Resume for LLB/Law Graduates India 2026

Five Years of Law School. And Your Resume Still Looks Like Everyone Else's.#

You survived five years of constitutional law, contract law, criminal law, property law, and enough case readings to fill a library. Moot courts, internships at law firms, court visits, legal aid clinics. You even cleared CLAT or a state entrance exam to get in.

Now you're looking at the job market and realizing: there are lakhs of law graduates in India every year. And the good positions at top law firms, corporate legal departments, and government legal roles are intensely competitive.

The difference between the law graduate who gets hired at AZB, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, or Khaitan and the one who doesn't? Often, it comes down to the resume.

A law resume is different from any other resume. Recruiters at law firms care about your mooting record, your internships, your publications, and your specialization. Not your "computer skills" or "hobbies." This guide will show you exactly how to build a law graduate resume that gets callbacks from firms, companies, and judicial service interviews.

What Legal Recruiters Look For#

Different legal career paths look for different things.

Tier-1 Law Firms (AZB & Partners, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, Khaitan & Co, Trilegal, S&R Associates):

1. Internships at recognized law firms (the more, the better)
2. Moot court achievements (national and international moots)
3. Academic performance (especially in relevant subjects)
4. Research and publications (law review articles, blog posts)
5. Specialization area (corporate, M&A, banking, IP, litigation)

Corporate Legal / In-House (Tata, Reliance, Infosys, Amazon, Google India):

1. Contract drafting and review skills
2. Understanding of corporate law, employment law, or IP law
3. Internship at a corporate legal department
4. Commercial awareness (understanding business context)
5. Communication skills (explaining legal issues to non-lawyers)

Litigation:

1. Court internship experience (under a senior advocate or judge)
2. Drafting skills (petitions, applications, written statements)
3. Research skills (case law research, legal database usage)
4. Knowledge of CPC, CrPC, Evidence Act, and applicable statutes
5. Bar Council registration

Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) and Legal Tech:

1. Contract review and analysis skills
2. Document review experience
3. Technology comfort (legal databases, AI tools)
4. Attention to detail
5. English proficiency

Government and Judicial Services (through exams):

1. Strong knowledge of substantive and procedural law
2. Exam scores (PCS-J, CLAT PG, UPSC)
3. General knowledge and current affairs
4. Drafting ability
5. Constitution and administrative law depth

Section-by-Section Resume Format for Law Graduates#

1. Contact Information

Aditi Verma
+91-98765-43210 | [email protected]
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/aditiverma
New Delhi, Delhi
Bar Council of Delhi | Enrollment No: D/1234/2026

Important for law resumes:

• Include your Bar Council enrollment number if you're enrolled
• LinkedIn is standard in the legal profession now
• No photo, no DOB, no father's name
• If you have a legal blog or SSRN profile, include that link

2. Professional Summary

For corporate law firm roles:

5-year integrated BA LLB graduate from National Law University Delhi with specialization in corporate and commercial law. Completed 8 internships including stints at AZB & Partners and the Competition Commission of India. Semi-finalist at the Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Published 2 papers on M&A regulations in India. Seeking an Associate position at a corporate law firm.

For litigation:

BA LLB (Hons) graduate from Faculty of Law, Delhi University with focus on civil and criminal litigation. Interned under a Senior Advocate at Delhi High Court for 3 months, assisted in drafting 15+ petitions and written statements. Enrolled with Bar Council of Delhi. Seeking a junior associate position in litigation practice.

For corporate in-house:

Law graduate from NALSAR with strong understanding of contract law, employment law, and corporate governance. Interned at Infosys Legal Department for 2 months, reviewing vendor contracts and preparing compliance checklists. Seeking an in-house legal counsel position at a technology company.

For LPO/legal tech:

LLB graduate from Symbiosis Law School with experience in contract review, legal research, and document management. Proficient in Manupatra, SCC Online, and Westlaw. Completed a contract lifecycle management certification. Seeking a Legal Analyst role at a legal services firm.

