Writing a Winning Legal Clerk Resume: A Complete Guide

What a Legal Clerk Does

Within a law firm or corporate legal department, the legal clerk serves as the backbone of the organizational structure. Simply put, these professionals perform research and administrative support for the attorneys they assist. The responsibilities of clerks include filing exhibits with the state and federal courts, investigating and summarizing facts and legal precedents relevant for trials, conceiving and drafting trial notebooks, and organizing documentary evidence. Legal clerks are often responsible for tracking all of the actions taken by their supervising lawyer. In addition to performing these essential clerical tasks the legal clerk also interacts with clients by gathering information regarding legal matters, completing necessary forms and billing statements, and delivering documents on behalf of the supervising attorney. As important as these clerical duties are, perhaps the most vital contribution of legal clerks to the function of a law firm or legal department is in the area of legal research. Conducting legal research is a vital function within any law office. To be truly capable of researching the vast body of statutes, case law, law libraries, legal newspapers, periodicals , encyclopedias and computerized legal research services that are essential to legal research. Legal clerks must have a solid understanding of both the law and legal terminology. As legal research is an ever-changing field, it is also vital that legal clerks stay current on changes in laws, regulations and legal codes as well as in judicial rulings. With so many vital responsibilities, legal clerks are required to bring considerable skills and attributes to their positions. In all aspects of their work, legal clerks must be highly accurate and detail oriented so that transcribed dictation, legal records and correspondence are free from error. Legal clerks must also possess the people skills necessary to work well with clients who are under extreme duress. As they are typically middle management employees, legal clerks often serve in trainings and orientations of new clerks and paralegals. Additionally, legal clerks are sometimes responsible for assigning work to junior staff. More than just a rubber stamp for their lawyers, those who work at law firms and corporate legal departments must be self-motivated individuals willing to go the extra mile in researching unique legal matters and finding appropriate solutions to problems.

Essential Elements of a Legal Clerk Resume

These components include:
Contact Information
Your contact information should be located at the top of your resume, making it easy for a potential employer to find. You should include your full name, address, telephone number and professional email address. It is a good idea to have an email address connected to a free provider that does not include any parts that make it sound unprofessional, such as "beachlover" or "21boyfantasy." Using your name with a professional provider such as Yahoo or Google is ideal.
Summary Statement
A summary statement explains how you fit in with the company. It is a brief overview of why you are applying for the job and what skills you can offer. It should only be two to three sentences.
Skills
Your skills section should include a list of hard skills that you possess. It should not include soft skills such as "Excellent communication skills" or "team-oriented". Rather, this section should include skills that an employer might search for in a candidate. For example, if the job listing mentions that they want applicants who are familiar with WestlawNext, proficiency in Microsoft Office and knowledge of legal-hold software, you would list those three items in your skills section.
Work Experience
Your work experience section should include not only your past employment but also any long-term volunteer experiences that you have had. You should include your job title, the dates of employment, the name of your employer, the city and state in which you were employed and your responsibilities and accomplishments within that position.
Education
Your education history should include information on the schools you attended, the degrees that you earned and the dates that you attended those institutions. It is not necessary to include your high school education if you have earned a professional degree. You can leave off your year of attendance for colleges and universities if you are concerned about age discrimination within the workplace.
Certification
Your certification can include bar admission, certifications and associations, licenses and continuing legal education.

Identifying Relevant Skills and Experience

An effective legal clerk resume clearly delineates the required skills and experience that will attract the attention of hiring attorneys. An employer reviewing a resume is immediately looking for a candidate with the ability to fulfill the specific requirements of the job, which may include legal research, document management or electronic discovery processes. Some common qualifications that are specific to particular practice areas such as bankruptcy include knowledge of administrative procedures, asset management systems, electronic filing systems, court rules and procedures and timelines. Criminal law candidates, for instance, should include specific case profiles and state and federal jurisdictional experience. A civil litigation resume should highlight experience with court dockets, motions and memoranda and pleadings. When reviewed by a hiring attorney, your legal clerk resume will be judged quickly against the job at hand to determine if you are a good candidate. An experienced legal recruiter can help prepare your resume in a way that showcases essential skills to make you more competitive, especially when layered against applicants who possess the same educational and experience credentials.

