Best Legal Secretary Resume Examples for 2024 (Template & Guide)

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Legal Secretary Resume: Choose a Format

Choosing the right resume format is the key to effectively highlighting your skills and experience when creating a resume for a legal secretary. There are three formats to consider for your resume: chronological, functional or combination. Each format emphasizes different aspects of your work experience, skills and qualifications.

Chronological Resumes for Legal Secretaries

A chronological resume format is ideal if you’ve worked as a legal secretary for a while and have a solid work history. This format lists your experience chronologically, starting with your most recent job. It allows you to show career progression and highlight your skills and responsibilities over time.

The benefit of a chronological format is that it’s easy for hiring managers to follow and showcases your career growth. It is also compatible with applicant tracking systems (ATS), which can improve your chances. However, it may not be the best option if you have gaps in your employment history.

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Functional Resumes for Legal Secretaries

A functional resume works well if you’re new to the legal field or are switching careers. This format focuses on your skills rather than your work experience, so it’s ideal for highlighting the qualifications that make you a strong candidate for the role.

One drawback of a functional format is that hiring managers might question the need for more job details, and some may prefer to see a clear career history. Also, this format is incompatible with most ATS, which could hurt your chances of getting your resume past the initial screening process. That doesn’t mean a functional resume can’t work for you, but it is crucial to understand its limitations.

Combination Resumes for Legal Secretaries

A combination resume blends the features of chronological and functional resumes. It first highlights your skills and achievements and then provides a detailed work history. This format works well for legal secretaries with impressive skills who want to show their relevant work experience.

The combination resume provides flexibility to present your qualifications in the best light. However, organizing your resume can be tricky, making it longer than ideal. Staying focused on the most relevant information is essential when using this format.

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Choosing a Resume Format

Choosing the right resume format can significantly affect how employers perceive your resume. A chronological resume is a safe and effective choice for a legal secretary’s resume. It allows you to showcase your experience and is familiar to hiring managers, making it easy for them to see your career progression. A chronological resume is the most ATS-friendly format and can be customized to highlight your strengths.

Chronological resumes can work well, even with limited experience. Suppose you are just starting your career as a legal secretary. In that case, you can focus on transferable skills like organization, legal research, or document management, even if your previous jobs weren’t in the legal field. You can also include your education, relevant certifications or volunteer work that may have prepared you for a legal secretary position.

Whichever format you choose, remember to tailor your resume for each job application. Using keywords from the job description will show your alignment with the employer’s needs.

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How to Write a Legal Secretary Resume

Once you choose a format, writing a resume for a legal secretary is pretty straightforward. First, you will create a resume outline that includes these five essential elements:

• Contact Information
• Summary or Objective
• Work History
• Skills
• Education

This step-by-step resume-writing guide will show you how to make the most of each section of your resume. We’ll also review some optional sections you can include to enhance your resume. Let’s dive in!

Contact Information

Your contact information should be clear and easy to find at the top of your resume. Include your full name, city and state, phone number, email address and LinkedIn profile.

Your contact information should look something like this:

Sarah Johnson
Denver, CO
(555) 555-5555
sarah.johnson@email.com
LinkedIn.com/in/sarahjohnson

Use a standard, easy-to-read font and double-check for errors. You want potential employers to be able to contact you!

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Summary or Objective

Your legal secretary resume should begin with a brief introduction, written as a summary or an objective statement. Below your contact information, you will write two to three sentences showcasing your skills and experience.

A resume summary is best if you have years of experience in the legal field. It’s a brief statement highlighting your top qualifications and accomplishments to show potential employers why you’re an excellent fit for the role.

For example, a resume summary for a legal secretary might say:

Dedicated legal secretary with 5+ years of experience providing high-level administrative support to attorneys and legal teams. Skilled in legal research, document management, and client correspondence. Adept at managing multiple tasks in fast-paced environments with exceptional organizational skills.

However, if you’re new to the legal field, consider using an objective statement instead. An objective focuses on your career goals and highlights what you hope to contribute to the employer.

Here’s an example of an objective statement for a legal secretary resume:

Motivated professional seeking a legal secretary role to apply administrative and organizational skills in a legal environment. Eager to contribute to a team by managing schedules, preparing documents, and assisting attorneys in daily operations.

