Whether it’s divorce, child custody, property division or any other family matter, you can provide clear and concise legal advice that is easy to understand.
So why are you finding it so hard to showcase this on your CV?
If you need an impressive application to help you land your next role, let us be the ones to give you some advice.
Check out our step-by-step guide below, along with a family solicitor CV example to inspire you.
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Family Solicitor CV example
This CV example showcases the optimal structure and format for your Family Solicitor CV, providing a pleasant reading experience for busy recruiters.
It also demonstrates the skills, experience and qualifications you should emphasize in your own CV to increase your chances of landing job interviews.
Family Solicitor CV format and structure
First impressions count, so a sloppy, disorganised CV may cause your CV to be overlooked..
Instead, perfect the format and structure of your CV by working to a clear logical structure and applying some simple formatting tricks to ease readability.
Don’t underestimate the importance of this step; if your CV lacks readability, your written content won’t even be seen.
Tips for formatting your Family Solicitor CV
- Length: Two sides of A4 makes for the perfect CV length, though one page is okay for less experienced applicants. This forces you to make sure that every single sentence adds value to your CV and ensures you avoid unnecessary info.
- Readability: To help recruiters quickly skim through your CV, it’s important to format your section headings with bold or a different colour font and break up lengthy paragraphs into short sharp bullet points. This enables them to easily identify important information and assess your suitability.
- Design & format: While it’s important that your CV design looks good, it also needs to be functional (which means easy for recruiters to read) Keep the design simple to achieve a good balance between looking good and reading well.
- Photos: Don’t add profile photos to your CV unless you work in an industry or region which prefers to see them. Most employers in the UK will not need to see one.
Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our quick-and-easy CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
For easy reading, write your CV to the following CV structure:
- Contact details – Make it easy for recruiters to get in touch with you by listing your contact details at the top of your CV.
- Profile – A short and snappy summary of your experience and skills, showcasing what makes you a good fit for the position.
- Work experience / career history – Note down all your work history, with your current position first, then working backwards.
- Education – A short list of your academic background and professional/vocational qualifications.
- Interest and hobbies – This is an optional section, which you can use to highlight any relevant hobbies or interests.
Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.
Contact Details
Begin by sharing your contact details, so it’s easy for employers to give you a call.
Keep to the basics, such as:
- Mobile number
- Email address – It should sound professional, with no slang or nicknames. Make a new one for your job applications if necessary.
- Location – Simply share your vague location, for example ‘Manchester’, rather than a full address.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Remember to update them before you send your application.
Family Solicitor CV Profile
Recruiters read through countless applications every day.
If they don’t find what they’re looking for quickly, they’ll simply move onto the next one.
That’s what makes your CV profile (or personal statement, if you’re an entry-level/graduate candidate) so important.
This short and snappy summary sits at the top of your CV, and should give a high-level overview of why you’re a good match for the job.
This way, you can ensure that busy recruiters see your suitability from the outset, and so, feel your CV is worth their time.
How to write a good CV profile:
- Make it short and sharp: Recruiters have piles of CVs to read through and limited time to dedicate to each, so it pays to showcase your abilities in as few words as possible. 3-4 lines is ideal.
- Tailor it: If recruiters don’t see your suitability within a few seconds, they may close your CV straight away. Your CV profile should closely match the essential requirements listed in the job ad, so make sure to review them before you write it.
- Don’t add an objective: Avoid discussing your career goals in your CV profile – if you think they’re necessary, briefly mention them in your cover letter instead.
- Avoid generic phrases: If your CV is riddled with clichès like “Dynamic thought-leader”, hit that delete button. Phrases like these are like a broken record to recruiters, who read them countless times per day. Hard facts, skills, knowledge and results are sure to yield far better results.
Example CV profile for a Family Solicitor
What to include in your Family Solicitor CV profile?
- Experience overview: Recruiters will want to know what type of companies you’ve worked for, industries you have knowledge of, and the type of work you’ve carried out in the past, so give them a summary of this in your profile.
- Targeted skills: Make your most relevant Family Solicitor key skills clear in your profile. These should be tailored to the specific role you’re applying for – so make sure to check the job description first, and aim to match their requirements as closely as you can.
