Resume template · Updated October 2026
Legal resume template
Short answer
Meridian suits most legal resumes: a black and grey page with no colour, and labelled skill rows that put e-discovery, research and docketing tools above the jobs. The fictional sample is a certified litigation paralegal at a commercial litigation firm who runs document productions, keeps a docket of about 40 matters and prepares trial binders. Attorneys keep the layout and add bar admissions; legal assistants change the tools.
Download the legal sample
Samantha is a fictional certified paralegal (CP). Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Meridian suits a legal resume
Meridian uses no colour, matching the conservative look most law firms favour, and places labelled skill rows above work experience. For paralegals and legal support staff the platforms (Relativity, Westlaw, iManage, the docketing system) are a large part of the job, so the rows answer the first screening question.
Second choice: Henrietta. Henrietta drops skills below education, a better order for attorneys whose law school and practice carry the application.
What goes in each section, in Meridian's order
Meridian prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Name the practice area (litigation, corporate, real estate, IP, employment), the setting (firm size, in-house team, government office) and the stages of a matter you handle. Attorneys put bar admissions here as well, because Meridian prints the extra list last.
- Skills. Technical holds the legal craft: research and cite-checking, e-discovery review, privilege logs, court filing rules. Tools names the review platform, research service, document management and docketing system. Attorneys can trim this to research tools and languages.
- Work Experience. Describe matters by type and size instead of client: documents reviewed, depositions prepared, trials supported, deadlines managed. Accuracy is what a legal employer screens for, so a bullet on how you check dates or filings is worth as much as volume.
- Education. Paralegals list the degree and the paralegal certificate program; attorneys list the JD with honours, journal and moot court, plus class rank only if strong. Undergraduate detail shrinks after a few years of practice.
- Certifications. NALA's Certified Paralegal (CP) is a national paralegal credential; write it out with the year. Attorneys rarely need this section beyond board specialisations.
- Trial experience. Paralegals can list trials and hearings supported (case type, forum, year, role). Attorneys use this list for bar admissions: each state, the year and any federal courts.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Samantha Ortiz
Certified Paralegal (CP), Litigation and E-Discovery
Denver, CO | samantha.ortiz@example.com | (303) 555-0177 | linkedin.com/in/sample-samantha-ortiz
Litigation paralegal with seven years in commercial and employment litigation, supporting partners from complaint through trial. Runs document productions in Relativity, keeps the docket for about 40 active matters and builds trial and deposition binders.
Experience
Senior Litigation Paralegal, Hartwell Marsh LLP, Denver, CO (02/2021 to Present)
- Manage document review and production for commercial disputes, including a review of about 400,000 documents with a 3,200-entry privilege log.
- Keep court and discovery deadlines for about 40 matters in the docketing system, with a second-person check on every new date.
- Prepared exhibits and witness binders for three jury trials and a two-week arbitration.
- Cite-check briefs against the Bluebook and local rules, and file electronically in state and federal courts.
- Trained four new paralegals on the firm's review protocol.
Paralegal, Front Range Legal Group, Boulder, CO (06/2018 to 01/2021)
- Drafted discovery requests and responses for attorney review in employment cases.
- Summarised deposition transcripts and organised medical and payroll records.
- Ran conflict checks and opened new matters.
Trial experience
- Jury trial, breach of contract, state district court, 2025: exhibits and witness binders
- Arbitration, construction defect, 2024: hearing logistics and exhibits
- Jury trial, trade secrets, federal district court, 2022: trial support team
Education
Certificate, Paralegal Studies, Mile High Community College (05/2018)
BA, Political Science, Colorado Plains University (05/2017)
Certifications
- Certified Paralegal (CP), NALA (2019)
Skills
Litigation support, E-discovery review and production, Privilege logs, Legal research and cite-checking, Electronic court filing, Relativity, Westlaw, iManage, Docketing software, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Deadline management, Attorney and client communication
How to make the sample yours
Swap the practice-area vocabulary
Corporate support means closings, due diligence and entity management; real estate means title, leases and closings; IP means docketing and patent or trademark filings. Rebuild two bullets around the area you are targeting.
Map e-discovery work to the EDRM stages
The Electronic Discovery Reference Model, revised as EDRM 2.0 in September 2026, runs from identification and preservation through processing, review and production to disposition. Saying which stages you handle tells a litigation support manager your level.
Attorneys: add admissions and depth
Put state bar admissions and federal courts in the extra list, practice areas in the summary, and matters described by type, your role and the outcome where it is public.
Moving in from another industry
Compliance, insurance claims, HR and contract administration share legal work's core: documents, deadlines and rules. Rename the work in legal terms and consider a paralegal certificate program to make the switch credible.
Prove you check your own work
Second-person docket checks, cite-checking and quality control on productions show the precision legal teams hire for. One bullet like this belongs on every legal support resume.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- litigation support
- e-discovery
- document review
- privilege log
- legal research
- cite-checking
- docketing
- court filings
- trial preparation
- deposition preparation
- Relativity
- Westlaw
- case management
- confidentiality
- Bluebook
Mistakes to avoid
- Client names, matter names or settlement amounts.
- Wording that suggests you give legal advice when you are not admitted to practise.
- A tool list with no court filing, research or review work in the bullets.
- Typos and inconsistent dates, which legal readers take as evidence of your proofreading.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 6 of 6 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 6 of 6 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 6 of 6 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
How do I list bar admissions on a legal resume?
In a titled list with each state and the year admitted, plus federal courts, and in the summary if a posting requires a specific admission. Note a pending admission with the exam date.
Should a paralegal list every case they worked on?
No. Group work by matter type in the bullets and keep a short list of trials or hearings you supported. Public cases can be named with your firm's agreement; otherwise describe them by type.
How do I move into the legal industry from another field?
Start with roles that value your background: compliance and claims staff move into litigation support, contract administrators into corporate or real estate work. A paralegal certificate and a resume rewritten in legal vocabulary close most of the gap.
How long should an attorney resume be?
One page for junior associates and two for senior lawyers with significant matters, publications or admissions. Lateral candidates often attach a representative matters list as a separate document.
Should I include billable hours?
Only if they are strong, your firm is comfortable with it, and you give the year they cover. For paralegals, matters and volumes describe the work better.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Meridian PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 6 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- NALA, The Paralegal Association: Certified Paralegal (NALA's Certified Paralegal (CP) program and Advanced Certified Paralegal)
- EDRM: EDRM Model (EDRM 2.0 released September 1, 2026; stages: identification, preservation, collection, processing, review, analysis, production, presentation and disposition)
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