Home Corporate Lawyer Resume template
Corporate Lawyer resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what corporate lawyers actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most corporate lawyers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Corporate lawyer experienced in drafting commercial contracts, advising on regulatory compliance and supporting mergers and acquisitions through legal due diligence. Comfortable working directly with senior management and boards to flag legal risk before it becomes a commercial problem. Strong grounding in corporate governance, dispute resolution and legal research.
Key skills
- Drafting and contracts
- Legal research
- Regulatory compliance
- Corporate governance advice
- Litigation and dispute support
- Risk and internal controls
- LexisNexis
- Westlaw
- Contract management software
- Legal practice management systems
Experience: example bullet points
- Drafted and negotiated commercial contracts and supply agreements, using contract management software to standardise templates and cut turnaround time on routine agreements
- Led legal due diligence workstreams for acquisitions, identifying material risks and reporting findings directly to the board ahead of completion
- Advised business units on regulatory compliance obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 and ASIC guidance, resolving disclosure issues before they escalated
- Managed litigation support for commercial disputes, briefing senior management on risk exposure and coordinating instructions to external counsel
- Conducted legal research and risk analysis on complex transactions using LexisNexis and Westlaw to support commercial decision-making
Education
Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor, admission to practice as a solicitor in an Australian state or territory following Practical Legal Training (PLT), commonly followed by postgraduate study such as a Master of Laws or a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Corporations Act 2001
- ASIC compliance
- Admitted solicitor
- Practical Legal Training (PLT)
- Due diligence
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Corporate governance
- ASX Listing Rules
- Contract negotiation
- Regulatory compliance
- Legal risk management
- Dispute resolution
- Law Society admission
- LexisNexis
- Westlaw
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.