Whichever you choose, be sure to customize your statement for each job application. Using keywords from the job description can help your resume stand out to ATS.

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Work History

Your work history section should be a detailed account of your past roles and responsibilities, showcasing your skills and accomplishments as a legal secretary. List your previous jobs chronologically, starting with your most recent role and working backward.

For each position, include the job title, company name, location, and dates of employment. Then, list three to five bullet points under each job outlining your key responsibilities and achievements. Start each bullet with a strong action verb and quantify your accomplishments to make your work history section stand out.

Action verbs create a dynamic tone in your resume, emphasizing what you accomplished rather than simply listing responsibilities. Verbs like “managed,” “coordinated” and “drafted” showcase your proactive approach to tasks. For example, instead of saying, “Responsible for managing legal files,” try “Managed legal files for three senior attorneys, ensuring timely and accurate access to case documents.”

Quantifying achievements will show your impact in your previous roles. Including numbers, percentages, or other measurable data adds credibility to your claims and helps potential employers visualize the value you could bring to their team. For example, instead of writing “Assisted attorneys with document preparation,” you could say, “Assisted attorneys by preparing over 100 legal documents per month, contributing to a 15% increase in case resolution efficiency.”

For example, a job entry on a legal secretary’s resume will look something like this:

Legal Secretary
Smith & Adams Law Firm – Denver, CO
June 2019 – Present

• Managed legal documents, filings, and correspondence for three senior attorneys, ensuring timely and accurate submissions
• Coordinated schedules and travel arrangements, maintaining 100% accuracy in calendar management
• Assisted in preparing legal documents for court filings, resulting in a 20% increase in case resolution efficiency

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Skills

The skills section of your legal secretary’s resume is an opportunity to showcase your ability to handle the job responsibilities efficiently. Include hard skills demonstrating your technical knowledge of the job and soft skills that enhance your ability to work well in a team.

To help you get started, here are some of the top skills for a legal secretary resume:

Top 5 Hard Skills for Legal Secretary Resumes

1. Legal Document Preparation: Drafting, proofreading, and formatting legal documents such as contracts, briefs, and pleadings is crucial for this role.
2. Legal Research: Understanding how to research case law, statutes, and legal precedents is vital for supporting attorneys.
3. E-filing: Proficiency in electronic filing systems for court documents saves time and ensures timely submissions.
4. Calendar Management: Managing multiple calendars and scheduling appointments, hearings, and meetings is essential to legal secretary duties.
5. Confidentiality: Handling sensitive client information with the utmost discretion and understanding legal ethics is necessary in any legal secretary role.

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Top 5 Soft Skills for Legal Secretary Resumes

1. Attention to Detail: Precision is crucial in legal work, from preparing documents to managing schedules.
2. Time Management: The key to success as a legal secretary is prioritizing and managing various tasks in a fast-paced environment.
3. Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills help legal secretaries work efficiently with attorneys, clients and court personnel.
4. Organization: A strong ability to organize files, documents, and schedules ensures the legal office runs smoothly.
5. Problem-Solving: Troubleshooting and addressing issues independently is a valuable skill that demonstrates initiative.

A skills section for a legal secretary resume might look something like this:

Skills

• Legal document preparation
• E-filing and case management
• Attention to detail
• Organization
• Time management

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Education

Your educational background is important in demonstrating your qualifications for a legal secretary position. List your highest level of education, including the degree and the name and location of the school you attended. Including a graduation date is unnecessary, and career experts warn it might introduce age bias into the hiring process.

Here’s how to format the education section of a resume for a legal secretary:

Education

Associate of Applied Science in Legal Studies
University of Denver – Denver, CO

You can also include any relevant coursework or certifications in this section. However, creating a separately labeled section may be more effective.

Additional Sections

Adding additional sections to your resume can help differentiate you from other candidates and give employers a fuller picture of your skills and interests. Some optional sections to consider for a legal secretary resume include:

• Certifications: Relevant legal assistant certifications can boost your qualifications and validate your expertise.
• Professional Memberships: Memberships in legal secretary or paralegal associations show your commitment to the profession.
• Volunteer Work: If you have relevant volunteer experience, it shows dedication to the field and a commitment to serving your community.
• Languages: Fluency in other languages can be a valuable asset in a legal setting.

