BigLaw Resume Forum

[FutureisFintech]

Hi everyone, wanted to crowdsource an opinion on this because it doesn't seem like there's a consensus answer.

I have worked in the corporate practice at a V20 for <3 years; this job is my first and only job post law school graduation. Not sure how much longer I want to work in BigLaw so I'm currently in the process of polishing up my resume. I've already created a separate deal sheet for the matters I've worked on with the the firm, but should my resume still include internships/externships from law school?

1) How far back should I include/exclude things?

2) Should I include the non-legal full time work experience I had prior to law school (<1 year)?

3) Does it matter if the experiences are prestigious (think District/COA Judicial Internships/DOJ, FTC or SEC Honors Program/In House @ Fortune 100) or not (Research or Teaching Assistant/Student Leadership/Clinic)?

Thanks in advance!

[CanadianWolf]

Without knowing more specific information about your internships and externships in addition to which type of position you are seeking, it is difficult to give personalized advice. One approach would be to tailor your resume to a particular job or to a particular type of position to which you apply. If open to any type of legal work, then it might be better to include all of your law school internships/externships.

This is one reason that individuals use the services of a professional recruiter.

[gregfootball2001]

Agree with the previous poster, and add that it's somewhat common sense. If you have something particularly prestigious, leave it in, even if it's a while ago. If the one year of non-legal experience was at dairy queen, probably leave it out. If it was doing something impressive, leave it in. What puts you in the best light? Were your internships at the local PD's office (perhaps not impressive for biglaw corporate, but could be helpful for lit and you helped on cases)? Or at a potential client (which could be helpful down the line)?

[TheBlueDevil]

1) Strict time limit doesn't make sense, as there are almost always conceivable exceptions. Generally, include all relevant background, exclude all irrelevant background.

2) Include if relevant to the job or highly prestigious/distinctive; exclude otherwise. For example, if applying for patent law role, include engineering experience; if applying for M&A role, include IB experience.

3) Likely worth including a very brief note on law school summer jobs as you're still junior, especially if prestigious and/or relevant to the job. Probably not worth including part-time work during the school year, unless prestigious and relevant to the job; if you wish, you could note such roles within your education section as activities performed during law school.