Write a Summer Associate Resume for Firm Recruiting
Summer associate resume example with journal, clinic and research keywords, plus a guide to the one-page format law firm recruiting committees expect.
Example Summer Associate summary
Rising third-year law student and returning summer associate in a commercial litigation group, with eleven completed assignments including a research memo adopted into a motion to compel and drafted sections of an appellate brief. Journal senior editor and trial advocacy competitor with two years as a financial analyst before law school. Targeting a litigation associate offer.
Skills to list on a Summer Associate resume
- Legal research
- Legal memoranda
- Brief section drafting
- Westlaw and Lexis
- Bluebook citation
- Contract review
- Document review
- Due diligence support
- Oral advocacy
- Client presentation support
- Case law analysis
- Financial statement analysis
What actually gets this resume read
- One page, education first, and the journal or moot court line high enough that a recruiting committee sees it immediately.
- Describe your summer assignments by practice group and output, because firms want to know what you actually produced.
- Keep prior career experience if it gives you an industry the firm serves, and translate it into terms a partner recognizes.
- Mention the callback practice areas you are targeting in a short interests or objective line only if the firm asks for one.
- Use consistent date formatting and full firm names, since recruiting coordinators screen dozens of these in a sitting.
- Have a writing sample from a real assignment ready and make sure any confidential material in it has been cleared.