Legal Secretary Resume: Samples & Job Description

The law firm stops without you. But even a superhero like you needs a helping hand sometimes, and writing your resume is one of these occasions. After all, your legal expertise won’t help much here. 

But that’s okay. This guide will give you the counseling you need in five minutes or less.

This guide will show you: 

• A legal secretary resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a legal secretary resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a legal secretary resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a legal secretary to get any job you want.

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Want to see more? We’ve got these guides for you:

• Legal/Law Resume Examples
• Legal Assistant Resume Examples
• Paralegal Resume Examples
• Claims Adjuster Resume Examples
• Internal Auditor Resume Examples
• Attorney Resume Examples
• Law Student Resume Examples
• Law School Resume Examples
• Secretary Resume Examples
• Resume Examples for All Jobs

Sample Legal Secretary Resume

 Now, let’s start working on the case to hire you.

1. Format Your Legal Secretary Resume Correctly

Legal secretariessupport legal offices in their daily operations. They follow attorneys' instructions, research, handle correspondence, ensure confidentiality, and perform other office tasks. Research and people skills are crucial for any legal secretary resume.

But your resume can’t look like a disorganized pile of documents. Otherwise, it’ll send your application to a place worse than court: the rejected pile. So, here´s how to create a resume layout that will prevent that from happening:

• Use apresentable resume format. 
• The reverse-chronological one is your best bet. It places your biggest strengths front and center.
• Write your contact information in the heading of your resume. It should include your full name, e-mail address, phone number, and, optionally, the job title.
• Know that a good resume font matters. So, choose something simple and readable, like Arial or Times New Roman.
• Keep your resume sections organized and distinct. Don’t know how? Our resume templates can take care of that for you.
• Save your resume in PDF to preserve its formatting. It’s also a good idea to keep a copy of the resume in Word to update it later.

Read more: More Excellent & Proven Resume Tips

2. Choose Between Writing a Legal Secretary Resume Objective or a Summary

Your resume must convince all 12 Angry Men immediately and not after an hour and a half of debate that you're the right candidate.

What you need is a resume profile that will resolve any doubt instantaneously.

There are two options to choose from, depending on your experience.

If you handle case documentation like a machine, use a resume summary:

• Think about your most substantial feats that make you an indispensable legal secretary.
• List a few in an opening paragraph at the top of your resume. Don’t choose randomly. Tailor them to the job description.

For fresh graduates, career-switchers, or the less experienced, a resume objective will perform better:

• Mention your aspirations and plans, and add current knowledge of the profession and any skills you’ve already developed that will be useful.
• Use them in combination to sell them on the idea that experience is one thing, but your dedication and eventual performance will blow their minds.

Regardless of your experience, use numbers next to your achievements to make your results pop.

Pro Tip: The resume introduction is often considered the most difficult part of writing a resume, and for good reason. If this happens to you, just come back here with a fresh brain after completing the rest of the sections.

3. Compile a Legal Secretary Experience Section

An attorney is too busy to browse 300+ resumes to decide who will perform loads of vital work for them.

So, they likely won’t bother reading your entire resume. You’ll be lucky if they give it more than 7 seconds.

That’s why your work experience section needs to be full of spicy details to the brim.

Start by preparing a list of your past jobs. Keep only those that are relevant to this one. That’s called tailoring the resume, and it’s the #1 thing to do to boost your chances.

Following the reverse chronological order, place the most recent job at the top. State the company name, job title held, and years of tenure.

Then, list up to 5 or 6 relevant achievements and duties using resume bullet points.

Use action verbs to keep your readers engaged. If the jury is asleep, they won’t support your plea.

Read more: Resume Bullet Points: How to Write Them & How Many to Use

4. Show Off Your Education

Law is an ever-evolving discipline.

So, creating a good education section on your legal secretary resume is crucial.

If you have more experience than Gretchen Bodinski, simply stating your degree, school, and graduation date is enough.

Otherwise, add more details from your education. A high GPA shows that you care, as do student club memberships and extracurricular activities. Think of things you excelled at during school and let it shine through!

Pro Tip: Don’t feel boxed in by the education section. Reports show that the role of the legal secretary is changing, and being flexible and adaptable is more valuable than ever. It would be all the better to show it on your resume!

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

5. Show off the Right Skills on Your Legal Secretary Resume

What skills are essential for a legal secretary?

There are plenty, and we drafted a sample list for your convenience.

Best Legal Secretary Skills – Sample List

• Confidentiality
• Handling Sensitive Information
• Initiative
• Drafting Legal Documents
• Knowledge of Relevant Laws and Regulations
• Research Skills
• Customer Service
• Organizational Skills
• Communication Skills
• Computer Skills
• Trial Preparation
• E-Filing/Electronic Court Systems
• Record-Keeping
• Time Management
• Legal Billing
• Citations & Reference Formats
• Contract Law
• Legal Ethics
• Analytical Thinking

Add all that, however, and you’ll face perjury charges.

Your approach needs to be a little wiser and more proactive if you want to succeed:

• Brainstorm alist of all your professional skills to make it easier to reference it for the next steps.
• You can optionally divide them into categories likehard skills, soft skills, and technical skills.
• In the legal secretary job description they posted, look through the skills or requirements they listed.
• Thesespecific resume keywords willmake your resume ATS-compliant, meaning you’re more likely to get farther along in the recruitment process.

With a skills section prepared like this, they won’t need to call Saul—you’re ready to meet all their needs!

Read more: How to Write a Targeted Resume

6. Add Other Sections to a Legal Secretary Resume

The responsibilities of a legal secretary will often involve surprising day-to-day twists.

A degree of flexibility, uniqueness, and zing are nice to have.

So, if you’ve got a quirky hobby or past experiences volunteering that don’t quite fit any legal profession, think twice before throwing those ideas in the paper shredder.

Check out these great additions for legal secretaries to put on a resume:

• Volunteer work
• Freelance gigs
• Certifications and licenses
• Foreign languages
• Hobbies and interests

Pro Tip: Another worthy addition is showing a completed course in (or otherwise a dedication to) legal ethics, which is an absolute must in any law professional.

7. Attach a Legal Secretary Cover Letter to Your Resume

Your resume and cover letter are the perfect pair, like a legal secretary and their trusty stapler. So make sure to take advantage of the latter!

Not sure how to write a cover letter? We’ll show you the ropes right now:

Start following a solid cover letter format, then address the hiring manager directly.

In the opening, highlight what drew you to the company and include some impressive achievements to keep their attention.

In the body, continue bragging about your accomplishments to demonstrate more value.

Finally, end with a call to action and an incentive for them to contact you.

Aim for a cover letter length of about three to four paragraphs or one page.

Read more: Modern Cover Letter Templates to Use

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

That’s it!

A perfect legal secretary resume! You’ll be rolling in job offers before you know it.

Do you have any burning questions you want me to answer? Maybe you’re still unsure about listing your skills. Let me know in the comments section!

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Sources

• https://www.law.com/thelegalintelligencer/2021/09/07/how-legal-secretarial-roles-are-evolving-in-big-law-402-89742/?slreturn=20240120052536
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/legal_ethics