how to build resume for law school

Application Toolkit: Resume

On this webpage, you will find our advice and guidance for approaching the resume component of the application., instructions.

We require a resume as part of the application. Please limit your resume to 1 – 2 pages in length.

The following links are sample resumes from successful applicants in prior years. You do not have to follow the formatting used in these resumes, but all three are examples of well-organized, easy-to-read drafts.

Application Insights: Resume

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Blog Advice

• Visit the Admissions Blog
• View All Resume Blog Posts

Overrated/Underrated Part 3

Continuing our Overrated/Underrated series, this week, we shift our focus to highlight some of the overrated approaches that we recommend applicants avoid as they craft their applications. 

November 17, 2021

Overrated/Underrated Part 2

This week, we continue our Underrated Approaches to the Application series with some additional advice.

October 21, 2021

Overrated/Underrated Part 1

The J.D. Admissions team recently came together to offer their thoughts on some underrated and overrated approaches that applicants might take towards their HLS application. We hope you’ll find some of these nuggets useful.

September 9, 2021

Real Talk: The Resume

This week’s entry in the Real Talk series covers the resume. 

August 25, 2020

Podcast Advice

Navigating law school admissions with miriam & kristi.

Miriam Ingber (Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Yale Law School) and Kristi Jobson (Assistant Dean for Admissions at Harvard Law School) provide candid, accurate, and straightforward advice about law school admissions — direct from the source. They will be joined by guest stars from other law schools to discuss application timing, letters of recommendation, personal statements, and more.

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Resume Workshop

Our Resume Workshop provides applicants with straightforward advice on how to craft their resumes with a reflective activity and guiding questions to consider.

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Law school resume tips + examples: ace your application.

Reviewed by:

David Merson

Former Head of Pre-Law Office, Northeastern University, & Admissions Officer, Brown University

Reviewed: 10/25/23

Whether you already have a resume or are starting from scratch, read on to learn law school resume tips to stand out in the admissions process. 

A law school resume summarizes your achievements, qualifications, and experiences. Your resume and cover letter can tell admissions officers much about you and your law school preparedness. We’ll outline tips for your law school resume so it’s refined and ready for submission. 

Law School Resume Format 

On your law school application , it’s best to keep the format of your law school resume simple (even if you have a penchant for graphic design). You should avoid using: 

• Distracting colors 
• Graphics, such as “skill graphs” or progress bars 
• Any other multimedia elements 

Your resume should be one to two pages long using a standard, legible font size. Stick to Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, or another similar font, and don’t use a size smaller than 11 points. 

What Should Go on Your Law School Resume

Putting together a law application resume can be daunting. Applying to law school is already a big task as there are many elements to consider, like personal statements and recommendation letters. 

To help you get a leg up, it’s a good idea to look at some examples of what other law school application resumes include, as well as to pay attention to what admissions counselors have to say. 

UPenn states , “Law school admissions committees are very interested in how you spend your time and energy outside of class, so it is essential that you create a strong, accurate, and flattering portrayal of yourself on your resume.” It’s crucial to summarize your experiences and candidacy succinctly. 

That being said, you have some freedom regarding what goes on your law school resume to complement its core elements. Standard sections you should include in every law school application resume include:

Source : US News

These are the main sections that every law school application resume should have. If you haven’t done much volunteer work or participated in many activities since high school, the University of Wisconsin–Madison suggests weaving any activities into your resume’s education section. 

While these are the standard pieces that every law school resume should include, you can choose to add other sections if they’ll add something new and fresh to your application: 

• Honors/Awards : If you have a laundry list of honors/awards, consider putting them into their own section. Otherwise, it’s okay to put them in your education section. 
• Research : If you have one or more research-related experiences, it may be worth adding a section to your resume. This can include a capstone project or thesis that would otherwise go in your education section, significant work in a study, or publications. 
• Skills/Interests : This section is a great way to showcase information about you that didn’t fit into your resume anywhere else. Whether you’re bilingual, an expert coder, or decorate cakes in your spare time, you can add another layer to your individuality. 

You can add whatever sections you want that best reflect your candidacy, qualities, and experiences so far. You can also rename/alter these sections as you see fit. 

Alyson Suter Alber , Associate Dean for Enrollment Planning and Strategic Initiatives at Case Western Reserve School of Law, said, “In the admissions process we are looking for experiences and activities that showcase skills an applicant will need in law school such as research, writing and analytical thinking.” 

So, highlight activities that emphasize these skills on your resume! That way, you can show admissions committees that you’re a worthy law school candidate. Take a look at some examples of law resumes down below to see how they’ve done it. 

9 Law School Resume Tips

If you’re wondering how to improve your resume for law school, look no further than these nine expert tips. 

1. Remember the Resume’s Purpose 

The first law school resume tip is crucial to follow: remember its purpose. When you formulate a resume to find work, you may write an objective at the top expressing your goals. You don’t need to include this element in a law school application resume. 

In the words of Quinnipiac University Law , “Objectives are not necessary, and sometimes highlight your desire to do something other than attend law school.” You don’t want to take the focus off your resume’s ultimate goal: helping you get accepted to your dream law school. 

To that end, you won’t include any references either. Your recommendation letters serve as the “reference” portion of your application. 

2. Be Honest 

While this sounds obvious, applicants tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves when they write law school application resumes. For example, don’t stretch the time frames of your commitments to make it look like you spent more time on your activities than you did. If you’re taking a gap year before law school , don’t try and fudge the numbers. 

Remember, integrity is a quality found in great lawyers; you don’t want to potentially get caught in an inconsistency during the application process or law school interview because you wanted to make something sound more impressive. You can always add an addendum to your application to explain something unsightly on your resume. 

Also, it’s okay if you don’t have much experience with legal work. Admissions committees don’t expect you to have a mountain of experience as a law school applicant. 

3. Keep Your Writing Simple 

Your law school resume should be two pages at maximum. You need to write concisely if you have a lot of ground to cover to effectively summarize your experiences. Don’t use long, elaborate sentences or pull words from a thesaurus. 

Writing plainly includes limiting industry jargon. While admissions committee members may understand what you’re writing about, you want to write in a way that someone from any field would understand your resume. For example: 

“Aggregated with clients in order to contrive understanding and transferable knowledge and solutions for exponential economic growth.” 

This sentence is unclear and unnecessarily wordy. A better sentence would read: “Met with clients to share information to increase profits.” This sentence is much clearer, and your reader doesn’t have to do mental backflips to understand you. 

4. Use Bullet Points 

Bullet points underneath major experiences/subheadings communicate a lot of information in less space. You can make your points uniform and more impactful by: 

• Writing each one as a full sentence, with or without closing punctuation 
• Start your points with a verb in the past tense for past activities and present tense for current ones 
• Keep your points focused on a responsibility or task that emphasizes your role/qualities 
• Be detailed and share tangible results, how many times you performed a task, or the overall time commitment 
• Focus on tasks/skills that are transferable or related to law school 
• Limit bullet points under each item to three, if possible 

Ensure you watch your tenses while you write; it’s easy to slip up and use the wrong one. 

5. Don’t Omit Experiences Not Related to Law

Although you should focus on transferable skills and tasks related to law school, don’t omit any experiences that aren’t necessarily law-related. You don’t want to leave chronological gaps in your resume: that’s a red flag for admissions committees. 

UChicago Law states that your resume should absolutely not contain only legal experiences. The school states that it wants “to see all of your work experience and activities to gain a more holistic picture of you.” Avoid these gaps and be honest about your work experience. 

6. Emphasize Leadership Experiences 

Leadership experience and capability are what every law school seeks in applicants. If you have relevant leadership experiences in employment or activities, ensure they’re in your resume. 

7. Highlight Entries That Align With Your Mission 

You’ve likely discussed your professional and career goals in your application. Your resume can complement your other application materials and narratives. For example, if you want to teach law, don’t bury your experience as a teaching assistant or tutor. 

Think about your personal mission and which experiences have contributed to helping you get one step closer to reaching your goals. 

8. See If There Are Particular Instructions for Each School 

Some schools may or may not have law school resume instructions. You should always double-check the application requirements of the schools you want to apply to. For example, UChicago Law asks, “Please include the number of hours per week spent on each employment experience or activity.” 

While you may have thought to do this on your resume anyway, it’s important not to miss any elements schools ask for. 

9. Edit, Revise, Refine

You probably already have a resume you can work off of, but it’ll take a lot of editing and reconstructing to tailor it to your law school application. Even if you’re starting from scratch, ensure you edit your resume. 

Does everything you wrote make sense? Is your language clear and concise? Are there spelling or grammar mistakes? It’s okay if it takes a few drafts to get to the finished product. You want your law school resume to make a stellar impression, so give yourself enough time to revise and refine. 

5 Law School Resume Templates 

Sometimes, it’s helpful to look at examples of what other people have done to get inspired. Below, you’ll find some resume templates for your law school applications to help you get started. 

Law School Resume Example 1

It’s important to use strategic wording to get your point across. In the following example, the applicant reframed their extracurricular/volunteer work section to reference leadership and service. Your goal is to use the right language to accurately summarize your story in a way that reflects you best. 

Take a look at this sample law school resume provided by the University at Buffalo School of Law: 

Source : University at Buffalo School of Law

Law School Resume Example 2

Although this applicant has no work experience, they’ve still put together a solid resume emphasizing their scholastic achievements and involvement in academic leadership. The experiences they’ve chosen to include demonstrate many skills relevant to studying law! 

Source: UPenn

Law School Resume Example 3

Take a look at this resume from Yale Law School. This applicant was careful to focus on their work related to academics and scholastic experience. 

This is a great example of how you can pick and choose various work and volunteer activities to highlight the skills that law school admissions committees are looking for. 

Source: Yale Law School

Law School Resume Example 4

Here’s an example resume from a student who was accepted into Harvard Law. This resume emphasizes relevant skills like technical writing and marketing. The inclusion of the “Presentations” and “Affiliations” sections demonstrates the applicant’s interests in a unique and relevant way. 

Source: U.S. News  

Law School Resume Example

In this law application example, the applicant has focused on her accomplishments, both academic and work-related, and gives strong examples of where she demonstrated leadership skills. She also includes interesting personal information that could serve as a great conversation starter during an interview. 

Source: University at Buffalo School of Law  

Download free law school resume templates below.

Law School Resume FAQs 

Do you still have questions about building or improving your law school resume? Read on to learn more! 

1.  Do Law Schools Care About Your Resume? 

Law schools like to see your real-world work experience and academic qualifications. Although your resume may not be the focal point of your application, law schools will still read it. 

2. What Skills Should I Put on My Resume for Law School? 

You can put whatever skills or interests you think the admissions committee should know about that you haven’t already discussed. Think about the things that make you unique and jot them down before you decide which points should go on your resume. 

3. Should I Put My LSAT Score or GPA on My Resume? 

It depends on what the law school asks for, but you typically don’t have to. Law schools will see your LSAT scores and GPA through your CAS report. 

4. How Long Should My Law School Resume Be? 

Your resume should be one to two pages long and shouldn’t exceed this length. 

5. What Has to Go in My Law School Resume? 

All law school resumes should include your contact/personal information, education, work experience, and activities. If you haven’t participated in many activities, you can include them in your education section instead. 

Build the Perfect Law School Resume 

Building the perfect law school resume helps admissions committees easily digest your experiences and qualifications. Using these expert law school resume tips, you can craft a stellar, attention-grabbing resume. 

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How to Write a Successful Law School Resume (+Examples)

How do you write a law school resume? 

That’s what you’ll learn today. After all, a law school resume is one of the most underestimated and underused aspects of law school applications. 

Want to learn more? Read on!

What is a law school resume? 

Your law school resume lists sections that cover your education, legal and other professional experience, and possibly categories including personal interests or community involvement. 

The length depends on your experience. But at the same time, the length of your law school resume hardly matters. 

What matters is how you  position  your resume. And that’s what you’ll learn today.

But first, let’s find out – is a law school resume the same thing as any other resume? 

How is a law school resume different from other resumes? 

Here’s the thing: 

Law school resumes differ from other resumes. Your audience isn’t an employer, but instead, you’re looking to persuade the admissions committee that  you  are the applicant they want. 

And law schools want to see a broader and more diverse array of experiences than a job would. 

So there’s a big difference between a law school resume and any other resume. 

But how important are law school resumes, really? Here’s what you need to know. 

Does a law school resume matter? 

When I send back a client’s resume with a million-one edits (only slightly exaggerating), I am often asked  “Does my resume matter for law school?”  

After all, you might already have talked about your activities and work experience in your essays. So then, what’s the point of the law school resume? Why do law schools still ask for one?

