Legal CV for Law Students and Clerks

What a good one includes

• A prominent education section at the top featuring your law school name, expected graduation date, GPA, class rank, and any Latin honors.
• Specific callouts for prestigious academic activities like Law Review, journal editorial boards, or Moot Court participation.
• A dedicated section or bullet points emphasizing your legal research, writing, and citation experience, including any published articles or major seminar papers.
• Clear descriptions of your clinical work, internships, or summer associate roles that highlight your exposure to real clients and court filings.
• A highly structured, clean layout using traditional fonts like Times New Roman or Garamond with absolute consistency in margins and bullet points.
• Your bar admission status or pending examination dates, alongside memberships in relevant student or local bar associations.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using modern graphic design elements, creative colors, or headshots, which conservative legal employers view as unprofessional.
• Listing passive duties instead of highlighting active contributions, such as drafting specific motions or conducting high-stakes legal research.
• Omitting your GPA or class rank when applying to firms or clerkships with strict academic cutoffs, which often signals to employers that your grades are lower than they actually are.
• Allowing even a single typo or Bluebook citation error to slip through, which immediately suggests a lack of the meticulous attention to detail required in legal practice.

Frequently asked questions