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Top Certifications for Legal Secretaries

Having relevant certifications can significantly boost your legal secretary resume, showing employers that you have specific knowledge and skills for the job.

1. Certified Legal Secretary (CLS): This certification demonstrates comprehensive legal office knowledge and skills.
2. NALA’s Certified Paralegal (CP): Though aimed at paralegals, this certification can be helpful for legal secretaries who work closely with legal documents and procedures.
3. ALP (Accredited Legal Professional): This entry-level certification proves a candidate’s legal secretary skills and knowledge.
4. Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS): Word, Excel, and PowerPoint proficiency is essential for preparing legal documents.
5. Legal Administration Specialist: This program provides practical training for managing legal documents and office tasks.

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10 Tips for Writing a Legal Secretary Resume

1. Tailor your resume: Every legal secretary job is different, so it’s important to customize your resume for each application. Carefully read the job description and highlight the specific skills and qualifications they’re looking for. If the listing emphasizes experience with legal document management or scheduling, make sure these skills stand out in your resume. Tailoring your resume shows employers that you understand their unique needs and have the experience to match.
2. Use legal terminology: Working in a legal environment means being familiar with specific terms and procedures. When writing your resume, don’t avoid incorporating legal terminology relevant to your experience. For example, mention legal documents you’ve handled, like pleadings, affidavits or motions, to demonstrate your familiarity with the legal process. Using these terms shows potential employers you have the background necessary to thrive in a legal office.\
3. Focus on relevant experience: When listing your work history, prioritize roles where you’ve handled duties directly related to a legal secretary’s responsibilities. If you’ve been in a legal secretary position before, highlight tasks like drafting legal documents, managing case files, or assisting with trial preparation. Even if you haven’t worked in a legal office, try to draw connections between your previous roles and legal secretary duties — such as office management, scheduling, or working with confidential information.
4. Quantify achievements: Numbers can make your resume more persuasive by showing the impact of your work. In a legal secretary role, you likely performed tasks that improved office efficiency or supported attorneys in measurable ways. For instance, you could mention how you “organized case files, reducing document retrieval time by 25%” or “managed schedules for four attorneys, ensuring zero missed appointments.” By quantifying your achievements, you demonstrate your value to the team.
5. Prioritize organization: As a legal secretary, the organization is a must, so emphasize this skill throughout your resume. Instead of just saying you’re organized, provide examples of how you’ve kept legal files in order, scheduled court dates, or tracked deadlines for multiple attorneys. This will paint a clearer picture of your abilities and reassure employers that you can keep their legal team running smoothly.
6. Proofread carefully: Accuracy is crucial for legal secretaries — one small typo in a document can have serious consequences. That same level of precision should be applied to your resume. Before submitting it, double-check for any spelling or grammar mistakes and formatting issues. A flawless resume shows you’re detail-oriented, a critical trait for anyone in a legal environment.
7. Highlight technology skills: Legal offices rely on various technologies to manage documents, track cases, and communicate with clients. List your proficiency with legal software, e-filing systems, and standard office tools like Microsoft Office. If you’ve worked with specific legal software, like Clio or LexisNexis, mention that. Demonstrating your comfort with technology will reassure potential employers that you can hit the ground running.
8. Showcase communication skills: Legal secretaries often serve as the point of contact between attorneys, clients, and the courts, so strong communication skills are essential. On your resume, highlight your ability to communicate clearly and professionally — both in writing and in person. Conveying information accurately is key to the job, whether drafting legal correspondence or coordinating with court personnel.
9. Include certifications: If you have certifications relevant to the legal field, such as a Certified Legal Secretary (CLS) or an Accredited Legal Professional (ALP) designation, be sure to include them on your resume. These certifications demonstrate that you’ve gone the extra mile to gain specialized knowledge, making you a more attractive candidate to employers who value legal expertise.
10. Use action verbs: A powerful way to make your work history pop is using strong action verbs in bullet points. Verbs like “drafted,” “coordinated,” “maintained,” and “organized” give your resume energy and show that you took an active role in completing tasks. For example, instead of writing “Handled legal documents,” you could say, “Drafted and organized legal documents for court submissions, ensuring 100% compliance with court deadlines.” This not only makes your resume more engaging but also emphasizes your accomplishments.