a recent graduate, you might opt to place your education section above your experience section
  • The more work experience you get, the shorter your education section should be
  • List your education in reverse chronological order, with your most recent and high-ranking degrees first
  • If you haven't graduated yet, you can include "Expected graduation date" to the entry for that school
Check More About Legal Counsel Education
Majors
Law
53.5%
Legal Research And Advanced Professional Studies
9.4%
Political Science
8.8%
Business
6.2%
Show More

Legal Counsel Resume Relevant Education Example #1

Doctoral Degree In Law 2005 - 2008

Southwestern Law School Los Angeles, CA

Legal Counsel Resume Relevant Education Example #2

Doctoral Degree In Law 1993 - 1996

Hofstra University Hempstead, NY

3

3. Next, Create A Legal Counsel Skills Section On Your Resume

Your resume's skills section should include the most important keywords from the job description, as long as you actually have those skills. If you haven't started your job search yet, you can look over resumes to get an idea of what skills are the most important.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing your resume's skills section:

  • Include 6-12 skills, in bullet point form
  • List mostly hard skills; soft skills are hard to test
  • Emphasize the skills that are most important for the job
Hard skills are generally more important to hiring managers because they relate to on-the-job knowledge and specific experience with a certain technology or process.

Soft skills are also valuable, as they're highly transferable and make you a great person to work alongside, but they're impossible to prove on a resume.

Example Of Legal Counsel Skills For Resume

  • Intellectual Property Skills

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

  • Legal Risks Skills

    Legal risks are the consequences of not adhering to the stipulated laws governing the running and establishment of any business. These consequences can come in the form of fines, lawsuits, sealing or acquisition of the business by the government, and many others. Legal risks come in different types including compliance risk, regulatory risk, reputational risk, and dispute risk.

  • Ethics Skills

    Ethics is a branch of knowledge that involves recommending, defending, and systemizing aspects of right and wrong behavior.

  • Risk Management Skills

    Risk management is the method of recognizing, evaluating, and managing risks to an organization's resources and profits. Financial insecurity, regulatory liability, strategic management mistakes, incidents, and natural hazards are just some of the challenges or dangers that could arise. For digitalized businesses, IT security vulnerabilities and data-related threats, as well as risk management techniques to mitigate them, have become top priorities.

  • Human Resources Skills

    Human resources is a set of people in a business or a corporation that are designated to locate, interview, and recruit new employees into the company. They are also responsible to maintain the integrity of the employees and help them sort their problems out. They try to introduce and manage employee-benefit programs.

Top Skills for a Legal Counsel

Source: Zippia.com
  • Legal Advice, 11.1%
  • Legal Issues, 8.5%
  • Litigation, 8.3%
  • Legal Support, 7.2%
  • Other Skills, 64.9%
Not sure which skills are really important?
3 Big Tips For Listing Skills On Your Resume
4

4. List Your Legal Counsel Experience

The most important part of any resume is the experience section. Recruiters and hiring managers expect to see your experience listed in reverse chronological order, meaning that you should begin with your most recent experience and then work backwards.

Don't just list your job duties below each job entry. Instead, make sure most of your bullet points discuss impressive achievements from your past positions. Whenever you can, use numbers to contextualize your accomplishments for the hiring manager reading your resume.

It's okay if you can't include exact percentages or dollar figures. There's a big difference even between saying "Managed a team of engineers" and "Managed a team of 6 engineers over a 9-month project."

Most importantly, make sure that the experience you include is relevant to the job you're applying for. Use the job description to ensure that each bullet point on your resume is appropriate and helpful.

Don't have any experience?
How To Show Your Experience On a Resume... Even When You Don't Have Any
Work History Example # 1
Legal Counsel
MCI
  • Developed and maintained policies, SOPs, and guidelines that effectively addressed legal, regulatory, compliance and ethics risks.
  • Assisted outside counsel with production of documents for interrogatories.
  • Focused on the development of strategies designed to facilitating communication among legal counsel and debtors.
  • Trained and consulted with new Privacy Manager on program compliance, policy rules and regulations to ensure continued compliance management.
  • Established, maintained, and enforced security regulations, and procedures within the organization.
Work History Example # 2
Guardian Ad Litem
Guardian Ad Litem
  • Completed CASA Training Program to become a Guardian ad Litem.
  • Certified volunteer guardian ad litem representing Florence County and surrounding areas.
  • Assigned as Guardian ad litem for children concerning custody/visitation hearings.
  • Developed online education curriculum for WEBCT and Blackboard templates.
  • Handled all aspects of representation of clients of the Guardian Ad Litem program, both in and out of court proceedings.
Work History Example # 3
Legal Counsel
Camp Systems International
  • Initiated debt collection action against various debtors including bankruptcy research.
  • Maintained supervisory authority over outside counsel engaged in transaction and litigation support in Indonesia, Australia, and India.
  • Provided counsel regarding provider contracts, physician hospital organizations, group and individual practice associations.
  • Collaborated with tax counsel to provide global advice relating to permanent establishment exposure and revenue recognition.
  • Designed and implemented various risk management policies, including global anti-corruption policies, code of business ethics training and enforcement.
Work History Example # 4
Judge
JAGS AUTOMOTIVE OF LOUISVILLE
  • Served as the installation ethics counselor primarily responsible for quarterly ethics training.
  • Provided legal support for and assisted Office of Government Counsel in briefings with high-level Department of Defense personnel.
  • Ensured voters were at correct precinct voting location.
  • Co-counseled the firm's first ever FINRA arbitration, obtaining a full dismissal for client.
  • Maintained the Area Defense Counsel trial docket and scheduling, interviewed prospective clients, and managed over 40 court case files.
6

6. Finally, Add a Legal Counsel Resume Summary Or Objective Statement

A resume summary statement is a 1-3 sentence spiel at the top of your resume that quickly summarizes who you are and what you have to offer. In this section, include your job title, years of experience (if it's 3+), and an impressive accomplishment, if you have space for it.

Remember to address skills and experiences that are emphasized in the job description.

Are you a recent grad?
Read our guide on how to write a resume summary statement

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Common Legal Counsel Resume Skills

  • Legal Advice
  • Legal Issues
  • Litigation
  • Legal Support
  • Intellectual Property
  • Legal Risks
  • Legal Research
  • In-House Counsel
  • Ethics
  • Risk Management
  • Internal Clients
  • Human Resources
  • Regulatory Compliance
  • HIPAA
  • Legal Services
  • Data Privacy
  • Employment Law
  • Due Diligence
  • Service Agreements
  • Securities
  • Saas
  • Compliance Issues
  • Regulatory Issues
  • Legal Affairs
  • Corporate Governance
  • Cloud Computing
  • External Counsel
  • Business Development
  • Legal Aspects
  • Vendor Agreements
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Legal Compliance
  • Legal Guidance
  • Non-Disclosure Agreements
  • Contract Review
  • Corporate Policies
  • Legal Analysis
  • Government Agencies
  • Distribution Agreements
  • Liaising
  • Executive Management
  • Contract Negotiations
  • Confidentiality Agreements
  • Legal Opinions
  • Federal Laws

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Updated May 19, 2023