How to Tailor Your Resume for Specific Legal Clerk Positions

Navigating the legal jobs landscape can be challenging, especially with the heavy competition for the best legal jobs. One strategy that can help is customizing your legal clerk resume for each specific job application. A tailored resume can make a significant difference by highlighting the most relevant skills and experiences that align with the employer’s particular needs.
When reviewing a legal clerk job description, there are often specific requirements or qualifications that employers emphasize. These can range from academic credentials and legal experience to practical skills such as proficiency with relevant software programs. A strategic approach is to take these explicit requirements and match your resume content to them.
In your professional experience section, briefly introduce your previous legal employments and the types of skills and responsibilities involved. Then, tailor the bulk of this section’s content to include information about how those experiences covered the sections of the job description relevant to your career progression. This tailored content should highlight the experiences that correlate with those specific areas of concern. You should include how your background demonstrates that you have the necessary attributes to meet the employer’s expectations.
The job-related skills section of your legal clerk resume should be strategically adapted for each job application. Review each job description carefully and see which particular skills are highlighted. Be sure to reflect them in your resume. This will show your adeptness at analyzing and responding to the employer’s unique needs.
The education section of your legal clerk resume is usually specified and is often the primary tool for getting past basic education screens. You want to include educational information such as your degree, field of study, and dates of attendance. Be sure to place this information in descending order by date. This section is another area that should be adapted to fit the specific requirements of the job.
Finally, make certain that every part of your resume is relevant and applicable to the job. Including irrelevant information can distract recruiters from noticing the competencies that make you a great fit for the role.
When customizing your legal clerk resume, remember the importance of prioritizing those factors that are key to the particular employer. If they are looking for a candidate with legal experience or familiarity with specific legal specializations or particular software, showcase your experience in these during your work history and key skills sections. It has been shown that those resumes that are most closely matched to their job posting offer a greater likelihood of getting looked at than those that don’t.

Legal Clerk Resume Mistakes to Avoid

The benefit of a legal clerk is, while generally requiring a greater number of documents, it is a much shorter and more succinct position. That is why it is necessary to catch the attention of the reader so you can receive the call or email for the interview. Here are a few common mistakes made by many that can be easily avoided in order to secure that ever-important interview.
Proofread – Spelling errors and typos run the risk of making a bad impression. They also distract from your otherwise stellar resume. Be meticulous in your proofreading and reading your document as a whole to ensure flow and clarity, you don’t want to get lost in the words and miss an error.
Maintain an appropriate structure – Clearly identify each experience. Use bolding , bullets and indentations for easy reading. Keep the flow intact; do not jump between experiences and profiles.
Be specific about your experience – Understandably, previous employers may not want you discussing details of your work with them. However, potential employers need to understand the full nature of your experience and responsibilities. Also, if you were involved in any particular cases, it is important to detail your role and the outcome of the case.
Keep the length appropriate – Keep it to one page, a maximum of two, if you feel necessary.
Include the necessary information – This is a legal résumé, format is the key. Create sections to include:
Reference available upon request – This is just a filler statement. Your potential employer knows references are available, that is all part of the job. Let your capabilities speak for themselves.

Writing a Strong Resume Summary Statement

The resume summary is one of the first components a hiring manager will read, so it’s important that it be well-written and targeted. So how do you ensure that your resume summary meets the mark? Consider the following tips:
Call Out Relevant Experience
Summaries are not for specific job descriptions, so it’s appropriate to highlight previous work experiences that are relevant to the job at hand. If more than one role meets this requirement, use your summary to detail the most appropriate and impressive. This gives you the opportunity to leave otherwise unrelated job descriptions out of your resume. Your employment history should be an accurate reflection of your relevant experience.
Showcase Your Strengths
The resume summary is your chance to make a positive first impression before the hiring manager digs into the details. Focus on a few of your top strengths, such as specific skills or the value you bring to a potential employer. You want to draw the reader in and entice them to read more.
Keep It Short
Focusing on your key accomplishments will give you the chance to keep your resume summary short and sweet. Employers have very little patience when it comes to resumes, and brevity is often viewed as a sign of professionalism. You want to entice your audience to dig deeper into your resume, so give them a reason to do so. Make sure every word counts in your resume summary.
Keep It Professional
Job seekers often have a tendency to undersell themselves with their personal tone or lack of detail. While you don’t want to embellish your resume, you should avoid any resume summary that is overly apologetic or hesitant in tone. Terms such as "highly qualified" and "may be" dilute your accomplishments and lead potential employers to wonder whether your credentials are indeed all you claim.

Using Professional Networks and References

A candidate’s professional network can serve as a testimonial to their skills, work ethic and commitment to the industry, and can be leveraged to both get a foot in the door and get hired. While not every opportunity will be obtained via a professional network, lines of communication should be kept open with former colleagues and peers. Participating in industry organizations and groups on social media sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook is also a great way to keep connected with people in your industry.
Carefully consider which reference(s) would be most suitable to include on your resume. In general, references should always be people who currently hold a position at a law firm, or previously held a position where they were responsible for hiring staff or assessing their performance. References should be individuals who are familiar with your work and can clearly and credibly speak to your skills and capabilities. Again, give careful thought to what you might want a potential reference to say about you.
If you are currently employed at the law firm where you are applying , it may be necessary to provide a reference from a current supervisor or partner, but ensure you advise them that you are job-searching and must utilize them. On the other hand, if you know that the new law firm will obtain your application from your current employer, it is advisable to not cite a reference from your current firm, even if you have a good rapport with your supervisor as you will not offer them the element of confidentiality. A negative reference can be damaging, so if you do cite a reference who is currently employed at your law firm, follow up post-interview with the person you have cited to remind them that they are listed on your resume and provide them with information about the prospective law firm. This "heads up" can help ensure that a future call would not come as a surprise.
Although your resume should always be honest, including a reference(s) can only help put your best foot forward when it comes to getting hired.