Tailoring guide
Lawyer resume keywords and example
Attorney postings filter on a JD and active bar admission in the right jurisdiction, then on practice area and years of experience. Hiring partners and in-house teams read for the matters you handled, how much responsibility you carried (drafting, arguing, negotiating, leading deals) and the results, described without breaching confidentiality. Below are the keywords that recur, a sample summary, skills grouped by type, and example bullets from junior associate to senior counsel.
Updated 14 November 2026. Keyword research current as of November 2026, sourced from public ATS keyword guides, not Weydr's own usage data.
Lawyer keywords that repeat in job postings
- Juris Doctor (JD)
- Bar Admission
- Litigation
- Motion Practice
- Depositions
- Contract Drafting and Negotiation
- Due Diligence
- Legal Research and Writing
- Regulatory Compliance
Only include the ones that are true for you. A keyword you can't back up in an interview costs more than it gains.
Sample professional summary
Commercial litigation attorney with 6 years at a regional firm, admitted in New York and New Jersey. Drafts dispositive motions and appellate briefs, takes and defends depositions, and has second-chaired 3 jury trials. Manages discovery in Relativity and supervises junior associates and paralegals on day-to-day case work.
Illustrative example. Swap in your own years, domain, tools and results.
Skills to list on a lawyer resume
Hard skills
- Legal research and writing
- Motion and brief drafting
- Depositions and witness preparation
- Contract drafting and negotiation
- Due diligence and transaction documents
- Trial and hearing advocacy
- Regulatory and compliance analysis
Soft skills
- Client counseling
- Negotiation
- Judgment under deadlines
- Persuasive writing
- Supervising and training junior staff
Tools
- Westlaw
- Lexis+
- Relativity
- iManage or NetDocuments
- Clio or Aderant
- Contract lifecycle management tools
A tailored bullet, before and after
Handled litigation cases for clients.
Managed a docket of 15 commercial disputes as a fifth-year associate, drafting summary judgment motions and taking 20 depositions; won dismissal in 2 cases and negotiated settlements in 4 others within client budgets.
Example resume bullets by seniority
Illustrative examples: the companies, numbers and outcomes are made up to show the structure (action, scope, tool, result). Use your own real figures.
Entry level
- Researched and drafted memos on contract and employment issues for 6 partners, turning around most assignments within 48 hours.
- Ran first-level document review for a 200,000-document production in Relativity and wrote the issue-coding guide for the review team.
Mid level
- Drafted and argued 8 discovery and dispositive motions in state and federal court, and defended 12 depositions.
- Led due diligence on 5 acquisitions between $10M and $80M, reviewing material contracts and drafting disclosure schedules.
Senior
- Served as lead counsel in a 3-week bench trial over a supply agreement, managing a team of 3 associates and 2 paralegals.
- Built the in-house contract playbook as senior counsel, cutting routine vendor agreement review time for the business teams.
Gaps candidates miss most
- Bar admissions by jurisdiction, including federal courts where relevant
- Practice area and matter types stated clearly in the summary
- Your level of responsibility on each matter: first chair, second chair, drafting or supporting
Common lawyer resume mistakes
- Naming confidential clients or deal details without permission.
- Listing matters without saying what you personally did.
- Writing a long narrative résumé when firms expect a concise one or two pages.
- Leaving law review, moot court or clerkships off an early-career résumé.
- Claiming results such as verdicts or settlements without your role in them.
Before you stuff in keywords
- Does ATS really reject 75% of résumés?: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to tailor your résumé to a job description: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- What an ATS résumé checker can and can't tell you: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- Tailoring a résumé to a job description: a worked example: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to explain an employment gap on your résumé: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to write a cover letter for a specific job: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- Résumé summary examples, and how to write your own: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How long should a résumé be?: what the research says about ATS filtering.
- How to write a career change résumé: what the research says about ATS filtering.
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