Top 12 Corporate Legal Assistant Skills to Put on Your Resume

Crafting a standout resume as a Corporate Legal Assistant takes sharp judgment and crisp presentation. Emphasize the skills that legal teams lean on every day—tools, precision, discipline—so hiring managers can see you steady the chaos and keep matters moving.

Corporate Legal Assistant Skills

1. LexisNexis
2. Westlaw
3. Document Drafting
4. Litigation Support
5. Contract Management
6. PACER
7. E-filing
8. Legal Research
9. Microsoft Office
10. Time Management
11. Communication
12. Confidentiality

1. LexisNexis

LexisNexis provides legal, regulatory, and business intelligence—case law, statutes, regulations, treatises, news, and analytics—so research doesn’t sprawl and facts land fast.

Why It's Important

For a Corporate Legal Assistant, it delivers deep, current authority and practical insights to support drafting, diligence, compliance checks, and day‑to‑day decision support.

How to Improve LexisNexis Skills

1. Train with intent: Take vendor tutorials and short webinars; focus on filters, segments, and search strategies that mirror your workflow.

2. Move to Lexis+: Use modern features like Brief Analysis, practical guidance, and saved searches; build alerts for companies, issues, and jurisdictions.

3. Validate with Shepard’s: Confirm authorities quickly; read treatment signals and depth of discussion before you cite or rely.

4. Use Microsoft 365 add-ins: Research and cite-check inside Word and Outlook to cut context switching.

5. Target practice areas: Pin sources tied to corporate work—M&A, governance, securities, employment—so new matters start from a vetted shelf.

How to Display LexisNexis Skills on Your Resume

2. Westlaw

Westlaw offers primary law, secondary sources, and practical guidance, plus citator and analytics tools tuned for fast, reliable research.

Why It's Important

It anchors accuracy and speed—vital for contract review, policy updates, compliance questions, and quick-turn requests from counsel or business partners.

How to Improve Westlaw Skills

1. Tighten search logic: Boolean, field restrictions, jurisdiction/date filters—build precision into your first query.

2. Rely on KeyCite: Check status, negative history, and citing references before you draft.

3. Customize your start: Set preferred content sets, page layout, and delivery options to match recurring tasks.

4. Use practice resources: Practical Law and corporate law toolkits trim time on forms, checklists, and issue spotting.

5. Alerts and folders: Track topics, companies, or statutes; keep research tidy with shared folders and notes.

How to Display Westlaw Skills on Your Resume

3. Document Drafting

Drafting means turning business needs into clear, enforceable paper—agreements, resolutions, policies, notices—cleanly structured and aligned with company standards.

Why It's Important

Strong drafting reduces ambiguity, shrinks risk, and speeds execution. Good words prevent expensive misunderstandings.

How to Improve Document Drafting Skills

1. Lock on purpose: Define the outcome, obligations, and risk allocation before typing a line.

2. Write for the reader: Plain language, logical headings, short clauses; cut jargon unless it earns its keep.

3. Standardize: Build and maintain templates, clause libraries, fallback positions, and playbooks.

4. Cross-check: Verify defined terms, cross-references, exhibits, and dates; align with governing law and policy.

5. Edit in layers: Substance first, then structure, then style; read aloud to catch clunky lines.

6. Peer review: Quick second eyes find blind spots; adopt redline etiquette to keep diffs readable.

How to Display Document Drafting Skills on Your Resume

4. Litigation Support

Litigation support covers discovery, document handling, deadlines, and trial prep—keeping cases organized and evidence traceable.

Why It's Important

Good support tightens case strategy, cuts review waste, and preserves compliance with court rules. Missed steps here can sting.

How to Improve Litigation Support Skills

1. Build order: Create naming conventions, folder maps, and intake logs; track chain of custody and privilege calls.

2. Adopt eDiscovery tools: Relativity, Everlaw, Logikcull, or similar—batch ingest, dedupe, search, and review efficiently.

3. Automate routine: Bates labeling, privilege logs, and production sets should be system-driven, not manual scavenger hunts.

4. Manage projects: Use task boards and timelines (Asana, Jira, Planner) to align counsel, vendors, and clients.

5. Stay rule-savvy: Local rules, standing orders, and ESI protocols change—maintain a quick-reference library.

How to Display Litigation Support Skills on Your Resume

5. Contract Management

Contract management spans intake, drafting, negotiation support, approvals, execution, storage, obligations tracking, amendments, and renewals.

Why It's Important

It protects value and timelines, exposes risk early, and keeps the business on the right side of commitments.

How to Improve Contract Management Skills

1. Centralize: Stand up a CLM or structured repository (with metadata and OCR) so nothing vanishes into inboxes.

2. Template and clause library: Standard positions plus approved alternates speed reviews and keep terms consistent.

3. Intake and triage: Forms and SLAs route work by type, risk, and priority; fewer bottlenecks, clearer expectations.

4. Obligation tracking: Use dashboards and alerts for notice dates, renewals, pricing changes, and deliverables.

5. Playbooks: Define fallback language, escalation points, and who signs what. Less back‑and‑forth, fewer surprises.

6. Analytics: Report cycle times, redline drivers, and risk flags; adjust templates based on data, not hunches.

How to Display Contract Management Skills on Your Resume

6. PACER

PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) provides access to filings and dockets in U.S. federal courts—vital for tracking litigation and pulling authoritative documents.

Why It's Important

It enables timely monitoring, accurate citations, and quick retrieval of operative pleadings, orders, and judgments.

