Education first? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hi all. I clerked for 2 years, and I worked in biglaw for almost 2 years. My question is simply - should I put education first on my resume still, or work experience? I'm looking at lateral positions.

[Anonymous User]

I'd put education at the bottom at this point. Based on my own applications and what I've seen people submit, I don't think it matters very much one way or another, but I think for lateral positions it makes sense, especially since your experience is clerking/biglaw so probably a decent proxy for your educational background anyway.

[Anonymous User]

Advice I have been given by more than 1 person is that you include education first when you are junior and move it to the back as a mid level. I’d move it to the end given that you’ve been out of school for 4+ years.

[AuthorDWRandolph]

After you have about 2+ years of "real" lawyering experience (a clerkship counts), in my experience, most attorneys at Big Law firms are more focused on the quality of your experience than where you went to law school.

D.W. Randolph, author of Big Law Confidential

[Anonymous User]

15+ year lawyer here who hires interns. Until you've had at least 4 or 5 years of real world experience, it's hard for your work experiences to really stand out in comparison to others. You may as well lead with your education first, and certainly any accolades earned during academia whether undergraduate or law.