Your law school resume is your opportunity to share with law schools:

• How you have spent your time
• What your qualifications are
• What kind of interests you have developed

In my opinion, the law school resume is an underused asset.

As I said, it is an  opportunity . How you structure your resume, what you decide to include, and how you describe your activities and experiences, are all strategic decisions in crafting your own personal narrative.

A well-written resume will highlight the traits, experiences, and qualifications law schools are looking for—like: 

• Analytical and writing abilities 
• Community engagement
• Self-financing your education
• Athletic talents
• Cultural or volunteer activities
• Language proficiencies
• Juggling multiple responsibilities
• Creativity & innovation 

And by having a resume that highlights these aspects of you already, your personal statement can avoid the  biggest mistake of being just a glorified cover letter .

So yes, your resume does matter for law schools. 

Now that you know what a law school resume is and why you should focus on writing one that really stands out, let’s move on to  how  to write a winning resume. 

How do you make your law school resume stand out? 

Now you might be wondering: 

What should be on a law school resume? 

The simplest explanation is this: 

Your resume is often an undervalued strategic part of your application. How you frame your experiences and organize your resume  should go to the broader theme  that you’ve curated for your entire application. 

Your resume needs to be  unique to be an asset  – in fact, I spend a lot of time with my clients figuring out how to strategically frame their resumes. 

For instance, if a client wants to go into legal academia, we organize and describe their experiences to highlight the traits and skills they need for that job. 

Overall, your resume will generally contain some combination of these main headers, depending on your background:

• Professional Experience and/or Employment
• Community Engagement
• Publications
• Accomplishments
• Skills/Interests

Let’s look at each of these below. 

Before we dive into the individual law school resume elements, how long should your resume be? 

Your resume can be  one or two pages.  Law schools don’t really care about the length, as long as you’re not using a tiny font to keep it to a single page, or adding in unnecessary details to make it two pages. 

A two-page resume is not necessarily better than a one-page resume, and vice versa. 

Also, even if you are recently out of undergrad, if you have a lot of things to include, a two-page resume is fine. 

Similarly, on the flip side, if you’ve been at the same job for the past decade, just because you’ve been out of school for a while, doesn’t mean you have to have a two-page resume.

Next, let’s take a look at what to include under each header. Scroll down to see examples of resumes, but use these sections to fill out your own template. 

Unlike other fields or jobs, law schools (and law in general) care a lot about your education, so  put this section first. 

You should include all your  degree institutions  and  certificates , but you do not need to include things like every summer school you attended. 

If you transferred during undergrad, you would want to include both schools. You could include a study abroad institution either separately, or under your undergraduate institution.

You will include schools in  reverse chronological order , up until high school. Remember, law schools do not care about high school so don’t include it at all!

You can see how to format this via the samples law school resumes at the end of this post, but you’ll want this section to include the following information for each educational institution:

• Name of institution, city, state
• Official name of degree (B.A., B.S., M.S., etc.), date conferred or anticipated
• Major & minor
• GPA (only if near or above the law school’s median,  if you have a low GPA , don’t include)
• Honors (such as magna cum laude, thesis title, Dean’s list semesters, honor societies, scholarships/awards received)
• Activities (this is only if you have so many activities that you don’t have room in the body of your resume. You can include minor activities here that you devoted less time to).

Professional experience and/or employment 

What you include in this section will depend on your background.

If you apply straight from undergrad or within a few years of graduating: 

You can include any jobs or internships you’ve held during (and after) college. (Just not work experience from high school.)

Even if it was just waitressing or working at the local Target, law schools want to see how you spent your time. And they will applaud the fact that you worked while also managing your college courses. 

For work experience while in college, I always suggest including the number of hours you worked per week. You can see one of the samples at the end of this blog post on how to format it. But law schools really value this kind of work ethic and real-world experience.

If you apply after working for a while: 

You can leave some jobs out that don’t necessarily fit within your field. Though generally, you’ll still want to include most jobs in order to account for your time.

Consider creating two separate categories if your work experience seems to be all over the place. For instance, you could have all your internships under “Professional Experience” and your summer jobs working at Old Navy, or your during-college waitressing gig under “Other Employment” or something along those lines.

Similarly, if you’ve had more than one main career, divide up your headers by career topic, rather than strictly going in chronological order. So if you had a career as an educator and then shifted, you might write your headers as “Teaching Experience” and “Biotechnology Experience.”

How to describe your work experience

Even “unglamorous” jobs will boost your application. 

Law schools don’t only care about applicants with “professional” work experience or those with prestigious internships. Applicants who had to support themselves by working at the local coffee shop or scooping ice cream in the summer are seen as applicants who have grit and determination.

Admissions officers also focus mostly on  what  you did in your role. So don’t talk about the company selling billions of dollars in x widgets, but instead, how you managed an account of x clients by doing xyz. Get as specific as you can about the tasks you performed there.

Instead of saying something like “acquired the skills of managing and leading,” you want to show how you acquired those skills through action descriptors. So you would want to instead write, “Supervised two field canvassers across 20 districts.”

What to include 

Include the following information for this section:

• Employer name, job title, city, state, dates of employment.
• One to four bullets describing accomplishments and responsibilities. Start each bullet with an action word (e.g., led, supervised, coordinated, planned).
• If the purpose of the organization/company isn’t obvious to the admissions officer, explain it.
• If employment while also in school, include the number of hours worked per week.

Include your college and post-college extracurricular activities, and a description of your involvement and responsibilities for each. Do not include anything from high school (have I said this enough?!).

The point of this section is to demonstrate your interests and passions, and most importantly, to show that you had focus and commitment. If your level of involvement wasn’t enough to have much to say, then include it under your Education section as a single bullet. (See the sample law school resumes below). 

If you were only involved in an activity for a short period of time, you can help it not look like just a resume filler by describing how you participated extensively. You might say something about how you “attended weekly events” or “assisted in planning weekly events for fellow students.”

Community engagement 

You could also title this “Community Service,” or “Volunteer Work” whichever you think most applicable. This can include volunteer activities, involvement in religious organizations, fieldwork for elections, and so on. 

Your community engagement doesn’t have to be something official to be worth including on your resume. If you, on your own, volunteer at the local library every weekend, even if it’s not part of some organization, definitely include that!

If you’ve only volunteered for a single day, like Relay for Life, or if you’ve only done one or two community service events organized by your sports teams or your fraternity/sorority, don’t include that volunteer work as a separate section.

You can put that you did this under your Greek life description (if Greek life even merits its own entry in the body; often I tell clients to just put it under your Activities section as a single bullet). 

If you don’t have any volunteer work, don’t try to exaggerate something. It will only bring attention to the fact that you don’t have much volunteer experience. Let admissions officers instead focus on what you do have, not what you’re missing or what your weaknesses are.

Publications 

If you did research or wrote a paper that got published, where you were the author or a co-author, include the citation and if the title doesn’t make it obvious what it is about, include a single bullet briefly describing the project.

I’ve also had clients use this section to note podcasts they’ve won awards for, or significant speeches they’ve given.

If you have a series of publications, list them separately like you would on a CV, even if that means your resume has a third page.

Skills/interests 

Skills and interests typically go in a single section and include just one or two lines. 

For skills, you can include things like language fluency (and listing out your level of competency), musical abilities, computer languages, etc. Do not include things most other applicants will know how to do (e.g., word Office, social media, Adobe, etc.). 

For interests, make these very specific. Don’t just say general (cough, boring) interests like “reading, traveling, cooking.” What specific kind of books do you like to read? What things do you cook? 

Your interests should be ones that you consider significant, and it is ok to demonstrate that you have a specific religious or political affiliation. Think about things that make you unique, memorable, and likable, and include those.

What mistakes should you avoid when creating your law school resume? 

What are the top mistakes you should avoid on your resume? Let’s find out. 

First and foremost, your law school resume isn’t the same thing as a job resume, so skip: 

• An Objective
• Summary of Qualifications
• Relative Coursework 

Your resume also has to be readable. Don’t use a font size that’s smaller than 11 pt or make margins tiny. 

You can narrow margins  slightly , but only if you have to. Instead, try to be more concise in your descriptions.

Also, you don’t have to stick with a chronological order of your experiences or activities. You can be creative with how you group your different experiences. 

For instance, I had a client who had two very involved passion areas: education and gender violence. 

So instead of going in chronological order of when she did all the activities, we instead made two separate headers (“Education” and “Gender Violence”). Within each header, we then put her activities in chronological order. This showed her focus and well-built passion, instead of just making it look like she had scattered interests.

Language 

Don’t use jargon or acronyms (unless they’re obvious) when describing your roles and responsibilities. You want to make sure that no matter the background of the admissions officer, he/she knows what you’re talking about.

Also, don’t embellish your experiences. Any embellishment will set off an admission officer’s alarm bells and undermine your entire application. 

If you did something above and beyond, by all means, include it. But don’t try and make your filing work as a front desk associate sound like you were the one drafting the files.

A common mistake is to include high school activities and experiences. But law schools do not care about what you did in high school. You are applying for a professional degree now. They want to see you are mature and can thrive without the support of your parents or high school teachers. 

So unless you did something extremely out of the ordinary for your age in high school—like were in the Olympics at age 16 or part of a professional adult symphony, —leave off your high school experiences.

On that same note, don’t include skills every law school applicant will have. Every law school applicant can use Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. Every law school applicant can type. You don’t need to tell law schools you have these (or other similarly obvious) skills.

Now you know what to include and what not to include in your resume.

But what are some real-world examples of law school resumes? Here you go!

Law school resume examples

These law school resume examples are real examples of some of my clients’ resumes. 

Use what we talked about above to understand why they’re written and formatted the way they are.

   The college senior with a lot of experience

  The applicant with over a decade of professional experience

  The college senior with more minimal experience

Helpful resources

Finally, here are a few helpful resources – top law school resume pages: 

• University of Pennsylvania
• Harvard Law School
• Stanford University
• Yale Law School
• University of Chicago 

Over to you!

There you have it! Now you know how to create a law school resume. 

What it comes down to is using your resume as an opportunity to build on your application and stand out from the masses.

Want to get a curated strategy for getting into law school, even if you don’t have the perfect GPA, LSAT score, or resume? 

Read more about working with me here.  

Learn more: 

How to Write a Law School Personal Statement

How to Write a Diversity Statement for Law School

Hope you enjoy this blog post! Want to know how to use the power of your personal statement to get into your dream law school, even if you aren’t the “perfect” applicant?

Get the three exercises that have helped countless law school applicants craft a wildly successful personal statement

How to kickstart your personal statement and get into your dream law school

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How to Stand Out & Get Admitted to the Law School of Your Dreams

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7 Law School Resume Examples [Download Free Word & Docs]

Best for senior and mid-level candidates

There’s plenty of room in our elegant resume template to add your professional experience while impressing recruiters with a sleek design.

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Law School Resume

• Law School Application Resumes
• Law School Resume for Current Students
• Post-Law School Resumes

A career in law is both rewarding and intellectually challenging. Practicing law also offers a certain level of prestige and high earning potential.

Due to the diversity of legal practice areas, deciding what to include and omit when writing your law school resume may prove challenging. And if you’re recently out of law school, you’ll also have to write an  attorney cover letter .

We’ve reviewed numerous law school resumes to find what works and distilled what we learned into these seven law school examples.

Whether you’re applying for a full-time staff attorney role out of school, looking for your first internship, or anything in between,  these proven law school resume examples will help you get your next legal position in 2024 .

Microsoft Word

Google Docs

Why this resume works

• Metrics don’t have to be complicated, nor do they have to be 100 percent perfect. Include rough estimates regarding how much you improved efficiency, how many cases you worked on, or how many issues you resolved. The numbers are there—all you need to do is find them.
• An objective is an optional section that describes your skills and enthusiasm for your future role. Always customize this section for each job you apply for by including the employer’s name and the role you’re seeking.

Law School Application Resume

• You’re far from being done. A winning strategy here is including one or two of your school projects that underscore your research and analytical skills and an understanding of the legal landscape.

Harvard Law School Resume

• Your interactions with clients that led to them deciding to use the services of the law firm would go a long way to pave your way to success.

Law School Student Resume

• Reverse-chronological order is simply putting your most recent experience first. Usually, this means employers will see your most relevant experience first.
• If the job you’ve most recently held isn’t related to the position you’re seeking, that’s okay! Simply highlight transferable skills (preferably any keywords listed in the  attorney job description ).
• Before hitting submit, always  check your resume  for errors and inaccuracies. Make sure you have one full page of content; don’t leave too much white space!

Law Student Resume

• Using a fun  resume template  can make your resume pretty and help you structure your content, keep it to a single page, and even make it easier to read. Plus, you can adjust the template as needed to suit your needs.
• In this section, focus on what you specifically contributed to the project. Were you the founder of a club? Did you lead any community initiatives? Whatever you contributed, show off your leadership abilities and unique skills.

