How to Write a CV That Can Help You Land a BigLaw Offer
A lot of candidates spend time focusing on the wrong stuff when it comes to preparing for their CVs.
They use CV templates with different colours and a modern design. They are wondering whether they should add a nice photograph, or whether there is one perfect layout that every law firm prefers.
The truth is there is no magic template that will get you a BigLaw offer.
Having gone through the training contract application process myself and now coached so many candidates, I think the best CV is usually the most basic one design-wise. It should be professional, easy to read, very clear and well structured. Do not use a fancy design or CV style just because you have seen someone else do it or you find a fancy template online.
Law firms may be reading thousands of CVs. Your goal is not to make them work harder to find the important information. Your goal is to make it very easy for them to understand your academic background, your experience and what makes you different from other candidates.
In this article, I want to break down how I think about each part of a strong CV for a training contract, vacation scheme or other early legal-career application.
Start with a clear, simple structure
Generally speaking, I would separate a Training Contract Application CV into the following key sections:
Education
Legal work experience
Non-legal work experience (or other professional experience)
Extracurricular activities, positions of responsibility or leadership experience
Languages & Interests
Of course, you do not have to follow this exact structure in every situation. Sometimes it also depends on how much experience you have.
Some people may even have a separate heading for open days, but that isn't necessary for everyone. For example, if you already have loads of legal and non-legal experience, you don't want to create too many separate headings. Having sections for legal experience, non-legal experience, open days, volunteering, virtual internships and so on can make the CV feel confusing and take up too much space too.
The key is to organise your CV in a way that is clean and logical. Someone should be able to scan it quickly and understand the main story of your profile.
You should also keep the document professional. Use a plain font, consistent spacing and clear headings. Avoid anything that makes the CV look like a marketing brochure rather than a professional document.
Should your CV be one page or two pages?
This is a question I receive all the time. I was also super confused about this when I applied for training contracts back then.
My honest answer is: it depends.
I have seen law firms accept two-page CVs and invite candidates to the interview stage afterwards. I have also seen firms, particularly some elite US firms in the UK, prefer a shorter and more concise one-page CV. Sometimes a firm will specify a one-page CV in its application instructions too. And if it does, you should absolutely follow that requirement. For applicants who are looking for a job in the US, a one-page CV is often the standard too (so it does vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction)
But in general, there is no hard and fast rule that a CV must always be one page or always be two pages (and this question also becomes trickier when it comes to qualified lawyers, but I'm not planning to delve into the CV requirements for NQs and junior lawyers in this short newsletter this time)
In reality, a candidate with a lot of meaningful and impressive experience may not be able to fit everything into one page without making the document difficult to read or removing important detail. In that situation, a two-page CV can be completely appropriate.
On the other hand, if you don't have enough substance to fill two pages, there is no point trying to add more words simply to reach that length.
I would say the real test is whether your CV writing is concise.
Can you describe your education, experience and extracurricular activities clearly without becoming too long-winded?
Can you fit the most important information into the available space?
If the answer is yes, then a one-page or two-page CV is usually not the issue.
The education section: usually put it first
Unless you are already a qualified lawyer with years of professional experience (in such case, some of the things discussed in this newsletter will also not apply to you), or your academic record is so poor that you have a specific reason not to place it upfront, most candidates will benefit from putting the education section at the beginning of the CV.
Law firms want to understand your academic background quickly. For students and recent graduates looking for a training contract at BigLaw, education is still a major part of your profile.
You should list your law or non-law degree clearly, including your university, dates and expected or final classification. You can also include individual module grades (in percentage), particularly where you performed well or studied a module that relates to the firm’s work.
For example, if you're applying to a corporate law firm and performed strongly in company law, mergers and acquisitions, finance or commercial law modules, there may be a good reason to include those results.
You may also include your dissertation, its final grade and even the title. This is a detail that candidates often overlook, but sometimes an interesting research topic can catch the attention of a law firm or an interviewer, especially if you wrote about an unusual or commercially relevant topic.
Small details like this can create conversation points. They can also help the reader see that you have genuine intellectual interests beyond simply trying to get a job.
At the same time, you don't necessarily need to list every single module you have ever taken (unless you're a first or second year law student). Include only the things that strengthen your story and give the reader useful information about you.
Your work experience: stop being TOO GENERIC
This is where a lot of candidates do a poor job of selling themselves and their unique experience.
When working with candidates on their CVs, I often see descriptions like:
“Conducted legal research.”“Drafted various legal documents.”“Worked with lawyers and associates across different departments on client matters.”
These descriptions are not wrong. But they are too generic.
Almost every candidate with a legal internship could write something similar. They do not tell the reader what you really did, what you learned or why that experience was meaningful.
You need to go deeper into the details of your actual responsibilities and role. Next time when you start writing your work experience section, ask yourself questions such as:
What type of legal research did you do?
Which area of law or legal issue did it relate to?
What kind of documents did you draft or review?
What did you learn about the client, industry sector, or the way the team operated?