How to Improve PACER Skills

1. Learn the system: Use the PACER training resources and the free demo environment to practice without fees.

2. Search smart: Narrow by court, case number, party, date ranges; save frequent queries.

3. Control costs: Skim dockets first; download only what’s needed; review quarterly statements to spot waste.

4. Leverage free archives: Check the RECAP Archive (CourtListener) to see if a document is already available at no cost.

5. Organize outputs: Consistent file names and matter folders make rediscovery painless later.

6. Stay current: Track PACER notices about fee or interface changes so your process doesn’t lag.

How to Display PACER Skills on Your Resume

7. E-filing

E-filing sends filings to courts through electronic portals, following exacting rules on format, timing, and service.

Why It's Important

It safeguards deadlines, creates clean records, and reduces administrative drag.

How to Improve E-filing Skills

1. Know the rules: Each court has its own portal, PDF specs, bookmarks, service requirements, and timing quirks.

2. Make PDFs text-searchable: OCR, apply correct page labels, and add bookmarks for exhibits.

3. Automate generation: Use document automation to cut manual entry and formatting errors for repeat filings.

4. Use a secure DMS: NetDocuments, iManage, or similar to manage versions, permissions, and audit trails.

5. Keep receipts: Save confirmation emails and portal receipts in the matter file immediately—no exceptions.

How to Display E-filing Skills on Your Resume

8. Legal Research

Legal research identifies the controlling law and persuasive authority that inform corporate decisions, policies, and contracts.

Why It's Important

It anchors advice in reality—reducing risk, ensuring compliance, and speeding resolution.

How to Improve Legal Research Skills

1. Map the hierarchy: Know what governs (statutes, regs, cases) and in which jurisdiction before you search.

2. Start broad, then narrow: Secondary sources for orientation; then primary law, filtered tightly by date, court, and topic.

3. Use citators: KeyCite and Shepard’s confirm validity; read treatment and context, not just the signal color.

4. Refine queries: Boolean operators, field searching, and proximity connectors save hours on the back end.

5. Organize findings: Research logs, tags, and saved folders; consider a citation manager for bigger projects.

6. Stay current: Set alerts for key statutes, regulations, agencies, and company names.

How to Display Legal Research Skills on Your Resume

9. Microsoft Office

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook—core tools for drafting, tracking, presenting, and coordinating.

Why It's Important

Mastery speeds work, reduces mistakes, and keeps teams aligned without fuss.

How to Improve Microsoft Office Skills

1. Word: Styles, cross-references, tables of authorities, compare documents, and advanced track changes.

2. Excel: Pivot tables, XLOOKUP, filters, conditional formatting, and data validation for contract and matter tracking.

3. Outlook: Rules, categories, shared mailboxes, and quick steps to tame volume.

4. Automation: Power Automate or macros for repetitive formatting, filing, and notifications.

5. Add-ins: Legal research and DMS integrations to keep work inside your document window.

How to Display Microsoft Office Skills on Your Resume

10. Time Management

Balancing deadlines, filings, reviews, and inbox churn—without dropping the thread.

Why It's Important

It guards against missed obligations, curbs stress, and keeps legal operations humming.

How to Improve Time Management Skills

1. Prioritize with intent: Urgent vs. important; protect deep‑work blocks on the calendar.

2. Break work down: Small steps, visible checkpoints, realistic estimates.

3. Use a single source of truth: One task system for matters, due dates, and follow‑ups—no scattered sticky notes.

4. Batch and buffer: Group similar tasks; add cushions around filing windows.

5. Minimize distractions: Notifications off during focused work; check email on a schedule.

6. Delegate smartly: Match tasks to skills and provide crisp instructions; confirm receipt and timing.

7. Review weekly: Reprioritize, clear blockers, and reset timelines before slippage compounds.

How to Display Time Management Skills on Your Resume

11. Communication

Clear, timely, accurate exchanges—written and spoken—across attorneys, business clients, vendors, and courts.

Why It's Important

It reduces rework, speeds decisions, and lowers risk born of assumptions.

How to Improve Communication Skills

1. Be plain: Translate legal concepts into straightforward language tailored to your audience.

2. Listen actively: Clarify asks, reflect back next steps, and document agreements.

3. Choose channels wisely: Email for records, chat for quick nudges, meetings for alignment; send agendas and summaries.

4. Version control: Label drafts, track changes, and confirm which document governs.

5. Feedback loops: Invite questions and confirm decisions in writing to close the gaps.

How to Display Communication Skills on Your Resume

12. Confidentiality

Protecting sensitive company, client, and personal data from disclosure—intentionally or by mistake.

Why It's Important

It preserves trust, complies with law and policy, and shields competitive advantage.

How to Improve Confidentiality Skills

1. Define the boundary: Know what is confidential, who is authorized, and how it must be handled.

2. Limit access: Role‑based permissions, need‑to‑know sharing, and regular access reviews.

3. Harden accounts: Strong, unique passwords with an enterprise password manager; enable multi‑factor authentication everywhere.

4. Secure communications: Use encrypted email and messaging for sensitive content; avoid personal accounts and unsecured devices.

5. Control documents: Watermarks, view‑only links, DLP where available; store in a secure DMS, not local desktops.

6. Dispose properly: Shred paper; securely delete or archive digital files per retention policy.

7. Train and test: Regular refreshers, phishing simulations, and incident drills to keep awareness high.

How to Display Confidentiality Skills on Your Resume