Best Legal CV Examples & Writing Tips for 2025

When it’s time to get a job in the legal field, you need the right CV to get the position you want. Writing a CV that recruiters are actually interested in can seem like a daunting task, but a legal CV can do more than just show a hiring manager that you have law school credentials. Here’s what you need to know about creating a legal CV.

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The legal profession covers many different positions. Here are a few of the jobs that would benefit from a legal CV:

• Law firm worker
• Attorney
• Legal assistant
• Paralegal
• Family law practitioner
• Immigrant law practitioner
• Legal expert for filing civil legal documents
• Disability law practitioner

There are many niches to practise as an attorney or law expert including arbitration, legal research and class action lawsuits. If you want a job in the legal field, here are some tips to create a legal CV.

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What are hiring managers looking for in legal CVs? Although each legal role will have different job requirements, CVs will still include the following CV sections:

Professional summary or career objective

Your career objective or professional summary is a short 2-3 sentence paragraph at the top of your CV that summarises your best skills, key achievements and legal experience. The professional summary will either encourage the hiring manager to continue reading or move on to the next application, so you really need to shine here.

Skills

There are many skills that you need to use as a legal professional. The skills that you’ll use should be tailored to the specific job you’re interested in. It’s important that you list both soft skills and hard skills as they’re both crucial to success in the legal field. Check our example CVs to see what skills your lawyer CV might want to include.

Work history

Professional experience is a big part of getting a new job in the legal field, so filling out your experience section is crucial. If you’re just finishing your law studies, you can also use academic experience, internships and other volunteer work. Remember to list this information in reverse chronological order, with the most recent jobs you’ve held at the top where a hiring manager can easily see them.

Education

If you have a relevant master’s or bachelor’s degree in law or another related field, then you should include this in the education section at the bottom of your CV. List your highest levels of education here, plus any relevant certifications.

Certifications and awards

This is the section of your legal CV where you can proudly highlight that you’ve passed the bar admission. You can also include industry memberships and awards. 

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You can find hundreds of legal CV examples at CVHelp. These CV samples can be a foundation to base your own CV on. Also, consider using the CVHelp CV builder and its step-by-step guidance to create a high-quality professional legal CV.

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Here are some additional tips for creating your legal CV:

• Don’t list your secondary school information in your education section unless there is something very relevant to the legal position for which you are applying.

• You don’t need to add your grades to your law school education experience unless requested. However, if you graduated with honours, do include this on your CV.
• Check the law firm website that you’re applying to before you choose your CV template. It’s always good to match the style of your template with the firm’s culture, whether it’s straightforward and formal, or slightly more creative.

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