How to Write a Resume for a Law Internship

Ready to put your Law school knowledge to the test as an intern? Then you will need a compelling curriculum vitae that showcases your skills, experiences, and qualifications. Your CV is the chance to make a strong first impression with potential employers, and it is important to get it right.

In this article, we will show you how to write a resume for a law internship. These recommendations from the best legal resume writers will help you even if you are still in college or interested in a highly specialized field, like patent law.

How to Create a CV for a Law Internship

Applying for a law internship requires highlighting relevant abilities, experience, and education in a clear and concise manner. Here are some tips on how to make a resume for a law internship:

Include a Strong Objective or Summary Statement:

Begin with a strong objective or summary statement that highlights your interest in the field, your relevant abilities, and your background. Here’s an example:

Second-year JD student with interest in civil litigation seeking an internship position. Eager to contribute with writing and analytical skills, as well as a strong academic research background, to collaborate closely with attorneys and gain valuable insight into the legal profession.

Use a Professional Format:

Your curriculum vitae should be well-organized and easy to read. Go for a clean and professional layout with clear headings, bullet points, and simple fonts.

Highlight Your Education:

Include your degrees, any relevant coursework, and your GPA if it is 3.0 or higher. Highlight experiences that align with the position you’re applying for. When your CV is going to a firm that works with mass tort litigation, emphasize an academic background in this area.

Showcase Your Talents:

Use bullet points to highlight your relevant abilities, such as legal research and writing, case analysis, and client communication. Include other skills that may be relevant, such as computer proficiency, time management, and attention to detail.

Detail Your Background:

If you have previous legal experience, working as a paralegal or participating in a legal clinic, detail your responsibilities and accomplishments in those roles. When that is not the case, show that your background offers valuable transferable skills.

Having federal work study on resume will impress recruiters looking for resourceful candidates, for example. For more on this topic, check out our article that explores why federal work study is good on resume.

Emphasize Your Accomplishments:

When describing your trajectory, focus on your accomplishments rather than just listing your responsibilities. Use specific examples and metrics (e.g., ‘drafted 23 contracts in 4 months’) to highlight your contributions.

Use Action Verbs:

Start each bullet point with an action verb to give your credentials and talents more impact. Some examples of action verbs to use include “analyzed,” “drafted,” “presented,” “researched,” and “negotiated.”

Tailor Your CV:

Finally, make sure to tailor your CV to the specific spot you are applying for. Research the organization and use that information to show you are a good fit. You can do that by, e.g. mentioning you have the same values they do in your summary statement.

Proofread Your Work:

Remember to proofread your curriculum vitae thoroughly to ensure that it is free of errors. Attention to detail is a prerequisite in this profession.

Get Expert Help

When in doubt or short on time, go to the experts. We have reviews of the best resume-writing services to help you.

These are broader guidelines on what you need on your resume to get a law internship work for any legal field. Should you want to go deeper, see the rest of our general content about what to put on your law school resume. But working in more specialized areas requires a few special considerations. Read our recommendations below for complex, highly specialized fields like patents.

A Closer Look: What to Put On Resume for a Patent Law Internship

Working with patents requires both scientific and legal knowledge. It’s important to highlight relevant education, skills, and work experiences that show you are capable of working in this area. Here are some key items to include if you were wondering how to make cv for law internship:

1. Education: List your degree(s) and any relevant coursework, including science or engineering-related courses.
2. Scientific knowledge: If you have any technical skills that relate to this field (e.g., computer programming, drafting, or 3D printing), highlight them.
3. Legal skills: When you have any coursework in the field, include that information. Additionally, demonstrate any research, writing, or analytical skills that you possess.
4. Work background: Present a list of any relevant work experience – as an intern, researcher, or in jobs in the science and engineering field.
5. Publications: Highlight any research papers or exposure to technical writing.
6. Certifications: Include any certifications that may prove useful in this field, such as a registered patent agent.
7. Personal qualities: Emphasize any personal qualities that would make you a good intern in this niche, such as attention to detail, ability to work in a team, and strong communication skills.

Don’t forget to tailor your resume to the specific requirements of the company you are applying for. This will help ensure that your qualifications and background align with the position you are seeking.

What to Put on Law Internship Resume for Undergrads

Having some previous professional exposure to Law can help students get into the JD program of their dreams. It’s also a practical way to learn whether this profession is a good fit.

But for those still in college, putting together an intern CV may require a bit more creativity. See our tips on what to put on law internship resume for undergrads:

Highlight Transferable Skills

You probably don’t have a lot of concrete academic or professional experience at this point. A good strategy here would be to emphasize that your abilities match that of a future attorney. Throughout your CV, show your aptitude for:

• critical thinking;
• power of synthesis;
• writing;
• communication;
• leadership;
• analytical thinking;
• problem solving.

List Relevant Academic and Professional Experiences

Show previous choices that align with the profession. Previous academic or professional experience in accounting makes sense to a tax attorney selecting interns, for instance.

Key Takeaways

• Writing a legal intern CV requires highlighting relevant skills, experience, and educational background in a clear and objective manner.
• To become an intern in a specialized field like patents, show all the types of expertise you have related to this field, be it legal or scientific.
• To get a legal internship as an undergrad, show your potential as an attorney through your background and transferable abilities.

And if you’re not in college yet, you may be asking yourself, ‘what should a resume for college admission look like?’. Check out the content on our website. We have the best tips on building a successful college admission resume. You will also find reviews of college admissions consultants.