3. Education

BA LLB (Hons)                                     2021-2026
National Law University, Delhi                      CGPA: 7.8/10
Specialization: Corporate and Commercial Law

Higher Secondary (12th, Humanities)                 2021
CBSE Board                                           94%

Tips:

• For NLU graduates, the university name carries significant weight. Always include it prominently.
• Mention specialization or electives chosen
• If you have CLAT rank, mention it: "CLAT 2021: AIR 342"
• Academic prizes for specific subjects (topped Corporate Law, won Constitutional Law prize) go here
• For 3-year LLB graduates, mention your undergraduate degree too

4. Core Competencies / Skills

Law resumes handle skills differently from tech resumes. Focus on legal competencies.

Practice Areas: Corporate Law, M&A, Banking and Finance,
    Competition Law, Arbitration, Contract Law
Legal Research: Manupatra, SCC Online, Westlaw, LexisNexis,
    Indian Kanoon, JSTOR
Drafting: Contracts, NDAs, Shareholder Agreements, Petitions,
    Plaints, Written Statements, Legal Opinions, Board Resolutions
Regulatory: Companies Act 2013, SEBI Regulations, Competition
    Act 2002, FEMA, RBI Guidelines
Dispute Resolution: Arbitration (institutional and ad-hoc),
    Mediation, Negotiation
Software: MS Word (advanced formatting, track changes),
    MS Excel, MS PowerPoint
Languages: English (fluent), Hindi (fluent), Kannada (basic)

Key rules:

• Lead with practice areas, not software skills
• Legal databases should be listed. Firms want to know you can use Manupatra and SCC Online
• Drafting skills are critical. List the specific types of documents you can draft
• Mention relevant statutes and regulations for your target area
• Languages matter in Indian law practice

5. Internships (Most Important Section)

For law graduates, internships are the single most important resume section. Law firms hire based on where you've interned and what you did.

Tier-1 law firm internship:

Intern | AZB & Partners, Mumbai (Corporate M&A Team)
May 2025 - July 2025

- Assisted the M&A team on 3 live transactions with combined
  deal value exceeding Rs 500 crore
- Drafted sections of share purchase agreements, shareholder
  agreements, and disclosure schedules for 2 deals
- Conducted due diligence on 5 target companies, reviewing
  corporate filings, statutory registers, and material contracts
- Researched SEBI takeover regulations and prepared a memo
  on open offer obligations for an acquisition exceeding 25%
  stake
- Attended client calls and drafting sessions with senior
  associates

Litigation internship:

Intern | Chambers of Adv. [Senior Advocate], Delhi High Court
January 2025 - March 2025

- Assisted on 12 matters pending before Delhi High Court
  including writ petitions, civil appeals, and company law cases
- Drafted 5 petitions under Article 226, 3 written statements,
  and 2 applications for interim relief
- Conducted case law research using SCC Online and Manupatra,
  preparing case briefs for 20+ judgments
- Accompanied the advocate to court hearings on 30+ days,
  observing oral arguments and judicial proceedings
- Prepared a legal opinion on the interpretation of Section
  138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act for a client query

Corporate in-house internship:

Legal Intern | Infosys Ltd, Bangalore (Legal Department)
June 2025 - August 2025

- Reviewed and marked up 15 vendor service agreements and
  NDAs for compliance with company standard terms
- Prepared a comparative analysis of data privacy laws
  across 4 jurisdictions (India, EU, US, Singapore) for
  the compliance team
- Drafted board resolutions and minutes for 3 board meetings
- Created a checklist for Companies Act 2013 compliance
  covering annual filing requirements for 8 subsidiaries

Government/regulatory internship:

Intern | Competition Commission of India, New Delhi
February 2025 - March 2025

- Researched 8 cases under Sections 3 and 4 of the
  Competition Act 2002 (anti-competitive agreements and
  abuse of dominant position)
- Prepared a research note on "Hub and Spoke Cartels in
  Indian Markets" citing 12 international precedents
- Assisted in analyzing an informant's complaint alleging
  predatory pricing in the e-commerce sector
- Attended 2 oral hearings before the Commission

Include 4-6 internships for NLU students, 2-4 for regular law colleges. Quality matters more than quantity, but law firms do look at the breadth of your internship experience.

