JuridischSenior

Corporate Attorney CV

Corporate attorney resume example demonstrating M&A deal experience, securities law expertise, and corporate governance advisory skills.

ATS-optimizedFree to useFully editableUpdated for 2026

William Chen

Corporate Attorney

[email protected](212) 883-5540New York, NY

Summary

Corporate Attorney with 10 years of experience advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, and corporate governance. Closed 35+ M&A transactions totaling $12B+ in aggregate deal value. Expert in SEC compliance, public company disclosures, and cross-border transactions. Admitted to New York and California State Bars. Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School.

Experience

  • Corporate Attorney

    Sep 2018 — Present

    Sullivan and Cromwell LLP · New York · NY

    • Lead M&A transaction counsel for buy-side and sell-side deals from $50M to $4.2B including due diligence, drafting, and negotiation of merger agreements, asset purchase agreements, and stock purchase agreements
    • Advise public company boards on SEC Regulation FD compliance, proxy statement preparation, and executive compensation disclosure
    • Coordinate cross-border transactions involving regulatory approval in 8+ jurisdictions including EU, China, and Canada
    • Manage teams of 4-8 associates and paralegals on concurrent transaction matters
    • Advise clients on joint ventures, strategic alliances, and minority investment structures

  • Associate Attorney

    Sep 2014 — Aug 2018

    Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP · New York · NY

    • Drafted and negotiated corporate transaction documents including merger agreements, purchase agreements, and stockholder agreements
    • Assisted with IPO and follow-on equity offering due diligence, prospectus drafting, and SEC registration statement filings
    • Conducted legal due diligence reviews of target companies for acquisition transactions

Education

  • Columbia Law School

    Aug 2011 — May 2014

    Juris Doctor (J.D.) · Law

    Columbia Law Review Member, Dean's List

Resume guide

How to write a Corporate Attorney resume

A strong Corporate Attorney resume has to pass an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and then convince a hiring manager in about seven seconds. Here is exactly what to include, how to make each section count, and the mistakes that keep otherwise-qualified legal candidates off the shortlist.

What to include in a Corporate Attorney resume

  • Professional summary — 2–3 sentences naming your specialization, years of experience, and one standout result.
  • Work experience — reverse-chronological, with quantified achievements (numbers, percentages, dollar amounts) rather than duties.
  • Skills — 8–12 hard and soft skills, mirroring the exact wording of the Corporate Attorney job posting.
  • Education & certifications — your highest degree plus any credentials valued in legal roles.

Corporate Attorney resume summary: good vs. bad

✗ Weak

“Hardworking Corporate Attorney seeking a position to use my skills and grow with a great company.”

✓ Strong

“Corporate Attorney with 5+ years of experience and a record of measurable results — for example, delivering a project 15% under budget or improving a key metric by 30%.”

Step by step

Write it in 5 steps

  1. 1

    Write your professional summary

    Open your Corporate Attorney resume with a 2–3 sentence professional summary that names your specialization, years of experience, and one standout achievement. This sets the context for everything that follows and is the first thing a hiring manager reads.

  2. 2

    List your work experience with quantified achievements

    Add your roles in reverse-chronological order. Write 3–5 bullet points per role starting with a strong action verb (Led, Built, Reduced, Grew) and include a specific metric for every achievement — numbers, percentages, dollar amounts, or time savings.

  3. 3

    Build a targeted skills section

    List 8–12 skills directly matching keywords in Corporate Attorney job postings. Include both technical skills (tools, software, methodologies) and soft skills (leadership, communication). Exact keyword matching is essential for passing ATS filters.

  4. 4

    Add education and certifications

    Include your highest degree, institution, and graduation year. List any certifications relevant to Legal roles. Certifications can offset experience gaps and are often required or preferred by employers in Legal.

  5. 5

    Optimize for ATS and download

    Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills), avoid tables, columns, graphics, and text boxes, and save as PDF or DOCX. Run your resume through an ATS checker to verify keyword coverage, then download and apply.

FAQ

Corporate Attorney resume FAQ

What should a Corporate Attorney resume include?+

A Corporate Attorney resume should include six key sections: (1) A professional summary of 2–3 sentences that positions you for the role; (2) Work experience in reverse-chronological order with quantified achievements using numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts; (3) A skills section with both technical and soft skills matching keywords in Legal job postings; (4) Education listing your highest degree and institution; (5) Certifications relevant to the Corporate Attorney role; and (6) Optional sections such as projects, publications, or volunteer work if they strengthen your candidacy. Use standard headings and avoid tables, columns, and graphics so Applicant Tracking Systems can parse every section correctly.

How long should a Corporate Attorney resume be?+

A Corporate Attorney resume should be one page if you have fewer than ten years of experience, and two pages maximum for senior or executive-level professionals with extensive accomplishments. Every line should earn its place — cut roles older than 15 years, generic duties, and anything not directly relevant to the Corporate Attorney position you are targeting. Hiring managers spend an average of 7 seconds on an initial resume scan, so a tight, achievement-focused one-pager consistently outperforms a padded two-pager at the same experience level.

What skills should a Corporate Attorney list on their resume?+

A Corporate Attorney should list skills in two categories. Hard skills are the technical and role-specific competencies: tools, software, programming languages, methodologies, and domain knowledge required for the position — these come directly from the job description. Soft skills are the interpersonal and cognitive abilities that complement technical work: communication, problem-solving, collaboration, and leadership. Include 8–12 skills total, mixing both types, and mirror the exact phrasing used in Legal job postings so your resume passes ATS keyword matching. Avoid generic filler like "Microsoft Office" unless the role explicitly requires it.

What makes a strong Corporate Attorney resume stand out?+

A strong Corporate Attorney resume stands out through three characteristics. First, quantified achievements: every bullet point in your work experience should contain a metric — revenue generated, percentage improvement, team size managed, or cost saved. Vague duties tell hiring managers nothing; specific numbers prove impact. Second, ATS optimization: use the exact keywords, job titles, and tool names that appear in the Corporate Attorney postings you are targeting. Even a perfectly written resume will be rejected if it does not match the system's keyword threshold. Third, a targeted professional summary: a 2–3 sentence opening that names your specialization, years of experience, and one standout achievement immediately signals you are the right fit before the hiring manager reads a single bullet point. Clever CV's Corporate Attorney resume example demonstrates all three in a format designed to pass ATS and impress human reviewers.

Is the Corporate Attorney resume example on Clever CV free to use?+

Yes. The Corporate Attorney resume example on Clever CV is completely free to preview and use as your starting point. Click "Use this Example" to copy it instantly into the Clever CV resume builder, where you can edit every section — replace the sample content with your own experience, skills, and certifications — and download a polished, ATS-optimized PDF. Creating an account is free and gives you immediate access to the builder. Advanced features such as AI-powered bullet point generation, the ATS compatibility checker, and resume scoring are available on paid plans.

Build your Corporate Attorney resume in minutes

Start from this ATS-ready example, swap in your own details, and download a polished resume.