Law Student Recruiting Manager Resume

• Numbers naturally break up the text and are easy to spot, keeping eyes on your resume longer.
• Section headers are an industry standard, but you can improve readability by putting them in bold and adding some color.
• Keep your bullet points short and sweet. Limit them to no more than three lines, and start each one with strong action verbs.

Post-law School Resume

• Only include six to eight skills you would be comfortable talking about in an interview. If you’re not experienced with a particular skill, leave it out.
• Better yet, include metrics like reduced client wait time, increased client numbers, or the number of cases you tackled to show you’ve got the right qualifications.

Related resume guides

• Legal Assistant
• Grad School

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Law School Application Resume Examples and Templates for 2024

• Resume Examples

How To Write a Law School Application Resume

• Resume Text Examples

Writing a law school application resume is similar to writing a resume for a job. Start by determining key characteristics the law school might be looking for in students. Look at your own experience and accomplishments, and present those facts in a way that aligns with the law school’s focus or mission.

This guide provides actionable advice about creating professional experience and education sections. It also discusses the type of format and template you might want to use and what skills and action verbs might be relevant.

• Entry-Level
• Senior-Level

1. Write a dynamic profile summarizing your law school application qualifications

Your profile section may be your first introduction to an admissions officer or panel. This short blurb — keep it to four or fewer sentences — can serve a few purposes. It should highlight some of your best qualities or most impressive achievements, teasing them to persuade someone to read more of your resume or application.

Your profile can also express enthusiasm for a specific law school and hint at your reasons for wanting to attend. However, it should still be professional.

Profile Example #1

Recent college graduate with high academic honors and strong legal internship experience.

Profile Example #2

Paralegal with 8+ years of experience. Well-versed in legal terminology, with broad knowledge of procedures of law and court practices.

2. Outline your law school application experience in a compelling list

Focus on results and value in this section rather than simple lists of job duties or extracurricular activities. Use bullet points, action verbs, and actual measurements to create a story about why you’re an ideal candidate for a law school.

For example, you might write that you “contributed to research for dozens of legal briefs as an intern” or that you “suggested an updated filing process that reduced file room man-hours by 10%.”

Mine your volunteer, academic, and professional work for information for this section.

Professional Experience Example #1

Legal Intern,  Roth, Mayhern & Associates,  Pittsburgh, PA | January 2022 to May 2022

[Small firm focused on international law.]

• Reviewed discovery documents for principal lawyers
• Attended and observed court sessions with firm’s head litigator
• Researched and wrote a well-received court memorandum on environmental violation case
• Helped research and write 3 finding summaries

Professional Experience Example #2

Paralegal,  Cohen & Sons LLC,  San Francisco, CA | September 2016 to Present

• Draft various legal materials including client letters, pleadings, and memoranda
• Read, analyze, and interpret legal documents, case law, and statutory law
• Conduct legal research, gather data, and prepare reports for use in presentations and court
• Attend court hearings, and assist the firm’s principals as needed during trials

3. List any education and certifications relevant to law school applications

Education credentials enhance your value as an applicant and demonstrate you have the qualifications and experience to succeed in law school. Because law schools require previous degrees, ensure your education is clearly spelled out on your resume. Find easy templates for including your degree below.

Certifications are less common for law school applicants. However, if you’re making a career change and entering law school after working in another field, your certifications might help demonstrate your work ethic, leadership capability, or other traits. For example, a project management certificate positions you as an applicant who can multitask, problem-solve, and plan for large efforts.

• [Degree Name]
• [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
• Bachelor of Science in Sociology
• Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA | 2022

Certifications

• [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
• NALS Certified Professional Paralegal, The Associated for Legal Professionals, 2020

4. Include a list of skills and proficiencies related to law school applications

Adding relevant skills to your resume helps flesh it out and create a more impressive overall document. Pick some of your most impressive skills to list in their own section, especially if you can back them up with more information in your cover letter.

Also, work key skills into your profile summary and professional experience section. Think about how you can combine skills with accomplishments, such as “developed leadership experience as law club president” or “conducted research projects on various legal topics, including personal injury, criminal law, and labor laws.”

How To Pick the Best Law School Application Resume Template

It might be tempting to up the ante on your resume’s wow factor with unique design elements or an eye-catching font. However, these additions tend to make resumes harder to read. Instead, look for a template that presents a clean, professional design. Simple fonts and well-aligned resume components will please most admissions panels more than distracting visual flourishes.

Find a template that offers room for academic achievements and provides creative freedom in completing various sections. This makes it easier to add volunteer work and extracurriculars to your resume, if relevant.

Law School Application Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples

Mark Watney (384) 492-4029 [email protected] 812 Ridge Avenue, Mars, PA 14052

Bachelor of Science (BS) in Sociology, Pre-Law Concentration, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA | 2022

• 3.8 GPA | magna cum laude
• Honors Thesis: “Environmental Considerations of Transnational Corporate Law”

Co-Curricular Activities

Pre-Law Club | 2018 to 2022

• Vice President (2021 to 2022)
• Member (2018 to 2022)

Writer / Assistant Editor, The Legal Brief | 2020 to 2022

[Monthly newsletter produced by the CMU Pre-Law Department for students, faculty, and staff.] 

Volunteer, Pre-Law Department Job Fair | 2019 to 2022

Work Experience

Legal Intern, Roth, Mayhern & Associates, Pittsburgh, PA | January 2022 to May 2022

Office Assistant, Bertolli & Mathers, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA | January 2019 to December 2021

[Large corporate law office.]

• Filed documents and correspondence for past and current cases in the firm’s law library
• Assisted front desk staff with clerical duties such as copying, answering email queries, and directing phone calls
• Legal Research & Analysis
• Task Prioritization
• Teamwork & Collaboration
• Time Management
• Writing, Editing & Proofreading

Mary Russell (203) 384-0394 [email protected] 221 Baker Street, San Francisco, CA 10394

Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA | 2017 | 3.7 GPA

• Coursework included American Foreign Policy; American Political Processes; International Relations; Legal Frameworks for Change

Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies, Bryant & Stratton College, San Francisco, CA | 2014 | 3.6 GPA

• Coursework included Civil Litigation; Contract Law; Criminal Law & Procedures; Law Office Management & Technology; Legal Research & Writing

Paralegal CORE Competency Exam (PCCE) Certification, National Federation of Paralegal Associations | 2019

Professional Experience

Paralegal, Cohen & Sons LLC, San Francisco, CA | September 2016 to Present

Paralegal, Miltock & Benson, Inc., San Francisco, CA | June 2014 to September 2016

• Researched, analyzed, and summarized past cases related to corporate and business law
• Maintained calendar and other confidential materials for senior partner
• Collaborated with business office manager to process and maintain billing and accounts receivable
• Helped draft and file legal documents and correspondence in support of upcoming cases
• Reported directly to firm’s senior partner
• Legal Documentation
• Public Speaking & Presentations
• Writing & Proofreading

Alona Twelvetrees (584) 394-3029 [email protected] Helena, MT 10928

Administrator with 13+ years of experience in Montana state government. Passionate about upholding the sovereignty and legal rights of Native Americans. Naturally curious and committed to learning new legal topics and concepts.

Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs, Montana State Capitol, Helena, MT | October 2009 to Present

Assistant to the Director (September 2015 to Present)

• Promoted to serve as liaison between state and tribal governments, attending and speaking at meetings for both
• Research and write white papers, reports, memoranda, and more on issues of Native American sovereignty and legal rights to be presented to the governor and other state officials
• Work with director and other state officials to resolve individual complaints and legal issues faced by tribes
• Seek consensus among tribes, and work toward including their shared goals in state initiatives

Office Manager (October 2009 to September 2015)

• Public-facing role focused on addressing all in-person visitors’ questions and concerns
• Handled phone queries and mail correspondence including letters from constituents
• Helped director troubleshoot and resolve issues consistently and fairly
• Proposed system improvements that raised filing efficiency by 50%

Associate Degree in Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, Blackfeet Community College, Browning, MT | 2009

• 3.6 GPA | cum laude
• Coursework included Federal Indian Policy & Government; Legal Research & Writing; Tribal Criminal Law & Procedure
• Completed office management internship at Blackfeet Tribal Government Headquarters (Browning, MT)

Frequently Asked Questions: Law School Application Resume Examples and Advice

What are common action verbs for law school application resumes -.

Law schools know you’re attending to learn, but when you can position yourself as an active candidate who provides value to others, you may impress admissions panels. Including action verbs on your resume helps you create a more dynamic narrative about your accomplishments and experience, which can set you apart from other applicants.

The right action verbs also make your resume easier to read and scan, ensuring admissions professionals can get right to the important elements of your application.

Some action verbs to consider using on your resume include:

How do you align your resume with a potential law school? -

When sending resumes with law school applications, do a little homework to ensure your document makes the grade. Read through the law school’s brochure or website to understand what type of student tends to succeed there. Look for terms that are repeated or seem important to the faculty or school, and consider how you might work those terms into your resume naturally.

The job market for attorneys is expected to grow by 8% through 2032, a pace that’s faster than average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Aligning your resume with a potential law school’s needs or mission is a small step toward joining the ranks of lawyers in the future.

What is the best law school application resume format? -

For potential law school students, the combination resume format is a good choice. This format provides plenty of room for work experience as well as skills lists. It creates a well-rounded document that captures your knowledge and the effort you put in to build it.

A combination format also leaves room for creatively capturing accomplishments. For example, you may want to include specific coursework or academic achievements, volunteer work, or experience unique to a student, such as work-study efforts.

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A cover letter allows you to show enthusiasm and passion for the next step in your career. You can use our lawyer resume cover letter examples as a guide for how to write and format this letter. Be personable but also concise and professional. In a few paragraphs, tell the admissions office or other relevant personnel why you’re a great option for their school.

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Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.

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Resume Advice & Samples

Resume advice and samples.

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• Review your resume with a CDO counselor prior to applying to jobs. 
• Your resume is a sales tool, not an autobiography. When making decisions about what to include, consider recency and relevancy to the job for which you are applying.  
• Be prepared to discuss everything on your resume in an interview. 
• Be scrupulously honest. Exaggerations or misrepresentation will damage your reputation and professional relationships. 
• Make your resume visually clean and clear. What will an employer see in 30 seconds? 5 seconds? 
• Keep your resume to one page.
• Use a standard font such as Times New Roman or Garamond.
• Select a font size of 11 point or 12 point.
• Create margins no smaller than .5 inches on all sides.
• Use bold, underlining, and italics consistently to enhance readability.
• Make deliberate style choices, then stick to them throughout.
• Ensure your resume is error free.
• Follow our advice, “ Resume Formatting: How to Use Tabs & Styles ” to give your resume a professional look.

Resume Construction

• Include your name, mailing address, cell number, and Yale email address.
• If you do not have a mailing address in New Haven, that is fine, as mailing addresses are becoming optional.
• Add your permanent mailing address to emphasize ties to that area when applying to positions nearby.
• List your gender pronouns if you wish.

Education Section

• List degrees in reverse chronological order.
• Include all courses of study: past, present, and future.
• List each educational institution, location, degree, and degree date (expected date if currently enrolled).
• Do not include high school or LSAT score.
• Think strategically about how much space you devote to each degree. What message are you sending to employers?
• Include at your option with a strategic mindset.
• YLS awards few Honors.
• Moot court/mock trial awards and paper prizes are Honors.
• List Yale Law Journal as an Honor, due to the competitive admission process. List other journals as Activities or create a separate Journal sub-section under Yale Law School.
• List those that are not based solely on financial need and are awarded through a competitive process.
• If space permits, provide a very brief description of the selection criteria.
• Examples: Tilman Scholarship; the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans; and the NAACP LDF Earl Warren Civil Rights Scholarship.
• List scholarship or fellowship awards that are associated with summer or post-graduate employment with the position in the Experience section.
• Do not list need-based scholarships and fellowships, including SPIF funding, summer Mary McCarthy funding, and Kirby Simon travel grants.
• List the following positions as Activities or in the Experience section: Coker Fellow, Research Assistant, Deans’ Advisor, Student Representative, Peer Advocate, Tsai Leadership Program Fellow, and CDO Student Advisor.
• Use this section to emphasize relevant skills and interests including research and writing skills, oral advocacy, teamwork, and leadership.
• Narrow the list, if necessary, by selecting only one of several activities that are of the same genre.
• If applying for public service positions, include as many of your service-related activities as space permits to demonstrate your commitment to service.
• Move particularly relevant, intensive, or skills-enhancing activities to the Experience section. Example: clinics.
• Be clear about the timing of future commitments, however, describing the exact timing of past activities is not strictly necessary.