6. Moot Courts, Debates, and Competitions

This section is unique to law resumes and carries significant weight.

• Semi-finalist, Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot 2025, Vienna (team of 4, representing NLU Delhi). Drafted Claimant's Memorandum. Argued in 5 rounds against teams from 15 countries.
• Winners, NLIU-Trilegal M&A Moot Court Competition 2024. Best Memorial Award. Argued a case involving hostile takeover under SEBI Takeover Code.
• Finalist, Nani Palkhivala Tax Moot 2024. Argued a case on permanent establishment under India-Singapore DTAA.
• Best Speaker, NUJS Parliamentary Debate 2024 (out of 120 participants from 40 colleges)

Why this matters: Law firms use moot court performance as a proxy for litigation skills, legal research ability, and teamwork. If you've done well in national or international moots, this section can be more valuable than your grades.

7. Publications and Research

Legal publications show intellectual depth. Include them.

• "Regulatory Framework for SPACs in India: Lessons from the US Experience." Published in NLUD Student Law Review, Vol. 8, 2025
• "Anti-Competitive Effects of Most Favoured Nation Clauses in E-Commerce." Published on Kluwer Competition Law Blog
• "Analyzing the Supreme Court's Approach to Privacy in the Post-Puttaswamy Era." SSRN Working Paper (150+ downloads)
• Co-authored a chapter on "Cross-Border Insolvency in India" in the INSOL India Annual Publication

For students without formal publications:

• Blog posts on legal topics (on personal blog or platforms like LiveLaw, Bar & Bench student section)
• Seminar papers presented at national conferences
• Legal columns in college magazine

8. Extra-curriculars and Positions of Responsibility

• Editor-in-Chief, NLU Delhi Law Review (managed a team of 12 editors, published 2 volumes)
• Convenor, Legal Aid Committee (organized 10 legal awareness camps in rural Delhi, reaching 500+ beneficiaries)
• Member, Placement Committee (coordinated recruitment for 20+ law firms and companies)
• Organized the annual moot court competition (150+ participants from 30 law schools)

9. Certifications and Additional Training

Valuable for law graduates:

• Certificate Course in Arbitration (from NLU or IIAM)
• Intellectual Property Law certification
• SEBI regulations course
• Diploma in Cyber Law
• Contract Lifecycle Management certification
• Compliance certification (from IICA or similar)
• Mediation training certificate (from recognized mediation center)

Common Mistakes Law Graduates Make on Resumes#

1. Not Detailing Internship Work

"Interned at AZB & Partners for 2 months" is a wasted line. What did you DO there? What transactions did you work on? What did you draft? How many matters? What statutes did you research? Each internship needs 3-5 specific bullet points.

2. Missing Moot Court Details

"Participated in 3 moot courts" gives no information. "Semi-finalist, Vis Moot 2025 (Vienna). Drafted Claimant's Memorial. Argued in 5 rounds. Best Oral Pleader in preliminary rounds." That's a story.

3. Including Irrelevant Skills

"MS Office" and "Internet Research" are meaningless on a law resume. Everyone knows MS Word. Instead, list Manupatra, SCC Online, Westlaw, and specific legal databases. Mention your drafting capabilities and practice area knowledge.

4. No Specialization Signal

"Interested in all areas of law" helps nobody. Law firms want to see a clear trajectory: if you've done corporate internships, corporate moots, and corporate publications, that tells them you're a corporate lawyer. Pick a direction.

