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An experienced legal assistant supports attorneys in a variety of ways. Tasks you can expect include doing research, preparing legal documents, scheduling meetings, organizing documents, etc. To qualify for this job you need to have a degree in law or paralegal studies or a paralegal certificate. This position is for an experienced legal assistant so you will be expected to have years of experience as a legal assistant. It would also benefit you to have experience as an administrator, especially in a law firm. Take a look at this recruiter-approved resume sample.
This position will have you doing a variety of roles as you support attorneys, so show a variety of skills in the skill section. Some basic skills you can include are legal research, scheduling, docketing, etc. Take a look at our list of recommended skills in this guide for more options.
Action verbs are powerful tools that you can use to shape your experience section. For this position, you can use them to indicate that you have experience performing a variety of tasks expected for this position. Useful action verbs can include ‘filed’, ‘assisted’, and ‘organized’. Take a look at the action-verb section of this guide for more action-verb options.
We spoke with hiring managers at top law firms like Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, and Skadden to understand what they look for in legal assistant resumes. They consistently mentioned the following tips as essential for experienced legal assistants to include in their resumes.
Numbers and metrics help hiring managers quickly understand the scope and impact of your work. Instead of simply listing your responsibilities, quantify your achievements:
Compare those to the following statements without metrics:
A resume summary is an optional section that appears at the top of your resume, just below your contact information. While it's not a required section, it can be a valuable addition for experienced legal assistants who want to provide context or highlight key qualifications that may not be immediately apparent from the rest of their resume.
When writing your summary, focus on your most relevant skills, experiences, and achievements that align with the legal assistant role you're targeting. Avoid using an objective statement, which is outdated and focuses on what you want from an employer, rather than what you can offer them.
The work experience section is the most important part of your resume as an experienced legal assistant. It's where you show hiring managers that you have the skills and experience to excel in the role. In this section, we'll cover the key steps to writing a strong work experience section that will help you stand out from other candidates.
When describing your work experience, use strong action verbs that are relevant to the legal assistant role. This helps show the specific actions you took and the impact you made.
Examples of weak, generic verbs to avoid:
Instead, use strong, specific action verbs like:
The education section of your legal assistant resume should be concise and highlight your most relevant qualifications. If you're a recent graduate, you may include more details about your education. However, if you have several years of experience, you can keep this section brief and focus on your professional achievements.
The skills section of your legal assistant resume is where you highlight your top strengths. Hiring managers and recruiters rely on applicant tracking systems (ATS) to filter out resumes that don't contain the right skills. To make sure your resume gets seen, focus on hard skills that match the job description.
In this section, we'll cover what to include and what to leave out so your skills section makes a strong impact.
Here are examples of popular skills from Experienced Legal Assistant job descriptions that you can include on your resume.
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Experienced Legal Assistant job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more likely you should include it in your resume.
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