Optional Sections

• Create a Select Courses sub-section to highlight courses that reflect your interest in a practice area.
• Tailor this section depending on target your employer(s).
• List courses you have already taken and courses you intend to take in the future (with a parenthetical indicating that the course is expected).  
• Create a Study Abroad sub-section in your undergraduate education listing.  
• Create a Thesis sub-section in your undergraduate education listing.
• Include especially if the topic relates to the law.

Experience Section

• List experiences in reverse chronological order.
• Include experiences to which you have committed, but not yet begun; describe using future-tense verbs.
• Dates can be general (e.g., Summer 20XX).
• Omit job titles if unimpressive or do not clarify your responsibilities, however, be consistent about including/excluding titles throughout.
• List experiences that demonstrate knowledge and skills in areas relevant to legal employers, especially research, writing, and analysis.
• Emphasize professional skills including organizational ability, leadership, initiative, creativity, communication skills, common sense, and intellectual ability.
• List both paid and unpaid experiences.
• Include work associated with a scholastic experience, including legal clinic experience, research for a professor, and extensive work for a student organization.
• Rewrite past descriptions written for different industries and audiences. Eliminate jargon and terminology unfamiliar to a general audience.
• Summarize smaller or less relevant positions to fill gaps. E.g., “Held various positions as salesclerk, server, and receptionist while in college.”
• Be prepared to discuss significant gaps at interviews.
• Think strategically about the amount of physical space devoted to each experience. More space = greater emphasis.
• Use action verbs and rich detail in descriptions. E.g., “researched and wrote memoranda on issues of jurisdiction and venue,” rather than “involved in assisting attorneys in the researching and writing of…”
• Languages: List if relevant and/or skill level is high. May be useful to delineate written vs. spoken proficiency. Be scrupulously honest regarding skill level.
• Think strategically about employers’ impressions. Publications show writing skills, but a long list of publications may signal interest in an academic career which may not be well received by non-academic employers.
• Consider selective list or summary if publication list is long.
• Use Bluebook citation format.
• Be clear about co-authored pieces.
• Interests: Include a few special interests that may be compelling and serve as icebreaker topics during an interview.
• Other skills: list only relevant skills, eliminating those which are universal (e.g., MS Word) or unrelated to legal employers’ needs (e.g., C++ programming).

Do Not Include

• Objective or introductory statements.
• Personal information (e.g., marital status, parental status).
• Salary requirements.
• “References available on request.”

Think Ahead to Your Next Resume

Develop your skills and knowledge through career-related experiences

• Summer employment
• Student organizations
• Research Assistant positions
• Leadership positions

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• 5 Law School Resume Templates: Prepping Your Resume for Law School

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Prepping Your Resume for Law School

Published December 10, 2018 This content is archived.

Guest blogger Ashley Wilson-Rew is Content Strategist & SEM at protocol 80, Inc.

With everything you need to submit for law school -- you shouldn’t let your resume fall through the cracks. How can you be sure your law school resume highlights your best attributes?

It may seem like there are an endless amount of materials you need to submit to get into law school --  LSAT scores, letters of recommendations, and a personal statement are just a few among them. A resume could easily get lost in the midst.

However, a resume is a crucial element to your law school application process. It’s not something that is always required, but if it is, you’ll want to take some time creating it. You won’t want to throw it together the night before it’s due.

How is a law school resume different from a career resume?

A law school resume emphasizes your academic achievements.

An important thing to keep in mind is that your audience is the admissions committee, and not a future employer. You’ll have to be careful about your specific word choice, the skills you present, and the accomplishments noted. These all need to match the qualifications that law schools are looking for.

It’s important to note your passions while illustrating how you spent your time in college. Any leadership positions, professional responsibilities, and volunteer experiences could be beneficial to highlight.

Another thing to keep in mind when writing your resume is to make sure it matches your personal statement. You want to be transparent and cohesive about who you are. Your resume and personal statement should compliment one another.

These are just a few tips to help you craft your law school resume. Below is a list of law school resume templates you can follow to help you get into your dream school!

5 Law School Resume Templates & Examples

1. this example from redrocketresume has all the necessary information to impress the admissions committee..

It includes:

• Academic experience (education AND any research, writing, or teaching experience)
• Relevant employment (including non-law employment that demonstrates desirable qualities in a lawyer)

2. This template from International Student highlights leadership experience & special skills.

Learn more about the law school admissions process and School of Law community through an individual meeting with one of our staff members.

[Learn More]

3. Here’s a fantastic example template from U.S. News & World Report.

4. The Girl’s Guide to Law School provides a before & after law school resume example.

5. This resume template from Calling All Questions goes into depth with plenty of outside experiences.

You might want to follow this if you’re already in law school or soon-to-be graduating:

Office of Admissions University at Buffalo School of Law 408 O'Brian Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260 716-645-2907 [email protected]

Submit this form to receive an application fee waiver.

How to Build a Resume for Law School Applications

August 1, 2022

Todd Carney

A law school application encompasses many components, including essays, test scores, college transcripts, and recommendations. And although you likely will spend a significant amount of time focusing on these elements, you should not neglect your resume. Customizing your resume for your law school application is vital to put your best foot forward as an applicant.

In this blog post, we at Stratus discuss how to create a strong resume for applying to law school.

Law School Resume Formatting Guidelines

A good place to start is formatting your resume with a style that meets the expectations of law schools. Today’s technology provides many creative ways to express your individuality and background through your resume. However, a law school resume should not exhibit any of that creativity and should adhere to the following guidelines:

• Use a professional font. The font should always be black, and it should be a professional style, such as Times New Roman or Arial.
• Use a consistent font size. Besides your header, all text should be the same size. Also, the font size should not be smaller than 10.5 points to ensure readability.
• Avoid small page margins. You should make the page margins no smaller than 0.75 inches. This is important because the person who reviews the resume might want to print it, and you do not want any content to be cut off.
• Do not exceed one page. Your resume should be one page. Industry standards say a resume should be one page because employers do not have time to review a long resume. This applies to law school admissions committees.
• Divide your resume into sections. Your resume should consist of several sections, highlighting such areas as your education, work experience, and personal information. These section headings should be in all caps (e.g., “EDUCATION” instead of “Education”).
• Apply formatting consistently. Using consistent formatting throughout your resume is vital, even for subjective elements such as whether to write out the month or use a number (e.g., “August 2020” versus “8/2020”). You should not list some dates numerically and spell out the month for others.
• Use bullet points. When describing your previous work experience and responsibilities, you should follow the classic style of using bulleted lists. Each bullet point should not exceed two lines, and you should aim to have three bullet points for each job. This will provide enough detail for your job, while not going overboard. You should focus on having more detail on your most recent positions. If you cannot come up with three bullet points, it is not the end of the world.
• Pay attention to punctuation. You should also review your punctuation closely. If you choose to end each bullet point with a period and you miss one, the spelling and grammar check will not catch it.
• Proofread thoroughly. Similarly, given that resumes are not usually formatted like a traditional Word document, it can be easy to miss typos. Therefore, make sure to comb through the document a few extra times.

Law School Resume Content Tips

Whether you are applying to law school while still in college or you have taken a few years off to work first, you likely have had to create a resume at some point. If this is the case, you do not need to throw out your current resume—but you should not assume that a well-crafted resume for hiring purposes is perfect for a law school application. Whether you are starting from scratch or adapting your previous resume, the following tips will help you create strong resume content:

• Avoid jargon. When writing content for your resume, be sure to use universal language that anyone can understand. Although you may be an expert in certain areas, the law school admissions staff might not be. Therefore, you should review your resume carefully to ensure it will make sense to someone without your knowledge. It might be helpful to have a friend or family member review your resume for that purpose. In addition, if you worked professionally before applying to law school, you might have crafted your resume to include certain keywords or metrics to aid in your job search. These elements will serve no use to a law school admissions reviewer and could confuse them. Again, this does not mean you have to scrap your past resume content; you might just have to tweak it.
• Write descriptively. You should write your resume content in a manner that is descriptive but concise. Beginning sentences with action verbs can help you effectively describe different aspects of your past roles on one line. Some examples of action verbs are “drafted” and “yielded.” In addition, avoid vague sentences, such as “Organized weekly meetings.” Instead, include something like “Organized five meetings per week by preparing reports to effectively describe the company’s performance versus revenue goals.” To touch on the previous bullet point, an example like this is descriptive but avoids terms that someone reviewing a law school application would not understand.
• Balance work experience with law school –related skills. Aim to strike a balance between showcasing your professional accomplishments and presenting the skills and accomplishments that will be an asset for you as a law student. Although these two areas are not necessarily mutually exclusive, your work experience might not have a lot to do with the skills needed for law school, such as research and writing. You should certainly display your skills related to law school, but do not lose sight of what on your resume makes you unique and showcases your leadership, hard work, versatility, and any other great qualities. If you have had success in your career that you can easily explain to someone outside of your industry, you should include that in your resume, as it will help differentiate you from other applicants.

Law School Resume Sections

Once you understand how to format your resume and what you want to put in it, you should take the final steps of crafting your resume by building the appropriate sections:

• Name and contact information: At the top of the page, you should set your first and last name in bold. It is a good idea to make your name slightly larger than the rest of your resume text. For example, if the rest of your resume text is 10.5 points, then make your name 12 points. Right below it, list your address, phone number, email address, and LSAC number on one line.
• Education: Next, create the “ EDUCATION ” section. Set your undergraduate institution in bold, followed by the address on the same line, along with the dates you attended the school. The next line should contain your degree name, your GPA, and the month and year that you received your degree. The line under that should include your honors, and then the line under it should list your school activities.
• Experience: The next section is “ EXPERIENCE .” In this section, you should list all of your positions. If you are still in school, this will likely include only internships, club leadership roles, and part-time jobs. However, you should not feel self-conscious about any role you put down. As long as you worked at least a few hours a week at the position, law school admissions committees will be interested in your experience there. If you have worked for a few years and you do not have enough post-college work to fill up your resume, you can include jobs you have had both during and after college. You should always prioritize your most recent positions in terms of space and detail. Each position description should list your employer, its location, and the time period that you worked at the position.
• Personal: Typically, the last resume section is “ PERSONAL .” As your application essays will provide much of your personal information, this section should only consist of a line or two. In this area, you can share a few hobbies to give the admissions committee an idea of your personal interests, such as sports you enjoy playing, your favorite types of cooking, or languages you have learned. If you have mentioned your hobbies in your application essays, this can be a good place to re-emphasize those activities. Additionally, this section can provide topics for questions during your law school interview. Sometimes an interviewer will be interested in something mentioned in this section and will ask you about it, likely yielding an easy question for you to answer.

Law School Resume Sample

Bottom Line

Whether you have an existing resume or are starting from scratch, you will have to customize your resume for your law school application. But either way, you should not feel that this is a major endeavor. Your application essays will likely require a lot more work! But by creating a concise and well-formatted resume, you will add an extra shine to your law school application.

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Resume for Law School

Your resume is one the several components that ultimately comprise your applications to law school. Law school admissions committees are very interested in how you spend your time and energy outside of class, so it is essential that you create a strong, accurate, and flattering portrayal of yourself on your resume.

How to Convert a Job Resume to a Law School Resume

Consult this blog post for tips on converting your job resume to a law school resume that highlights your qualifications.

Law School Resume Samples

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Key Principles of a Law School Résumé

Résumés have a sort of oxymoronic importance in the admissions process. On the one hand, your admissions officer probably won’t spend more than thirty seconds reading yours. On the other hand, she’ll probably read it first, and it might color her admission impression of your entire file.

What Sections Should You Include?

Most law school résumés have four sections:

1. Experience

Include both jobs and internships. Note promotions and other accomplishments. Quantify your achievements with numbers where possible.

2. Education

Include degrees, distinctions such as magna cum laude, and academic awards. You can also note if you’ve worked your way through college. If you’re still in college, Education should be your first section.

3. Activities

Include community service and other extracurriculars. If you’ve been out of college for a long time, you don’t need to include your extracurricular college activities, and this section may not be necessary at all.

4. Personal

Include skills (e.g. computer programming, piano), languages (other than English), and a couple interests or hobbies (which can help with your interview).

If you have numerous awards or publications, you may want to call attention to them separately with an Awards or Selected Publications section.

Most admissions officers don’t mind two-page résumés. That said, your reader is going to skim no matter what, and you have more control over where her eye lands if you keep your résumé to one page. A shorter résumé also makes it easier to convey a coherent story about your career.

Don’t go over two pages.

Key Principles

1. Make it scannable.

When you’re listening to a song, the rests are just as important as the notes. When you’re reading a résumé, the white space is just as important as the words.

