Ensure your CV layout is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.

Legal Assistant CV Template (Text Format)

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Enthusiastic and detail-oriented professional with 6+ years of experience assisting lawyers by evaluating facts and preparing legal documents, specialising in intellectual property law. Track record of driving continuous process improvement initiatives and reducing case management time through automation. Adept at conducting research, interviewing plaintiffs, and discovering evidence to support legal proceedings. Robust communicator with the ability to foster and maintain trusted relationships with clients, team, and seniors.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Legal Assistant
ALIANT January 20XX–present, Portsmouth

  • Maintain confidentiality of attorneys’ personal, employee, client, and company information
  • Submit petitions, cross-motions, complaints, answers, discovery demands and responses, subpoenas, and correspondence associated with 3rd party liability
  • Lead successful depositions by identifying and leveraging inconsistencies
  • Supported the settlement of two backlogged cases by conducting in-depth research on witnesses/plaintiffs, helping the firm generate £480K in revenue
  • Meet monthly billing goals by filing and drafting maximum pleadings
  • Draft Master Service Agreements (MSA) in collaboration with independent consultants

Legal Assistant
HAYS February 20XX–December 20XX, Portsmouth

  • Saved associates’ time and increased billable hours to 70% by organising records of 60+ clients using Excel, Adobe, and TrialWorks
  • Appraised by senior management for driving a 15% reduction in missed appointments through the implementation of effective scheduling strategies
  • Established open communication between clients and associates by crafting follow-up emails and newsletters
  • Administered online registration of documents in magistrates’ and crown courts by employing case management software while maintaining professional standards
  • Performed in-depth legal research to attain evidence for client cases alongside updating clients on case status and progress through active communication, supporting a client satisfaction rating boost of 23%

Legal Intern
SPEEDY CORPORATE SOLUTIONS July 20XX–January 20XX, Portsmouth

  • Assisted legal officers with numerous cases by preparing a wide range of court documents and filling in forms required for court proceedings
  • Located and interviewed witnesses to gather evidence in addition to preparing case folders and trial binders to help an individual win an IP case against an international corporate entity
  • Accurately proofread case material to eliminate errors while reviewing departmental documents prior to distribution and submission
  • Delivered administrative support at various levels and answered client inquiries on call

EDUCATION

Specialist Paralegal Qualification in Criminal Law (England & Wales)

Central Law Training Scotland
January 20XX–June 20XX, Scotland

LLB Law with Human Rights (Upper Second-Class Honours)

King’s College London, University of London
November 20XX–December 20XX, London

KEY SKILLS

  • Strong organisational skills
  • Proficient in using Microsoft Office Suite, TrialWorks, LexisNexis, and Adobe Acrobat
  • Legal research & analysis
  • Social & criminal law
  • Standards compliance
  • Logical thinking
  • Problem resolution
  • Case management
  • Document drafting
  • Negotiation

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

  • Socialising with friends and family
  • Watching documentaries
  • Reading non-fiction books
  • Solving puzzles

Skills for your legal assistant CV

Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.

A legal assistant is a professional who provides support to attorneys by performing a variety of tasks, from processing invoices to proofreading documents. While paralegals are directly involved in legal cases, legal assistants specialise in performing administrative duties at a law firm.

In many cases, legal assistants are also involved in client relations. This includes scheduling meetings, answering phone calls, and responding to emails. Often the first point of contact between a firm and its clients, legal assistants play an important role in providing quality customer service.

To land this entry-level job, your legal assistant CV will need to demonstrate both soft skills (personality traits that affect how well you work with others) and hard skills (abilities acquired through training).

Law firms prefer applications with straightforward, simple formatting. So write yours using a CV maker or simple CV template that presents your knowledge and experience in an industry-appropriate manner. And don’t forget to make a cover letter to go with it.

Here are a few abilities to highlight:

 

  • Research
  • Analytical skills
  • Problem solving
  • Legal document drafting
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Organisation
  • Legal knowledge
  • Stress management
  • Communication skills
  • Basic IT skills
  • Multitasking
  • Prioritisation
  • Relationship building
  • Customer service
  • Writing skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Legal software (LexisNexis, Clio, Lawmatics)

 

Your CV is your selling tool! Use it to showcase your experience and knowledge in your field, and convince recruiting managers to interview you for their open legal assistant roles. – Paul McGinn, Talent Acquisition Consultant at Irwin Mitchell


Aaron Case
Written by

Aaron Case

Aaron Case is a CPRW & Senior CV Expert at CV Genius with 8+ years of experience in writing and career resource spaces. Job seekers around the world and in various stages of their vocational journeys have landed fulfilling work thanks to his thoughtful career advice, which has also been showcased in publications like Forbes, MSN, CareerAddict, Ladders, Best Colleges, Ivy Exec, Capitalism.com, and vidIQ. Aaron has a BS in English & Communications from Liberty University bolstered by a professional credential from UC Berkeley. He’s collected practical experience while following various career paths, and he enjoys sharing the resulting insights with everyone. You can contact him through his LinkedIn profile or on Twitter. Please note, we don’t accept guest posts, and all such requests will be ignored.