5. Using Non-Legal Resume Formats

Law resumes follow specific conventions that differ from corporate or tech resumes. Internships come before projects. Moot courts get their own section. Publications matter. Don't use a generic resume template. But do keep it ATS-friendly. Read our ATS resume format guide.

ATS Tips for Law Graduate Resumes#

Many top law firms and corporate legal departments now use ATS. Naukri and LinkedIn also filter by keywords.

1. Practice area keywords. If the posting says "M&A Associate," your resume must include "M&A," "Mergers and Acquisitions," "Share Purchase Agreement," "Due Diligence," and similar terms.

2. Statute names. "Companies Act 2013", "SEBI (LODR) Regulations", "Competition Act 2002", "Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016." These are searchable keywords.

3. Standard section headings. "Education," "Internships," "Publications," "Skills." Not "My Legal Journey" or "Areas of Interest."

4. Simple format. Single column, standard fonts. No tables, no graphics. Read about common resume mistakes.

5. PDF format. Clean, text-based PDF. Named: Aditi_Verma_LLB_Resume.pdf.

6. 1-2 pages. NLU graduates with 6+ internships, moot courts, and publications may go to 2 pages. Everyone else: one page is better.

Where Law Graduates Should Apply in 2026#

Tier-1 Law Firms (12-20+ LPA):

• AZB & Partners
• Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
• Khaitan & Co
• Trilegal
• S&R Associates
• Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas
• J. Sagar Associates (JSA)
• Luthra and Luthra
• IndusLaw
• Nishith Desai Associates

Tier-2 and Mid-Size Firms (5-12 LPA):

• Economic Laws Practice (ELP)
• L&L Partners
• Phoenix Legal
• Argus Partners
• DSK Legal
• HSA Advocates
• Samvad Partners

Corporate In-House (6-15 LPA):

• Big Tech: Google India, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta
• IT: Infosys, TCS, Wipro (legal departments)
• Conglomerates: Tata, Reliance, Aditya Birla, Mahindra
• Banks: HDFC, ICICI, Kotak (compliance and legal)
• Startups: Razorpay, PhonePe, Swiggy (legal and compliance teams)

Government and Judicial Services:

• Judicial Services (PCS-J exams, state-wise)
• UPSC (Legal Adviser, Assistant Legal Adviser)
• RBI Legal Officers
• SEBI Legal Officers
• Competition Commission of India

LPO and Legal Tech (3-8 LPA):

• UnitedLex
• Pangea3 (now part of EY)
• Integreon
• QuisLex
• Morae Global

Job Portals:

• LinkedIn (primary platform for legal hiring)
• Naukri.com: "legal associate fresher", "law graduate"
• Bar & Bench careers section
• LiveLaw job alerts
• NLU placement portals
• Law firm career pages directly

Pre-Submission Checklist#

• Resume is 1-2 pages
• Internships are detailed with specific work done (drafting, research, transactions)
• Moot court achievements with specifics (role, ranking, memorial awards)
• Practice area specialization is clear from internships + publications
• Legal databases mentioned (Manupatra, SCC Online)
• Relevant statutes and regulations named
• Publications or research papers included
• Bar Council enrollment mentioned (if applicable)
• Keywords match the job description
• Text-based PDF format
• No photo, DOB, or irrelevant personal details
• Professional Summary tailored to target role

The Law Profession Rewards Preparation. Start with Your Resume.#

India has over 1.7 million enrolled advocates. The legal profession is competitive, and the best opportunities go to those who present themselves well. Your resume is your first argument to the hiring committee. Make it a strong one.

A clear specialization, detailed internship descriptions, strong moot court credentials, and publications that show depth of knowledge. These are what separate you from the crowd.

Try the JobRise AI Resume Builder. Select "Law/LLB" as your qualification, pick your target area (corporate, litigation, in-house, regulatory), and get an ATS-optimized resume with the right legal keywords and structure. Built for Indian law graduates who want to make their application count.