Preparing Your CV

CVs can come in many shapes and forms, but in our experience there are elements that most good Australian legal CVs share. Here are tips and guidelines around structure and form.

Content

  • Focus on demonstrating experience gained as a lawyer, rather than stating subjective skill-sets.
  • Your matter list is the fundamental factor in determining whether you get an interview.
  • Do not include photos, marital status or date of birth.

Format

  • Plain background, no borders, photos or embellishments.
  • Simple layout with bold subheadings, paragraphs and dot points.
  • Plain English. Do not use legalese or refer to yourself in the third person.
  • Grammar must be impeccable. Content must be concise.
  • Three to four pages maximum. Do not follow the American one-page standard.
  • Your drafting ability will be judged from your CV.
  • Keep a master copy to customise for each role.

Recommended Structure

  1. Contact Details — Name, phone, email.
  2. Education and Admission — Admission date (month and year for sub-Senior Associate level), institutions, completion dates, honours.
  3. Legal Experience
  • List employers chronologically, most recent first. Do not exclude any post-admission employer regardless of tenure.
  • List employer, title, practice group and months of tenure.
  • Consider URL links to employer websites or rankings (Legal500, Chambers & Partners).
  • After each employer, list example matters aggregated into sub-areas of speciality.
  • Matter list should include: area of law, type of matter, value (if in public domain), level of autonomy, tasks performed and outcome.
  • State client name where possible. Where confidential, describe generically (e.g. ‘listed Australian FMCG company’).
  1. Other Work Experience – Brief pre-law experience only if relevant. Unnecessary once you have three or more years of legal experience.
  2. Academic Achievements / Awards – E.g. Golden Key, moot wins, scholarships.
  3. Memberships – Professional associations such as ACLA, LIV.
  4. Interests – Brief list of sports, social interests and other pursuits. Gives interviewers conversation outside the law.

Do not list referees on the CV — note only that they will be provided at a later date.