Don’t use dense blocks of text or a microscopic font size. Let each entry breathe. Whittle away everything that’s extraneous so that your key accomplishments pop.

2. Use bullet points, but no more than three per entry.

• Bullet points make your résumé more scannable.
• But an admissions officer will probably skip a third or fourth bullet.
• If you cut a bullet, you don’t necessarily lose anything—you just redirect your reader to something more relevant.

3. Give context for each entry.

Let’s say you put the following in your Education section:

Received George Byron Waldrop Award.

If that sentence were a logical reasoning stimulus, you’d have some questions:

• What on earth is the George Byron Waldrop Award?
• How many people were eligible for the award?
• How does it demonstrate academic excellence?

It’s important to qualify and explain your achievements with context:

Recipient of George Byron Waldrop Award, given by faculty nomination to the classics major who “shows the greatest promise for future scholarship.”

4. Format consistently.

Judges and lawyers put a huge amount of stock in small details, and you want to signal to the adcom that you’ll be employable after law school. Thus, it’s incredibly important that your résumé is error-free, legible, and formatted consistently.

If you write “Sep 2013” in one entry, don’t write “Nov. 2013” or “5/2013” anywhere else. It doesn’t much matter how you format your dates, so long as you format them—and everything else—consistently.

Learn about our admissions consulting and editing services .

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Legal Resumes

This guide contains some basic suggestions about preparing resumes, and includes samples for you to consult. If you would like to have a Career Development Office attorney-counselor review your draft resume, send it to the career email box, [email protected] . The resume process, from start to finish, can take much longer than you anticipate. Start early, and give yourself plenty of time .

A. What is a Resume?

B. effective resumes, c. writing your resume, d. resume suggestions, e. finalizing your resume.

• Sample Resumes – Students (These are included as a pdf to preserve formatting, an essential element of effective resume-drafting.)
• Suggested Action Words for describing experiences
• “1L Resume Workshop” Presentation (10/2023)

A resume is a marketing device whereby you present the most attractive, true picture of yourself with the goal of convincing an employer to meet with you. During an interview, you may be asked questions about any entries on the document. For lawyers, the resume also is a writing sample that shows your ability to communicate clearly and concisely and your attention to detail.

Your resume is often your first contact with a potential employer and will probably determine whether your qualifications and background warrant an interview or serious consideration for a job. While employers do not usually hire on the basis of a resume alone, they may decide not to interview an applicant on the basis of a poorly prepared or presented resume. Therefore, excellent content and presentation are vital. Employers assume that your resume represents your best work and is indicative of your general work product in terms of clarity, organization, accuracy and appearance.

Most decisions about what to include and how best to present information in your resume are based on your personal assessment of your strengths, the kind(s) of position you are seeking, your own taste and style, and your knowledge of how resumes in the legal profession traditionally look and read. Consider having more than one resume to emphasize different things for different types of prospective employers.

Resumes for public interest organizations. For these employers, a demonstrated commitment to public interest work will be a key factor. Evidence of your commitment can take the form of extracurricular activities, journals, internships, clinics and volunteer work, all of which should be included on your resume. Consider including substantive clinical work or student organization activities (e.g., CARC) in your “Experience” section, where you can elaborate on your tasks and responsibilities. If your experience justifies it, you may consider creating an additional section entitled “Community Service” or “Volunteer Activities” to list your volunteer or community activities that will emphasize the extent of your dedication to public interest issues. In addition, languages can be very important to public interest/public sector employers, depending on the communities they serve or the work you can do for them. Unlike resumes aimed at private sector employers, public interest resumes can go over one page if your experience requires it; however, it is still critical to use concise language and efficient formatting.

Resume Rules. There are a few absolute rules for writing resumes. Your resume must be:

• scrupulously honest;
• conservative (graphically and linguistically, not necessarily politically);
• selective (because your resume is not your whole life history, perhaps not even your entire employment history);
• visually appealing so it will be easy to read rapidly;
• absolutely free of typos, grammatical errors, and inconsistencies.

Difficult Issues. Some items you might include in your resume may reveal political leanings, religious beliefs, ethnicity, disability, and/or sexual orientation, which, depending on the prospective employer, could work against you or in your favor. (This is true regardless of the legality of taking such factors into account.) The decision whether to include such information is a personal one. First, consider how important the inclusion of such information is to you, and whether you would want to work for an employer who would use it in making a decision whether to hire you. If you choose not to include this information, you still have the option of bringing it up in an interview, or later in the hiring process. If you are unsure about whether to include items of this kind in your resume, contact a CDO attorney-counselor.

Accuracy of Resume Information and Verification of Resumes. It is imperative that all information presented on your resume be scrupulously honest and free of embellishment. The potential for misrepresentation of academic or work performance is of great concern to employers; they typically verify this information. Berkeley Law has established practices to ensure the fair and accurate presentation of students in the placement process, including procedures for the verification of statements concerning grades, journal membership, or other law school achievements that a student has made in a resume or other document. By making such statements to an employer in writing, a student consents to the Law School verifying the substance of these statements at the employer’s request. (Berkeley Law’s Registrar will inform the employer whether written grade information is accurate, but will not provide the correct grade information to the employer without the student’s prior consent.)

Any falsification or misrepresentation of law school grades or other records, recommendations, or other qualifications is a violation of the Academic Honor Code.

First, brainstorm. Inventory your background and accomplishments and list everything which helps to distinguish you individually, professionally, and as a student. You might ask for input from family or friends because you may overlook some basic but important areas. Remember to focus on what you bring to the table based on your experience. What will make the employer interested in you?

Name and Contact Information

This information should go in large (font size 14-16) bold face type at the top of your resume. If you choose to include both your school address and your permanent address you should indicate which is which. (Students often include an out-of-area address in order to show that they have a connection to an area outside of Northern California.) Always include your phone number and email address, but only one of each. (Your email address, as well as your voicemail greeting, should be professional.)

List your education in reverse chronological order (law school first). Include basic information on schools attended, degrees received and dates (or anticipated dates) of graduation, and major field(s) of study.

Under your undergraduate school heading, include major and minor areas of study and thesis topics, if applicable. Be consistent. If you use the term “J.D,” then use “B.A.” Alternatively, if you write out “Juris Doctor” then write out “Bachelor of Arts.” Other than law schools, you need not include schools from which you transferred and did not graduate. No need to include your high school. If you acquired a degree which employers might not recognize by its abbreviation, spell out the degree name.

For your law degree, you can either list it as “J.D. Candidate” with your expected graduation date, or you can list “J.D.” and the date as “Expected May 20XX.”

A Special Note for Transfer Students : If you transferred here from another law school, put Berkeley Law first, followed by the other law school, for at least your first year at Berkeley Law. If you received honors at the other school, put them under that law school’s section. If you were invited to join law review at your former school and didn’t because you transferred here, indicate that you were invited to join and explain why, e.g., “Invited to join University of San Diego Law Review on the basis of high academic achievement.”

Joint Degree Students : If you are pursuing a joint degree program, be sure to list both schools under your education section.

Honors and Activities. Honors attached to your degree should appear in lowercase after the degree awarded, e.g., B.A., summa cum laude , June 2006. (If the honors are in Latin, they should be italicized.) Other academic honors are listed separately below your degree, along with school activities.

If you have extensive undergraduate honors and activities, you might consider listing only a representative number of them. Make sure it is clear which activities are at which institutions. If you were involved during school with an activity not related to the school, it should go under a different section of your resume.

For law school, list all honors and activities of importance such as law review, participation on other journals, moot court, trial advocacy, clinics, fellowships, scholarships, committees, student organization membership, and academic awards.

If an activity in college or law school was or is especially involved or relevant, consider putting it under the Experience section. For example, if you are a public interest student, your participation in CARC could go under Experience, with a description of the work you did on your asylum case.

Grades, Rank and LSAT Scores. Because Berkeley Law does not use a traditional grading system, students do not have GPA’s. Berkeley Law does not rank its students (except for the sole purpose of clerkship applications), and Berkeley Law faculty policy provides that students must not include any representation or estimate of class rank on a resume or in a cover letter. LSAT scores should not be listed on your resume, as they are designed to predict law school performance only, and are not an indicator of professional performance.

Use reverse chronology. You can list a brief summary of your most important duties, or list the skills you have developed at the job so that the employer can see what you can bring to the table. Your experience is worth including not for what you did, but for what it says about you and what you can do in the future. 

List the name and location of the employer, your title, the dates of employment, and a brief summary of your most important duties. Emphasize law-related work in any area, but do not struggle to make your experience appear more law-related than it really is; many students come to law school with no legal experience whatsoever, and employers know this. Three or four phrases are usually all you need, but elaborate further if you have the space and believe that your duties were especially interesting, responsible, and/or relevant to your legal career.

• If the name of the employer is inadequate to convey the nature of the business, try to incorporate a description of the employer in your job duties, e.g., “prepared marketing materials and sales analysis for start-up company selling online pet products.”
• Avoid insider jargon.
• Use present tense verbs to describe your current job and past tense verbs with all former positions.
• Provide specific information about actions and responsibilities (e.g., budget, percentage of increase in revenues or sales, number of staff supervised, direct work with clients, etc.) Many skills obtained in non-law jobs are transferable to law practice (e.g., attention to detail, meeting deadlines, writing, research and analytical skills, working under pressure, working with individuals from diverse backgrounds, etc.). Try to highlight such skills.
• If you were at one job for a long time, show promotions and increased responsibility, if applicable.
• If you had many part-time or temporary jobs while in school, consider summarizing them, e.g., “Worked part-time during undergrad to finance education.” (Employers will value the fact that you have worked while going to school, particularly if you were still able to do well academically.) For certain jobs, such as in retail or restaurants, or as a ski instructor, it can be appropriate to omit the description altogether, as most people know roughly what this work entails.
• Include summer jobs to avoid time gaps on your resume.
• If a prior job is your only link to a prospective employer’s city, include it.
• Any experience can be relevant, regardless of whether or not it was paid, so if your volunteer or community service is substantial, include it in the main body of your resume, especially if you are applying for public interest positions. Volunteer work can also be presented in a separate Community Service section, or at the end or your resume under a heading such as “Other Information.” Jobs are usually assumed to be full-time and paid unless you indicate otherwise; be sure not to appear to overstate your experience.

Other Categories.

If space allows, you may choose to elaborate on one or more of the following categories, under a heading such as “Other Information” or “Interests and Activities”:

• Languages : If you include languages on your resume, state your level of fluency (e.g., “fluent,” “proficient,” “reading knowledge only” (where your fluency is very limited, it is probably not worth listing the language)). Do not overstate your level of proficiency.
• Publications : You may include a short list of publications on law-related topics, particularly if the area of research is relevant to an employer’s practice. A more extensive list of publications should be compiled as a separate document. Be prepared to discuss in interviews any publications you list.
• Professional Licensing and Affiliations : Include any relevant licenses or certifications (such as a CPA license). Include past and present memberships with your title, if any, and dates. Give the full name of the organization.
• Bar Admission : Bar membership, only applicable to graduates, should appear at the top of your resume, above the Education section. If you have a substantial amount of experience as an attorney, the Experience section of your resume should precede the Education section. If you are registered to take the bar exam or awaiting the results of a bar exam you have written, you can include that information in a cover letter.
• Keep your resume to one page, unless you have substantial working experience prior to coming to law school, or for public interest resumes.
• Do not use abbreviations, with these exceptions: the two-letter state abbreviations and academic degrees.
• List each item only once. If you list Debate Team Captain as a college activity, don’t repeat it under Other Activities at the bottom.
• Make your resume easy to read. The reader should be able to locate your graduation date, duties of employment, etc., by scanning (not reading) your resume.
• Use short descriptive sentence fragments separated by semicolons with strong action verbs to relate your job responsibilities, not sentences. (A list of “ action words ” can be found at the end of this guide.).
• Be specific about what you did at your jobs; avoid vague expressions such as “gained exposure to,” “participated in” or “assisted with.”
• List your job responsibilities in descending order of responsibility and challenge (start with the most impressive and work down to a “catch-all” item, if appropriate).
• Put your references on a separate document, and don’t include “references available on request” on your resume. Employers know to ask for them.
• Avoid extraneous information and try not to convey too many ideas at once.
• Do not include computer abilities, except as part of a job description where you used highly specialized skills.
• Do not include such personal information as age, marital status, etc.
• Do not include anything in your resume you would not want to discuss in an interview.

Resume Style. Resume styles vary, as presented by the samples found at the end of this guide.

In addition to using physical layout, take strategic advantage of the various ways to highlight important information, such as bold face, capitalization, italicizing, and underlining. Be completely consistent with the choices you make (e.g., all educational institutions in boldface, all job titles in italics), all the way down to the way you use commas, periods and spaces. For legal resumes, it is most typical to use Times New Roman font (or another similar serif font) in size 11 or 12. Look for a pleasant balance of text and white space on the page. While margins can be smaller than the standard for a term paper, you should allow at least .7″ all around.

