General Counsel
Resume Template

For a General Counsel resume, focus on both technical and soft skills relevant to legal. Key skills to highlight include gc, chief legal officer, corporate counsel, along with communication, problem-solving, and teamwork abilities. Tailor your skills section to match the specific job description you're applying for.

To make your General Counsel resume pass ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems), use a clean format without tables or graphics, include relevant keywords like gc and chief legal officer, use standard section headings, and save as PDF. Our template has an ATS-friendly layout.

Executive General Counsel roles require extensive experience (10+ years) with demonstrated leadership. Focus on strategic vision, organizational impact, P&L responsibility, and transformation initiatives in legal.

For an executive General Counsel position, your resume should be two to three pages. Focus on relevant experience and achievements in legal rather than trying to include everything. Quality over quantity matters most to hiring managers.

Strong action verbs for a General Counsel resume include: Spearheaded, Architected, Directed, Transformed, Championed, Orchestrated, Pioneered, and Optimized. Always pair these with quantifiable results. Instead of "managed projects," write "managed 12 concurrent legal projects, delivering 95% on-time." Numbers make your General Counsel resume significantly more compelling.

For career changers targeting General Counsel roles: 1) Lead with a strong objective statement explaining your transition, 2) Highlight transferable skills relevant to legal, 3) Include relevant certifications or coursework, 4) Frame past experience using legal terminology, 5) Consider a skills-based (functional) resume format to emphasize capabilities over chronological experience.