- Important qualifications: If you have any qualifications which are highly relevant to Family Solicitor jobs, then highlight them in your profile so that employers do not miss them.
Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our quick-and-easy CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
Create a core skills section underneath your profile to spotlight your most in-demand skills and grab the attention of readers.
This section should feature 2-3 columns of bullet points that emphasise your applicable skills for your target jobs. Before constructing this section, review the job description and compile a list of any specific skills, specialisms, or knowledge required.
Important skills for your Family Solicitor CV
Legal Research – Conducting thorough legal research to support cases, analyse precedents, and interpret relevant laws and regulations.
Case Management – Efficiently managing a caseload, including documentation, deadlines, and client communication.
Negotiation and Mediation – Negotiating settlements and facilitating mediation sessions to resolve family disputes amicably.
Courtroom Litigation – Representing clients in court proceedings, including drafting legal documents, and presenting cases before a judge.
Family Law Expertise – Maintaining proficiency in the specific areas of family law, including divorce, child custody, adoption, and spousal support.
Legal Writing – Drafting legal documents, such as petitions, affidavits, and legal briefs, with precision and clarity.
Client Counselling – Providing empathetic and effective counsel to clients, helping them understand their legal options and make informed decisions.
Conflict Resolution – Navigating and resolving complex family conflicts, often involving emotionally charged situations.
Legal Technology – Using legal software and research tools to enhance efficiency and stay up-to-date with legal developments.
Ethical and Professional Conduct – Upholding ethical and professional standards in all legal practice, maintaining client confidentiality, and adhering to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) guidelines.
Quick tip: Our quick-and-easy CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.
Work experience
Next up is your work experience section, which is normally the longest part of your CV.
Start with your current (or most recent) job and work your way backwards through your experience.
Can’t fit all your roles? Allow more space for your recent career history and shorten down descriptions for your older roles.
Structuring each job
Lengthy, unbroken chunks of text is a recruiters worst nightmare, but your work experience section can easily end up looking like that if you are not careful.
To avoid this, use my tried-and-tested 3-step structure, as illustrated below:
Outline
Start with a solid introduction to your role as a whole, in order to build some context.
Explain the nature of the organisation you worked for, the size of the team you were part of, who you reported to and what the overarching purpose of your job was.
Key responsibilities
Follow with a snappy list of bullet points, detailing your daily duties and responsibilities.
Tailor it to the role you’re applying for by mentioning how you put the target employer’s desired hard skills and knowledge to use in this role.
Key achievements
To finish off each role and prove the impact you made, list 1-3 stand out achievements, results or accomplishments.
This could be anything which had a positive outcome for the company you worked for, or perhaps a client/customer.
Where applicable, quantify your examples with facts and figures.
Sample job description for Family Solicitor CV
Outline
Deal with the juridical affairs that arise in marriage, divorce, minor visitation, adoption, and domestic partnerships, for a major international establishment that specialises in corporate law and other practice areas.
Key Responsibilities
- Facilitate consultations to provide advice and assess the strengths and weaknesses of respective cases.
- Explain statutory options and potential outcomes by considering their specific circumstances.
- Prepare comprehensive documents and paperwork according to strict deadlines.
- Stay abreast of regulatory changes by attending conferences, accessing government websites, and networking with peers.
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our quick-and-easy CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
Next up, you should list your education and qualifications.
This can include your formal qualifications (a degree, A-Levels and GCSEs), as well as sector-specific Family Solicitor qualifications and/or training.
While school leavers and recent grads should include a lot of detail here to make up for the lack of work experience, experienced candidates may benefit from a shorter education section, as your work experience section will be more important to recruiters.
Hobbies and interests
This section is entirely optional, so you’ll have to use your own judgement to figure out if it’s worth including.
If your hobbies and interests could make you appear more suitable for your dream job, then they are definitely worth adding.
Interests which are related to the industry, or hobbies like sports teams or volunteering, which display valuable transferable skills might be worth including.
When putting together your Family Solicitor CV, there are a few key points to remember
Always tailor your CV to the target role, even if it means creating several versions for different roles.
Additionally, remember that the structure and format of your CV needs just as much attention as the content.
Good luck with your job search!