Proofreading. Once you have your resume set up as you want it with content and layout, proofread it carefully. Look for inconsistencies in style as well as actual typos. Do not trust yourself as the only proofreader; enlist the aid of at least one other person. If you discover a typo, you must redo your resume, even if it has been already been printed; no typo is insignificant.

A few technical notes.

• If you send your resume electronically, it is preferable to convert it to a PDF file first; this way your formatting and any document history are invisible, and you can control exactly the way your resume appears and prints.
• Email addresses in your contact information should be text, like your phone number, not a hyperlink.

Sample Resumes (These are included as a pdf to preserve formatting, an essential element of effective resume-drafting.)

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How to Improve Your Law School Resume

If you’re required or encouraged to submit a resume with your law school application, celebrate! It gives you a chance to really market yourself to the school.

But what do you do when the school doesn’t provide any written guidelines about resume submission? Some people poke around online and take advice from supposed experts (i.e., other recently accepted law applicants). Some ask their career service office team or their pre-law advisors. Others even ask attorneys. Are you applying to Stetson University College of Law? Don’t rely on what you read elsewhere. We have the facts.

How is a law school resume different from a career resume?

If you’re applying to law school with some professional experience, you may wonder just how different your law school application should be from a traditional job application.

• Your law school resume should emphasize your academic achievements.
• Your law school resume should align with your personal statement .

The specific sections on your law school resume may also be more detailed and in a different order from your career resume. As you’ll read below, we recommend listing your education section more prominently on your law school resume, which you may usually list lower on the page of a professional resume.

Your law school resume should also be specific to law school, and not just list general experience. As Peg Cheng , author and founder of Prelaw Guru, says, “You need a resume for applying to law school. That said, turning in a generic work resume with your law school application will do nothing to improve your chances for admission. But show admissions officers a well-written, concise and engaging resume, and they will not only be impressed, they will remember you. And that’s the name of the application game: being remembered.”

What to include in your law school resume

Before you review our suggested list of what you should include in your law school resume, be sure to check the application instructions . At Stetson Law, submitting a resume with your application is optional. However, we strongly recommend submitting your resume along with your personal statement and application.

The following is a list of the sections you should include with your resume. Some may be optional, depending on what your experience involves, so use it as a guideline, not a strict template.

Contact Information

Like any resume, you should first list your contact information. This includes:

• Your full name
• Phone number
• Email Address
• LinkedIn profile (optional)
• Home Address (optional)

We highly recommend including your LinkedIn profile URL, because it allows admissions officers to learn more about you. However, make sure you clean up your social profiles, including LinkedIn, before you apply.

This is one of the most important sections of your resume for your law school application. As opposed to a regular career resume, you’ll want to provide some detail in this section, including:

• Name and location of university attended
• Graduation Date
• Type of degree received
• Achievements, awards and honors
• Thesis title if applicable

List your education in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent degree, certification, or otherwise. If you have a master’s degree or any postgraduate work, you would start with that first. And, unless your high school education is particularly relevant or impressive, don’t include that.

Providing details on coursework allows you to explain some of your areas of expertise and highlight any skills gained. Reviewing the American Bar Association’s core skills, values, knowledge and experience, and seeing how your educational experience aligns with any of those areas can be a good place to start, as far as looking for coursework to highlight on your law school resume.

In addition, list achievements, awards, and any other honors. Were you on the Dean’s List? Did you win an essay contest? Anything that distinguishes your academic or extracurricular record should be highlighted on your resume.

Professional Experience

This section should include your job or career experience, and also any internship, volunteer, or community work you have done that you’d like to highlight. If it is relevant to what you bring to the table for law school, then you should include it here. Don’t, however, make it a laundry list of everything you’ve done in your life. Instead, include the following:

• Your most relevant experience listed in chronological order
• The job title, company name and dates you worked there
• 4-6 bullet points for each position describing your relevant skills, experiences and achievements

When writing the bullet points on your resume, try to include action verbs that focus on what you actually accomplished and learned. Quantify your accomplishments and skills with percentages and numbers. Being specific in your bullet points will help you convey your

While you should have listed your skills along with your experience in the professional section of your resume, any soft or hard skills you want to showcase, definitely belong here. Again, consider what would be useful or relevant to law school before including a laundry list of skills on your resume.

Whether you have extensive professional experience or not, you’ll want to emphasize your soft skills so you can show that you have what it takes to succeed in law school. Some law school-relevant soft skills include negotiation, collaboration, problem solving, conflict resolution, written and oral communication, mediation, critical thinking, and adaptability.

If you do not have a lot of skills to highlight in this area, or if you have lengthier education and professional sections, you can potentially incorporate your skills into those sections.

Community and Volunteer Work

Have you volunteered with a specific organization? Many people go to law school to advocate on behalf of others, so showing that you care enough about your cause to volunteer can help you stand out to the admissions team.

If you have done enough community and volunteer work to necessitate a separate section (beyond your professional experience section), then you can list one. This section of your resume is the perfect spot to demonstrate what you’ve done toward the cause(s) you’ve written about in the personal statement part of your application. Include a brief description of the work you did with that organization as well as the dates and locations of your experience.

Other Potential Sections

Depending on your experience, there are a few other sections you may want to consider including on your resume:

Awards and honors You can list your awards and honors in your education section if they are all academically related. If they are not, however, you can have a dedicated section to awards and honors in your resume.

Affiliations and/or extracurricular activities Include your affiliations, professional and academic, either in your education section or as a separate section if you have many. Also, consider — is it important for us to know that you were a member?

You may also want to include your membership in certain student organizations, such as pre-law society or student government. Extracurricular activities can be a separate section from affiliations, but if most of your affiliations are school-related, it might make more sense to represent this as a combined section.

Publications Have you published any books, papers, or articles? List them in a separate section if so.

How to Format Your Law School Resume

It’s important to consistently format the content on your resume. If you have periods at the end of your bullet points, be sure to use them without. Or, if you use one font for your headings and another for your body text, make sure to apply that throughout your document.

Indeed recommends that you use headings for each section, and limit your font choices to something easy to read, like Calibri or Helvetica in 10- or 12-point font. Also, make sure you have standard one-inch margins at the top, bottom and sides of the page. Include details for each section with bullet points, and list the dates and locations for each activity. Your contact information should be at the very top in bold and/or larger font.

Finally, you’ll want your resume to be 1-2 pages long. If you want to submit something longer, then you should consider whether or not everything is absolutely necessary for the admissions team to know, and reread the application requirements. At Stetson Law, we request that students provide a comprehensive work history on their resume to align with the employment question on the Florida Bar application, the most common state in which Stetson graduates practice. So, your resume may be longer than two pages if you have a lot of work experience.

6 Key Tips For Your Law School Resume

Keep these tips in mind to create a strong, compelling resume – and to avoid common pitfalls.

1. Focus on relevancy, but tell your story

When creating your resume, focus on your relevant professional, academic and personal experiences, and see how you can make your experience part of your story. While working as a barista to support yourself through college may not seem directly related to your prospects as a law student, it shows hard work and initiative and can be made relevant to your application.

2. Keep it simple

Provide simple, easy-to-read explanations of your job and educational experiences on your resume. Use plain English and either avoid jargon and any other special acronyms or terminology, or define if necessary.

This simplicity extends to your format — your content should be what stands out, not colorful or unique formatting.

3. Don’t forget to proofread

Not proofreading your resume before you submit it is a big mistake. Copy edit your resume to ensure your spelling and grammar is correct, and ask someone else (or multiple people) to review it before applying.

4. Be Specific

Being specific in your professional accomplishments can help you stand out and showcase yourself effectively, according to LSAT prep course Magoosh . There is a big difference between “helped raise funds for charity initiatives” and “helped raise $25,000 for the Habitat For Humanity fundraiser via online fundraising event promotion.” Every bullet point on your resume should be crafted to focus on concrete tasks and highlight your personal role in the position at hand.

5. Stay Honest

Don’t make unsubstantiated claims or exaggerations — these are red flags for admissions officers. Listing skills without any evidence to support those skills is a big mistake. In addition, the law school you’re applying to will receive your transcripts, so they’ll know if you lie about your academic performance — it’s not worth it to round up on your GPA.

6. Don't be too modest

Underselling yourself is also a mistake when it comes to your resume. Even though it’s hard to write about yourself, make sure you describe your best qualities and accomplishments in detail.

The Law School Resume — Just One Part of Your Application

Your law school application includes multiple components, from the application itself to the personal statement. We’re here to provide you with helpful tidbits of information to ensure you feel confident in the application process. Explore our admissions blog and find more useful tips for future and current law school students.

Topics: Applying to Law School

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Student Spotlight: Rylie Pennell          J.D. Candidate '24

Student Spotlight: Cami DiGiacomo  Stetson J.D. Graduate ‘23

Further reading.

Common Myths About Law School Admissions

What Do Pro Bono Requirements Mean for Law Students?

Title IX Law Marks its 50th Anniversary

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Perfect Law School Resume Format (How to Make it Stand Out)

First off, right off the bat, I must say I am not selling anything and I certainly don't want any contact info. I just wanted to share (see below google drive link of resume/cover letter and interview tactics files) what I learned from one year of career applications, which can be applied to law school admissions as well.

Anyways, below is the resource-filled link and practical advise that is an accumulation of all my personal research and assistance from job coaches ($1500 total spent there, yikes!), and the resumes I edited for my colleagues (once I figured out the formula), complete with notes on how you can do it, too.

It details jaw-dropping career resumes, but this formula and format/methods should 100% be used for law school. Just plug and play.

Also included is details on how I got recruiters' attention, networked online with people who had the role I dreamed of, as well as interview tactics, cold outreach email templates, and modules that someone sent me that contain practical tips and tricks for how to get in that perfect school or network with your law role model:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FPNgs-XdO58uyDnZmHf4y4AIlHqKA-4w?usp=share_link

As mentioned earlier, trust this oft-rejected fool that this resume format is perfect . I know this because I tried many, many other formats and this one was the one that landed me and my colleagues roles much quicker and added a "WOW" factor to it.

Some additional notes on resumes:

Usually keep it to one page.

Keep the format and font the same as these examples; just put in your information. I included other CVs to showcase a variety of roles/careers. I think there is some formatting errors on a couple resumes, but you can fix those. I saved them as Word files so they are editable. :)

Believe me when I say numbers mean everything in a resume, no matter the industry. So put them on as many bullet points as you can. Hiring managers love that. Which is better? "responsible for managing team and hosting meetings" or "managed team of 20 coworkers, whose combined sales reached 112% quota" See what I'm sayin?

Keep this bullet point format: Past tense verb (created, developed, etc) ---> number ---- result number. Every bullet point, or as many as possible. Search resume verbs in google for ideas, or use the ones in the resumes provided.

Did I mention have a lot of numbers on it? Just want to hammer that home. As many bullet points as you can. Numbers = profit or quantifiable results, separating you from the "vague description" applicants. It all falls apart if you don't do this, in my experience, and the resume will never get looked at, I can darn near 100% promise that.

Inverted pyramid style: Chronological order, most recent job = 7 bullet points, next most recent = 5-6, etc etc all the way down. Some can be equal, it just has to be decending order. This looks good visually and they mostly care about what you did most recently anywways.

Write a bad ass description of the company you worked for, right under your job title. This shows the recruiter how awesome that company is and it helps them understand what their mission is or even just what that company does, if it isn't obvious.This is *KEY!*Ex: "Johnny's Burger Joint was rated as the top burger restaurant in Boston by Boston Magazine. They serve an avg. of 1000+ customers a day and my franchise was rated the top out of 200+ locations across America." See how much better that is than just the name? You feel the difference?

Numbers below ten, spell out. All others just write the number. Instead of exact numbers, when they get too big, write a "+ after the rounded number (ex: "157 employees ---> "150+ employees") and with numbers 1,000 and up abbreviate with capital "K" for thousand, "M" for million (ex: $23,800 ----> $23K+; $5 million ---> $5M)

Exectuive summary also has numbers and must be bad ass . No more than two sentences. See examples.

I changed all the names in the resumes to protect the innocent :)

------------------------

You all should be spending time studying, and not re-doing your resume for the zillionth time.

That's why I took the time to make this guide. Keep it, because the formats are good for law jobs as well after you graduate.

I want the process to be as easy as possible for everyone and for free .

Law school is stressful enough, am I right?

Anyways, best of luck to you all in and let me know in the comments if this helped.

Go get 'em, Champ!

