Litigation Attorney resume examples for 2024

A litigation attorney resume should focus on showcasing legal experience and skills. As Hanna Royce, Assistant Dean of Career Services at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, suggests, "The key to success is to add new and relevant legal experience to their resume." This can include experience in commercial defense, professional liability, construction, and personal injury prosecution and defense, as well as legal research and coverage analysis. Highlighting skills in civil litigation, insurance defense, family law, and intellectual property can also be beneficial.

Litigation Attorney resume example

How to format your litigation attorney resume:

• Tailor your resume's job title to the litigation attorney role you're applying for
• In your work experience section, highlight litigation achievements, such as winning cases or settling disputes
• Limit your resume to one page, focusing on recent and relevant litigation experience as a litigation attorney

Choose from 10+ customizable litigation attorney resume templates

Choose from a variety of easy-to-use litigation attorney resume templates and get expert advice from Zippia’s AI resume writer along the way. Using pre-approved templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your litigation attorney resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Litigation Attorney resume format and sections

1. Add contact information to your litigation attorney resume

Your name should be the biggest text on the page and be at or near the top of the document. Your address doesn't need to include your street name or house number - listing your city and state works just fine. Your email address should be professional, but not your current work email address. It's not a good look to use your work email for personal projects (job-searching). Your social media can be included if you have a fully-fledged LinkedIn page or another social media page that showcases your relevant skill set.

2. Add relevant education to your litigation attorney resume

• The name of your school
• The date you graduated (Month, Year or Year are both appropriate)
• The name of your degree

If you graduated more than 15 years ago, you should consider dropping your graduation date to avoid age discrimination.

Optional subsections for your education section include:

• Academic awards (Dean's List, Latin honors, etc. )
• GPA (if you're a recent graduate and your GPA was 3.5+)
• Extra certifications
• Academic projects (thesis, dissertation, etc. )

Other tips to consider when writing your education section include:

• If you're a recent graduate, you might opt to place your education section above your experience section
• The more work experience you get, the shorter your education section should be
• List your education in reverse chronological order, with your most recent and high-ranking degrees first
• If you haven't graduated yet, you can include "Expected graduation date" to the entry for that school

Litigation Attorney Resume Relevant Education Example # 1

Doctoral Degree In Law 2009 - 2012

New York Law School New York, NY

Litigation Attorney Resume Relevant Education Example # 2

Doctoral Degree In Law 2004 - 2007

Hofstra University Hempstead, NY

3. Next, create a litigation attorney skills section on your resume

• Include 6-12 skills, in bullet point form
• List mostly hard skills; soft skills are hard to test
• Emphasize the skills that are most important for the job

Hard skills are generally more important to hiring managers because they relate to on-the-job knowledge and specific experience with a certain technology or process.

Soft skills are also valuable, as they're highly transferable and make you a great person to work alongside, but they're impossible to prove on a resume.

Example of skills to include on an litigation attorney resume

Civil litigation is a legal process that is followed when a non-criminal legal dispute occurs between two parties. Such a legal process does not involve any criminal charges or penalties. The plaintiffs in such cases only seek compensation for the damages done by the defendants.

Intellectual properties refer to individuals' intangible or non-physical wealth, which results from their imaginations and intellect.

Top Skills for a Litigation Attorney

4. List your litigation attorney experience

The most important part of any resume for a litigation attorney is the experience section. Recruiters and hiring managers expect to see your experience listed in reverse chronological order, meaning that you should begin with your most recent experience and then work backwards. Don't just list your job duties below each job entry. Instead, make sure most of your bullet points discuss impressive achievements from your past positions. Whenever you can, use numbers to contextualize your accomplishments for the hiring manager reading your resume. It's okay if you can't include exact percentages or dollar figures. There's a big difference even between saying "Managed a team of litigation attorneys" and "Managed a team of 6 litigation attorneys over a 9-month project. " Most importantly, make sure that the experience you include is relevant to the job you're applying for. Use the job description to ensure that each bullet point on your resume is appropriate and helpful.

• Managed the firm's Chapter 13 bankruptcy case load.
• Supervised and trained junior associates, paralegals and interns in e-discovery.
• Drafted Chapter 7 & 13 bankruptcy documents.
• Defended clients against assault, felony assault, menacing, battery, abuse or homicide and murder charges.
• Prepared legal papers and correspondence, including briefs, pleadings, contracts, affidavits and subpoenas.

• Researched and wrote memos on various topics, chiefly Bankruptcy.
• Responded to FCC inquiries, government investigations, subpoenas/CIDs and other regulatory inquiries.
• Led financial analysis to support equity recapitalization, dividend repatriation, and debt funding initiatives.
• Gained extensive knowledge using Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• Performed extensive legal research on insurance law using LexisNexis.

• Counseled clients regarding litigation prevention strategies and prepared personnel manuals, policies and procedures and drafted employment contracts.
• Discovered evidence of fraud in bankruptcy in support of creditor client.
• Drafted and reviewed numerous litigation-related documents including Complaints, Answers, pleadings, motions, orders, and subpoenas.
• Counseled and trained human resources departments to effectively manage risks and avoid costly litigation.
• Prepared witnesses and plaintiffs for depositions by opposing counsel and for medical and psychological examinations in preparation for trial.

• Maintained a DoD Top Secret / SCI clearance (SSBI-PR 08/2011, PPR 12/2015).
• Completed multiple firearms proficiency/safety training.
• Instructed with the Training Manager for the Department of Prisons, First Line Supervision and Organizational Mid-Management programs.
• Processed crime/death scenes including photographing and collecting evidence.
• Briefed personnel on possible threats to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

6. Finally, add an litigation attorney resume summary or objective statement

A resume summary statement consists of 1-3 sentences at the top of your litigation attorney resume that quickly summarizes who you are and what you have to offer. The summary statement should include your job title, years of experience (if it's 3+), and an impressive accomplishment, if you have space for it. Remember to emphasize skills and experiences that feature in the job description.

Common litigation attorney resume skills

• Litigation
• Law Firm
• Legal Research
• Civil Litigation
• Commercial Litigation
• Insurance Defense
• Family Law
• Legal Issues
• Mediation
• Insurance Coverage
• Criminal Law
• Intellectual Property
• Court Appearances
• Discovery Motions
• Arbitration
• Legal Advice

• Appeals
• Employment Law
• Federal Courts
• Pre-Trial Motions
• Defense Counsel
• Subpoenas
• Litigation Process
• Complex Litigation
• Motion Practice
• Business Litigation
• Employment Litigation
• Securities
• Plaintiff
• Premises Liability
• Foreclosure
• Property Damage

• Interrogatories
• Real Estate Litigation
• Litigation Strategy
• State Courts
• Probate
• Settlement Agreements
• Oral Arguments
• Medical Malpractice
• Class Action
• Contract Disputes
• Construction Defect
• District Court
• Discovery Responses
• Dispositive Motions
• Products Liability
• Settlement Conferences