For example, instead of simply saying that you conducted legal research, you may be able to explain that you researched a specific issue in contract law, prepared a short research memorandum for an associate, or compared the legal position across three different jurisdictions etc.
Instead of saying that you drafted legal documents, explain examples of what exactly you drafted and what purpose it served.
These fine details are sometimes what distinguish you from a typical candidate.
They show that you actually understood your work and can vividly remember what you did in each internship. They also give you much stronger material to use later in application forms and interviews.
Don't be lazy when describing your experience (and I think a lot of applicants are lazy unfortunately when it comes to drafting)
The more clearly you can explain your work, the easier it is for the law firm to see your value.
Non-legal experience is still valuable
Some candidates worry that non-legal work experience does not belong on a legal CV.
I do not agree.
Non-legal work experience can be particularly important too if you have less legal experience. It can show a wide range of transferable skills, such as communication, teamwork, commercial awareness, client service, time management and resilience.
A retail job, hospitality role, teaching position, business internship or customer-facing role can tell a recruiter a lot about how you work with people and in different relevant sectors.
It can also make your CV feel more diverse and more rounded.
Again, the key here is to describe each experience properly. Do not simply list the job title and assume the reader will understand what you gained from it.
Think about the exact responsibilities you had, the specific challenges you faced, the impact you made and the skills you developed.
A strong candidate is not necessarily someone who has only completed legal internships. At the end of the day, law firms want to hire well-rounded people and sometimes your non-legal experience is what makes you stand out.
Include extracurricular activities that show something interesting or real about you
Your extracurricular section should not be an afterthought. It's an opportunity to show more of your personality alongside your education and work experience.
Ideally, include in your CV activities that are remarkable, interesting or meaningful to you. They do not have to be traditionally “legal” too.
If you have held a position of responsibility, led a society, organised an event, represented a team, founded a project or committed seriously to a hobby, those experiences can be very valuable. Just like non-legal experience, they can show transferrable skills that are relevant to a trainee solicitor or lawyer.
The important thing is to be a bit more selective.
Do not include a long list of activities where you have nothing meaningful to say. Include the experiences that help a law firm understand who you are as a person and what you might bring to a team.
Sometimes, an unusual extracurricular activity can become the most memorable part of your CV. It can also give an interviewer a natural way to start a more personal conversation with you.
Languages and interests: keep them relevant and honest
At the end of your CV, I would usually include language skills and interests.
If you are fluent or native in English, Chinese, French, German or another language, make that clear. Language skills can demonstrate communication ability and can be genuinely useful to many international law firms and their global clients.
Do not downplay them simply because they feel normal to you. Your language skills may be one of the things that makes you stand out.
For interests, a short and honest description of a few key hobbies is enough. Mention the things you genuinely enjoy doing in your day-to-day life and give brief examples of what you achieved (if any) while pursuing such hobbies. This section helps balance out your academic achievements and work experience by showing the person behind the CV.
I would also be more cautious about including your basic IT skills. Many candidates include Microsoft Word and Excel as though these are major differentiators. Personally, I think these are usually assumed for a graduate or trainee solicitor role.
That being said, if you have genuinely developed expertise in a particular technology, data, coding or AI tool, then it's probably worth including. But other than that, I would suggest you not to use valuable space to state the obvious.
The final test: have you actually sold your experiences well?
At the end of the day, your CV should not just be a list of things you have done. It should be a clear and concise "sales pitch" about why a law firm should invite you for the next stage and meet you in person.
That does not mean exaggerating your achievements, but it does mean taking each of your experiences seriously enough to explain them well and highlight their actual impacts.
Before you submit your CV, read every line and ask yourself:
Does this tell the reader what I actually did? Does it show what I learned? Does it help them understand what makes me different? Is it concise, clear, well structured and not long-winded?
The best CV is often not the most beautifully designed one. It's the one that makes law firms curious enough to invite you to the next stage.
So take the time to get the detail right.
Want to work with me to land a BigLaw offer that can completely change your life?
P.S. Whenever you're ready, here are 2 super easy ways I can help you secure your dream legal roles: 1. Take my Free Application Templates & Interview Master Sheet [Get it here] 2. Watch my Free BigLaw Training Contract Application Masterclass [Watch it here]
Note that the application for my September 2026 cohort of the BigLaw Academy Cohort is officially closed now, and I'm happy to announce that 9 founding members have already been confirmed - I'll work closely with them in this upcoming application cycle! Announcement for any future opening of a second cohort will likely be made in the next few months.
And for those who are interested in working with me 1:1 in this application cycle, check out all the testimonials and success stories from my BigLaw Academy™ here. As next step, feel free to book a free call today to see how I can help you (and I only open very limited spots each month). Note that this is not a sales call, because I'm also selective as to who I want to work with 1:1. It's also a call for us to get to know each better to see if we're a good fit.
Hope you find this newsletter helpful and that you're all enjoying the rest of your weekend :)
Gordon