Steps to Apply: JD Programs

Applying to law school requires planning. We are here to guide you as you prepare, apply, and — ultimately — choose where you want to go to law school.

The JD Application Process: An Overview

Find your prelaw advisor at your undergraduate school.

Most undergraduate schools offer career support for current students and recent alumni. If you have access to a prelaw advisor or to career counseling at your undergraduate institution, find time to speak with an advisor as early in your law school journey as possible. If you’re still pursuing your undergraduate degree, an advisor can recommend courses that will help you build the skills you’ll need for law school. Even if you’ve already graduated, your advisor can help you prepare for the law school application process by giving advice on LSAT ® preparation, school choice, and more.

Create your LSAC online account

Your LSAC online account will help you track the status of every step you take as you apply to your selected schools. Each school has specific application requirements and timelines. My Calendar lets you track those all-important deadlines. Use your LSAC account number as your primary identifier for all LSAC services.

Create Your Account

Register and prepare for the LSAT

Most law schools require the LSAT , and many will require you to take the test by November/December for admission the following fall. However, taking the test earlier — in June or September/October — is advisable. Schedule your test date with sufficient time to get your score before your first law school application is due. Preparing for the test is a must to ensure that you’ll do as well as you possibly can.

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Research law schools

Finding the law schools that are right for you is key. We have tools that will help you find schools that meet your interests and needs. Let us help you pursue a path to the law career you want!

Meet law school recruiters in person

At an  LSAC Law School Forum , you can meet more than 100 law school recruiters face-to-face. Forums also feature exclusive workshops about the legal profession, the benefits of a law degree, LSAT prep, and more.

Register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS)

Register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) , if required, approximately six to eight weeks before your first law school application deadline. CAS will help streamline the application process: you'll only need to submit your transcripts and letters of recommendation once to LSAC. We will compile all your material in a law school report for the law schools that you choose.

Request all required transcripts

Allow two weeks for us to process your US or Canadian transcripts once we receive them from you. ( I nternational transcripts may take longer.) When it's ready, you'll be able to view an Academic Summary Report in your LSAC JD Account. Make sure it is complete and accurate.

Request letters of recommendation

School requirements for letters of recommendation will vary. You can download forms from your LSAC JD Account to send to your recommenders. Allow two weeks for us to process your recommendation once we get it from the recommender.

Let law schools find you

The Candidate Referral Service (CRS) is your opportunity to be discovered by law schools you may not have considered. Some schools may be looking for a candidate just like you.

Sign Up for CRS

Apply online

You may apply to as many U.S. law schools as you choose through your LSAC JD Account.

Tips to Ease the Application Process

• Make sure that all information in your LSAC account “Profile” is correct and current. You can make changes to your biographical information, including your first name, last name, date of birth, and Social Security/Insurance number, through your LSAC account.
• Include your LSAC account number (L#) and use the same form of your name on all documents and communications with us.
• Carefully review all documents and test-related emails we send to you.
• Keep complete copies of all law school application records throughout the admission cycle and law school, as some state bar associations inquire about the law school admission records of those seeking admission to the bar.
• Ethical conduct is expected and required in all of your interactions with LSAC and law schools.  Misconduct and irregularities in the admission process  can have serious consequences.
• LSAC will release candidate-specific information only to you and to the law schools to which you have applied, and others as stated in our Privacy Policy . Information will not be released to or discussed with a parent, spouse, friend, or any other person.

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How Many Law Schools Should You Apply To?

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How Many Law Schools Should You Apply To? was originally published on Leland .

Law school is a postgraduate educational program that typically involves three years of full-time study, and is designed to prepare students for careers in the legal profession. It provides students with a comprehensive education as well as the opportunity to learn legal research, writing, and advocacy. Many programs also include clinical programs that allow students to gain hands-on experience in their desired legal fields.

After completing law school, graduates must pass the bar examination in order to become licensed attorneys. The specific requirements are different for each state, but most require that graduates pass a written exam, character exam, and fitness evaluation.

Though it varies slightly by school, JD applications generally require a resume, personal statement/essays, LSAT/GRE score, CAS report, transcripts, letters of recommendation, optional statements/additional information, character and fitness information, and an interview.

The application process is lengthy and requires a lot of work; as such, it’s typically wise to choose a set number of schools to apply to so that you can dedicate your energy toward making those applications as polished as possible. In this article, we’ll guide you through how to narrow the many options down to a realistic goal.

Though there is no magic number of how many programs you should apply to, we recommend landing somewhere between 5-15 schools . The range is broad because it will depend on a lot of personal factors like your academic/professional background, test scores/GPA, goals, what you’re looking for in a program, timeline, etc.

If you have limited time to prepare your application, specific program(s) that you are set on, or a certain location you want to be in, then you’ll be on the lower end of that scale. If you aren’t rushed for time, are unsure of where you want to go, or have a slightly less competitive candidacy, then you’ll be on the higher end of the scale.

Whatever side you land on, apply to a mix of “reach,” “match,” and “safety” schools. If you’re not sure how to classify the different programs for your candidacy, look at your top choices’ class profiles–almost every school publishes this information online each year. If you’re at or slightly above the average on most statistics (GPA, LSAT score) and believe you have a strong application in other areas (resume, letters of recommendation), then it’s probably a match. If you’re way above average, it’s a safety. And, if you’re below the average or have a mix of strong/weak parts of application, then it’s probably a reach school. As a disclaimer, every applicant’s profile is unique; what is a “reach” school for one will be a “safety” for another and vice versa.

There’s a balance to be met between applying to enough schools to give yourself a great shot at getting into one you’d actually want to go to, and not applying to so many that you don’t have time to give each the attention it deserves. A law school coach can help you figure out what is the right balance for you.

How to Choose Which Law Schools to Apply To

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing the schools to apply to. This process should take time–it’s important to choose programs that are a good fit for you as it will improve your experience there. Here are some things to think about when deciding on schools, in no particular order.

1. Location

Most law school programs are three years long, which is a significant period of time to place yourself somewhere new. Do you prefer urban or rural environments? Do you need to be somewhere warm or is it alright to be somewhere cooler? How important is being within walking distance of the school? Or having a good public transportation system?

Also, geographic location is particularly important for law school, as opposed to other graduate degree programs, because the bar exam is unique to each state. As many JD programs partner with firms/organizations in their state for recruiting, it’s wise to think through where you want to eventually work post-law school. Different cities, states, and regions are known for different specialties of law and offer different opportunities. Do substantial research and have a good idea of what kind of law you want to study and where you want to work long-term before starting the application process.

Personal learning styles will determine how important size is in your decision-making. Through your undergraduate program and other activities, you likely have an idea of whether you prefer large or small classes, or, whether this factor isn’t as important to you. This extends to both the number of total students in the program and in individual courses. Talk to current students, admissions committees, or look online to find this information.

3. Cost and Financial Aid

Graduate programs are expensive and cost can be a barrier for many potential applicants–no one wants to be paying off loans for a decade. The scholarships or financial aid packages that schools offer vary–many times, there are opportunities available for certain demographics. We recommend researching the programs you’re interested in to see if you fit any of the criteria for scholarships, and to see statistics regarding what percentage of students are eligible for or receive financial aid.

For example, Harvard states that over 40% of all JD students qualify for law school grant assistance. Yale Law School writes that 76% of the student body received some form of financial aid and 64% qualified for scholarship grants in the 2021-2022 academic year. The University of Chicago Law School writes that 80% of students receive scholarships and 60% choose to take out loans.

Culture is difficult to measure and encompasses a lot of different qualities. Some programs are known for being more academically rigorous while others are more social or laid back. The best way to find out about a program’s culture and to decide whether it’s a good fit for you is to talk to current students and alumni. They’ll be able to answer first-hand and provide key insights into what it’s actually like to be enrolled.

5. Diversity

Having a variety of backgrounds, interests, identities, specialties, and skills improves the classroom experience and, eventually, the broader legal field. Lawyers interact with people from many different perspectives and having experience navigating diversity in class strengthens the ability to do so in professional environments. Though this field is one which has been notoriously homogenous and slow to change, schools are now actively looking to foster diversity. Class profiles provide statistics on this and the admissions committees can also give information.

6. Opportunities

As mentioned, geographic location is an important factor in the consideration of law school. Relatedly, certain schools and areas are known for different specialties of law. For example, most of the T14 schools–and especially the most high-ranking ones like Yale, Columbia, and Harvard–are known for corporate law and placing a lot of students in “Big Law.” Columbia Law School has also received accolades for real estate law, tax law, environmental law, and intellectual property law, among others.

Most schools publish employment reports each year. These include information on the number of students who received full-time offers, what industries they chose, the size of the firms that students entered, and the geographic region of those positions, etc. The Stanford Law School Class of 2021 , for example, placed 75 students in law firms, 62 of whom went to one that had 501+ employees. There were also 48 students who went into federal clerkships and 11 that went into government.

7. Classes and Faculty

Finally, the classes and professors at a given school will have a major impact on the overall experience. Research the curriculum of the schools to see what specific courses are offered in your areas of interest, what first-year courses are required, the percentage of classes that are electives, and other relevant information. Also, look into the school’s top faculty–are there certain professors who you’d like to work with or learn from? Are there any who have made an impact in your field of choice? Or those who had a career similar to your aspirations? Though subjective, this aspect can elevate your time in law school from good to great.

These are some of the things that you should consider, but not all. Every applicant’s situation is unique and certain factors will matter more than others. At the end of the day, it’s incredibly important to take time to research the various programs, talk to students and alumni, tour the campuses, ask the admissions committees questions, attend events or lectures, and really get to know the schools. It will not only ensure that you have a great experience wherever you go, but will also help you convey a convincing argument in your applications.

Get Into Law School With the Help of an Expert

The internet will only get you so far in your research and applications. The best thing that you can do to make sure you have a concrete application strategy and compelling story is to work one-on-one with an expert coach. Check out a couple of law school coaches below. They are graduates of some of the best programs in the country and will be able to help you navigate this difficult process.

Here are a few other resources you may find helpful as you put together your law school applications:

• Early Decision Application Deadlines of the Top Law Schools (2023-2024)
• JD Application Deadlines of the T20 Law Schools
• Acceptance Rates & Class Profiles of the T14 Law Schools
• LSAT vs. GRE for Law School–Which to Take and How to Ace Both
• How to Get Into a T14 Law School
• Everything You Need to Know About LSAC and the CAS Report for Law School
• The Top 10 Environmental Law Schools in the US
• Pepperdine Caruso School of Law: Program and Application Overview
• The Role of Internships in Law School Applications

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Curricular Recommendations and Degree Requirements

Last modified on June 21st, 2024

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CURRICULAR INSTRUCTION

The professional curriculum at Cornell Law School conforms to American Bar Association Standard 302 for Approval of Law Schools.

(1) the substantive law generally regarded as necessary to effective and responsible participation in the legal profession;

(2) legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem solving, and oral communication;

(3) writing in a legal context, including at least one rigorous writing experience in the first year and at least one additional rigorous writing experience after the first year;

(4) other professional skills generally regarded as necessary for effective and responsible participation in the legal profession; and

(5) the history, goals, structure, values, rules and responsibilities of the legal profession and its members

It also offers substantial opportunities for:

(1) live-client or other real-life practice experiences, appropriately supervised and designed to encourage reflection by students on their experiences and on the values and responsibilities of the legal profession, and the development of one’s ability to assess his or her performance and level of competence;

(2) student participation in pro bono activities; and

(3) small group work through seminars, directed research, small classes, or collaborative work.

JD DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

Please read the information below to understand the credit and curricular requirements for the Cornell JD degree. Each student is responsible for ensuring that all graduation and bar admission requirements are met. The Registrar and the Director of Student Services and Academic Advising in the Dean of Students Office are available to advise students on requirements.

Summary of requirements for the JD degree.

• Six credits of experiential learning courses.
• A three credit course which satisfies the writing requirement.
• A two-three credit course which deals with issues of professional responsibility.

Students may find courses satisfying these requirements in the Course Catalog by browsing by Course Attributes – Degree Requirements.

*All Students: Please note that you cannot use one course to fulfill multiple requirements. For example, if a course is marked as WR OR EL, you may use it to fulfill the writing requirement or the experiential learning requirement, but not both.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING REQUIREMENT

All students are required to take six credits of experiential learning courses before graduation. Many students already enroll in clinics, externships and simulation classes that will satisfy the requirement. The experiential learning courses are marked as “Experiential Learning” in the Course Catalog .

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY REQUIREMENT

All students must complete an upper-class course in professional responsibility before graduation. The professional responsibility courses are marked as “Professional Responsibility” in the Course Catalog.

WRITING REQUIREMENT

All students must satisfy the writing requirement before graduation. The writing requirement is met by satisfactorily completing a three credit course. The course must be taken for a letter grade. Enrollment in colloquiums, problem courses and seminars is limited. The writing courses are marked as “Writing” in the Course Catalog.

CREDIT RESTRICTIONS

A student electing a course outside of the Law School for credit, or otherwise, must also register for at least 9 credit hours in the Law School each term.

Regardless of the number of courses elected outside the Law School, a student must earn 72 of the required 84 credit hours in professional law subjects.

• Students must petition for a course outside of the Law School to count towards their law degree and receive approval from the Dean of Students office.

A law school may not permit a student to be enrolled at any time in coursework that would exceed 20 percent of the total coursework required by that school for graduation. Students in the JD program may not take more than 17 credits in any one semester. Students in the JD-LLM program may take a maximum of 21 credits per semester. The Registrar will provide similar maximum semester credit information for those in various joint degree programs.

During the second and third years, JD students may not register for fewer than 12 hours or more than 17 hours during any one term or fewer than 26 hours in any one academic year. Exceptions to the credit hour requirements must be approved by the Dean of Students. Students must submit an exception to hours form before the end of add/drop.

20 credit rule

Students may take no more than 20 credits outside of regularly scheduled law school classes. For those interested in doing a full-term externship advance planning will be more critical to avoid disappointment.

12 credit rule

A student may take no more than 12 credits outside of the law-school curriculum. This includes all courses taught in other departments on campus and not cross-listed in the Law School.

All externships and directed reading, supervised writing and supervised teaching will be graded S/U. Other courses may have a mandatory S/U grade and will be noted in the Course Catalog under grade pptions as “S/U only.” These classes do not count towards the two classes S/U limit (mentioned below) since these classes are mandatory S/U.

Grading Option

Each JD student, after the first year, may elect to take up to two upper-class courses at Cornell Law School on an S/U basis. Students will be notified when the S/U grading link is available (typically available soon after add/drop ends). If made, the election shall be irrevocable. Students may not make this election in courses that they use to satisfy the law school’s upper-class writing requirement. In addition, instructors may designate specific courses that they teach as not eligible for the S/U election.

CLASS ATTENDANCE

Attendance is required on a regular basis beginning on the first day of the semester. Irregular attendance or neglect of work may result in removal from the course with a grade of F or other sanctions. Regular attendance is required for certification to the bar examiners.

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Election latest: Home Secretary James Cleverly faces questions on Sky News as 'utterly extraordinary' Tory betting scandal grows

James Cleverly faces questions on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips after it emerged that the Conservative Party's data chief has taken a leave of absence over allegations he placed bets on the timing of the election. Watch the show live by pressing play below.

Sunday 23 June 2024 07:50, UK

• General Election 2024

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

• Home secretary faces questions on Sky News from 8.30am
• Tory betting scandal grows as top party official takes leave amid probe
• Labour updates key election message over voter complacency fears
• Live reporting by Ben Bloch

Election essentials

• Manifesto pledges: Alliance Party | Conservatives | Greens | Labour | Lib Dems | Plaid Cymru | Reform | SNP | Sinn Fein | Workers Party
• Trackers:  Who's leading polls? | Is PM keeping promises?
• Campaign Heritage: Memorable moments from elections gone by
• Follow Sky's politics podcasts: Electoral Dysfunction | Politics At Jack And Sam's
• Read more:  Who is standing down? | Key seats to watch | What counts as voter ID? | Check if your constituency is changing | Guide to election lingo | Sky's election night plans

The Conservatives have claimed a Labour government could "put Brexit in peril" in statements and op-eds published on the eighth anniversary of the EU referendum.

Rishi Sunak has made a series of claims about rival Sir Keir Starmer and his intentions if Labour get into government - claiming he "would recommit us to free movement of EU citizens, taking thousands more illegal migrants and binding our businesses again in Brussels red tape".

"Keir Starmer has never believed we can succeed as a sovereign country and has tried to overturn the result time and time again," he said. "Now he has committed to years more wrangling the EU and abandoning all our hard-won freedoms like the ability to strike more trade deals and cut more red tape.

"Make no mistake, Brexit would be in peril under Labour."

Meanwhile,  as polls continue to predict  Labour are heading for a comfortable majority, their national campaign co-ordinator has reminded the public: "Change will only happen if you vote for it."

Labour's national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden wrote in the Observer: "There is a danger that the debate in this election becomes consumed by polls and specifically by the idea that the outcome is somehow pre-determined… No way is this election a done deal.

"The headlines about the clutch of MRP polls disguise a huge level of uncertainty."

Read more here:

By Faye Brown , political reporter

Union boss Sharon Graham has said she does not agree with Labour's fiscal rules and the party should borrow more to invest.

Speaking to Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips in an interview that will be broadcast in full today, the Unite general secretary said other countries with growing economies have a larger debt-to-GDP ratio than the UK, "so there is wiggle room".

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has promised to retain the Tories' commitment that debt as a proportion of GDP must be on track to fall in five years if Labour win the election on 4 July.

She has ruled out borrowing to fund day-to-day spending, saying her focus will be on reforms to grow the economy.

But Ms Graham said: "I don't agree with Rachel Reeves in terms of what has been said about the plans on growth.

"If you look at other countries - in France, their debt to GDP is 112%. In America, where the economy's growing, it's 130% debt to GDP. Ours is around about 99%. We have wiggle room. Give Britain a break."

The union leader said that workers "are literally hurting beyond anything that you could comprehend" due to the cost of living crisis.

Read more below - and watch the full interview on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips live on Sky News from 8.30am.

Our flagship Sunday morning show, hosted by  Trevor Phillips , will be live on Sky News from 8.30am, and we have a packed line-up for you after another eventful week of the campaign.

Trevor will be chatting to:

• James Cleverly , home secretary;
• Bridget Phillipson , shadow education secretary;
• Sharon Graham , Unite general secretary;
• Robert Jenrick , former immigration minister.

On Trevor's expert panel will be:

• Lionel Barber , former editor of the Financial Times
• Sonia Sodha , former Labour adviser;
• Guto Harri , former Number 10 communications director.

Watch live on Sky News and in the stream at the top of this page - and follow updates here in the Politics Hub.

Watch  Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips  from 8.30am every Sunday on Sky channel 501, Virgin channel 602, Freeview channel 233, on the  Sky News website  and  app  or on  YouTube .

A top Conservative Party official has taken a leave of absence over allegations he placed bets on the timing of next month's general election.

Nick Mason, the Tory Party's chief data officer, is being investigated by the Gambling Commission for allegedly betting on the timing of the election before the date had been announced.

The revelations were first reported by The Sunday Times, which claimed dozens of bets had been placed with potential winnings worth thousands of pounds.

The allegations represent a fresh blow for Rishi Sunak as three other Conservative figures have already been caught up in the scandal.

Tony Lee, the party's director of campaigns, and his wife Laura Saunders are also under investigation.

Along with them, Craig Williams, Mr Sunak's parliamentary private secretary, admitted to placing a "flutter" on the date of the election and is also being investigated.

Senior Tory Michael Gove condemned the latest reports and likened the controversy to partygate.

Labour branded the fresh allegations "utterly extraordinary" and called for "all those implicated" to be suspended.

Read more from our news reporter Kieren Williams here:

Good morning!

Welcome back to the Politics Hub on this Sunday, 23 June.

With just 11 days to go until polls open across the country, the betting scandal engulfing the Conservative Party has expanded yet again.

Meanwhile, Labour appear to be updating their key message as they warn against voter complacency after months of polls showing them far in the lead.

Here's what's making the headlines this morning:

• Nick Mason, the Conservative Party 's data chief, is understood to have taken a leave of absence over allegations he placed bets on the timing of next month's general election;
• The allegations are a fresh blow for Rishi Sunak as three other Conservative figures have already been caught up in the scandal;
• The Labour Party and the Lib Dems are demanding that Mr Sunak suspends all those implicated as investigations continue;
• The Tories are still on the attack, however - with today being the eighth anniversary of the Brexit referendum, they are warning that Labour would seek closer ties with the EU;
• Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer and his team appear to be modifying their key message as they fear voter complacency at the general election next week;
• From just one word, "change", the slogan has become: "Change will only happen if you vote for it";
• Nigel Farage remains under fire after saying that the West "provoked" Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying he has been "infected by the virus of Putinism";
• Broader campaigning will continue today, with SNP , Green Party , and Plaid Cymru leaders and candidates expected to be out talking to voters.

Joining us on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips , live on Sky News from 8.30am :

• Sharon Graham , general secretary of the Unite union;
• Robert Jenrick , Tory candidate and former cabinet minister.

On his panel this morning are:

• Lionel Barber , former editor of the Financial Times;
• Guto Harri , former Downing Street communications director under Boris Johnson;
• Sonia Sodha , chief leader writer at The Observer and former Labour adviser.

Follow along for the latest updates as the general election campaign unfolds.

Labour are warning voters against complacency at the polls on 4 July as the party says "change will only happen if you vote for it".

In an article for The Observer, Labour campaign coordinator Pat McFadden said the election debate was "in danger" of being "consumed by polls" and the idea that the outcome is "somehow pre-determined".

"No way is this election a done deal. The headlines about the clutch of MRP polls disguise a huge level of uncertainty," he said.

The public need to think about whether they want five more years of Conservative rule or "the chance to rebuild with Labour," said Mr McFadden.

He branded Tory warnings against a Labour "supermajority" a "cynical voter suppression strategy".

"The reason the Tories are talking down their prospects is to try to persuade swing voters that they either don't need to vote or, because of their argument the result is decided, to persuade voters they can afford to vote for one of the minor parties where the seat is a Labour/Tory battle," he said.

A Labour win would "put Brexit in peril" and see Sir Keir Starmer try to overturn the vote that changed the country eight years ago, Rishi Sunak has said.

The Conservative campaign suggested Labour have pledged to negotiate a new deal "without telling the public what they would accept in return".

It cited experts as warning that Sir Keir's party would have to make "considerable concessions" to meet its manifesto pledge to deepen ties with the UK's European neighbours.

In a statement on the anniversary of the Brexit vote, Mr Sunak said Sir Keir "has never believed we can succeed as a sovereign country and has tried to overturn the result time and time again". 

He said the Labour leader has committed to "years more wrangling the EU" and abandoning the country's "hard-won freedoms".

"Keir Starmer would recommit us to free movement of EU citizens, taking thousands more illegal migrants and binding our businesses again in Brussels red tape," he said.

"It would be a betrayal pure and simple of the public's wishes by a party with no faith in Britain and no plan for our future as an independent nation."

Meanwhile, business secretary Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of rubbishing facts and promoting "dodgy forecasts" about UK growth.

Sir Keir earlier denied that Labour has plans to rejoin the EU, after Ms Badenoch told The Telegraph that he would put Brexit at risk if he became prime minister.

"We are not re-joining the EU, we are not re-joining the single market or the customs union," the Labour leader said.

A top Conservative official has taken a leave of absence amid allegations that he placed bets on the timing of the general election on 4 July, Sky News understands.

Nick Mason, the party's data chief, is reported to be under investigation by the Gambling Commission as a result of these allegations.

The allegations were published in The Sunday Times , which reported that the official is being investigated over claims they placed "dozens of bets".

The allegations are a fresh blow for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as three other Conservative figures have already been caught up in the scandal.

A Conservative spokesman said: "As instructed by the Gambling Commission, we are not permitted to discuss any matters related to any investigation with the subject or any other persons."

Our flagship Sunday morning show, hosted by  Trevor Phillips , will be live on Sky News tomorrow from 8.30am, and we have a packed line-up for you after another eventful week of the campaign.

Sir Keir Starmer has branded attacks by the veterans minister on his Labour electoral opponent "sad and desperate".

Mr Mercer, the Tory candidate for Plymouth Moor View, accused his political rival Fred Thomas of lying about his military record after a hustings event earlier this week.

In a series of posts to the X, the minister questioned whether Mr Thomas had served in combat missions while serving as a Royal Marine.

He suggested the Labour candidate had misrepresented his service "for political gain".

Asked about Mr Mercer's comments, Sir Keir said it was "sad desperation" from the veterans' minister. "It's desperate."

The Labour leader said his remarks underlined that the Conservative Party is "party first through and through".

Labour said Mr Thomas was a "decorated ex-Royal Marine" who was unable to discuss his military service due to its "highly sensitive" nature.

Mr Thomas said he was "proud of having served my country for seven years, including overseas on operations". 

Here are all the candidates for the Plymouth Moor View constituency:

• Shaun Hooper  - Reform UK
• Sarah Martin  - Liberal Democrats
• Johnny Mercer - Conservatives
• Georgia Nelson  - Green Party
• Fred Thomas - Labour

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