CV for law graduates and trainee lawyers: example and tips

What employers look for in a law graduate

Law graduates (jurister) work in law firms, the courts, the police, public administration, business and organisations. A trainee lawyer works in a law firm or an organisation under the responsibility of a lawyer, building experience towards their own licence. Job ads ask for “strong legal qualifications”, “good grades”, “strong written and oral communication”, “high work capacity” and an “interest in” a particular area of law.

Law firms and public employers receive many applications for legal roles, and many use applicant tracking systems that sort by the words in the ad. Describe your areas of law and tasks with the same words as the ad, where they match what you have done. Selja does this for you when you paste in the ad. Our guide to an ATS-friendly CV explains how these systems read your CV. Most ads in Norway are in Norwegian, so it helps to know terms such as arbeidsrett (employment law), prosesskriv (pleadings) and utredning (legal analysis). These words come up again and again:

• Master of Laws (master i rettsvitenskap), grades and master's thesis.
• Areas of law such as contract law, company law, employment law, real estate, administrative law, criminal law, family law and data protection.
• Legal analysis, research and legal assessments.
• Pleadings, advocacy and court cases.
• Agreements and contracts: drafting, review and negotiation.
• Client contact, advice, due diligence and compliance.
• Strong written communication and high work capacity.

Formal requirements: law degree, trainee lawyer and licence

According to utdanning.no, you need a master's degree in law (master i rettsvitenskap) from a Norwegian university to become a jurist. Write the degree, university and year, and your grade average if the ad asks for it or it strengthens your application.

The Lawyers Act (advokatloven) has applied since 1 January 2025. Under the act, the Norwegian Supervisory Authority for Legal Practice (Advokattilsynet) authorises trainee lawyers. You need a law degree (juridisk embetseksamen or master i rettsvitenskap) or an approved equivalent, and a police certificate. The trainee works under the responsibility of a lawyer, who must guide and supervise them.

To get the lawyer's licence, you need at least two years of practice as a trainee lawyer, judge or deputy judge, in the prosecution service with a lot of court work, or in another approved legal role. You must also have passed the lawyers' course (advokatkurset) and present a police certificate. With practice as a trainee, the regulations require you to have conducted at least three cases, and one of them must be a main hearing or a final hearing in a civil case lasting at least half a day. One of the other two can be replaced by a passed trial exam (rettssakseksamen).

Only people with a Norwegian licence may use the title advokat. So write how far you have come, for example “Trainee lawyer since 2024, lawyers' course passed 2025, two of three cases conducted”, and never call yourself an advokat before you hold the licence.

Examples of a summary for a law graduate CV

The summary is the three to five sentences at the top of your CV. It should say who you are, what you can do and what you are looking for. Here are two made up examples you can use as a pattern, one for a trainee lawyer and one for a recent law graduate:

Example 1: “Trainee lawyer with two and a half years of experience at a business law firm, with employment law and contract law as main areas. Has written pleadings in 15 cases, conducted three cases before the district court and advised business clients on restructuring, dismissals and agreements. Has passed the lawyers' course and is looking for a role with more client responsibility in employment law.”

Example 2: “Recent law graduate with a master's in law from the University of Bergen and a thesis on data protection in the public sector. Worked for two years as a student assistant at a law firm and had a summer job as a case officer at the county governor's office (Statsforvalteren). Looking for an adviser role working with administrative law and data protection.”

Replace the areas of law and numbers with your own, and only write what you can explain in an interview. You will find more examples in our guide to writing a CV summary.

Bullet points with results: weak versus strong

Legal work is often described vaguely, with words such as “assisted” and “took part”. Write instead what you did yourself, in which area of law, and how large the work was. Do not include client names or details that could reveal who the case was about.

• Weak: “Assisted in court cases.” Strong: “Wrote the writ, defence and closing submissions in 12 employment cases, and conducted two of them before the district court.”
• Weak: “Worked with contracts.” Strong: “Drafted and negotiated more than 60 supplier and customer agreements for technology companies, and created standard templates that cut review time from days to hours.”
• Weak: “Due diligence.” Strong: “Led the legal review of employment and lease agreements in three acquisitions worth from 200 million to 1.2 billion kroner.”
• Weak: “Case handling.” Strong: “Handled 150 appeals a year under the Public Administration Act, and wrote decisions that were used as templates in the department.”
• Weak: “Data protection.” Strong: “Reviewed the processing of personal data in five specialist systems, and drew up new data processing agreements and routines that management adopted.”
• Weak: “Advice.” Strong: “Advised 40 business clients on dismissals and restructuring, and ran six employment law courses for managers.”

Skills, systems and courses worth including

Legal knowledge matters most, but systems and courses show that you can work efficiently from day one. Be specific about what you can do and what you have done.

• Legal research in Lovdata Pro, Juridika, Gyldendal Rettsdata or similar.
• Case and document systems, for example the law firm's own system, or Public 360 or Elements in public administration.
• Legal English for contracts and international clients, and other languages you use at work.
• The lawyers' course, the trial exam and other courses, with the year.
• Student activities such as Jussbuss, Jussformidlingen, JURK, moot court competitions and student assistant roles.
• Grade average and good grades in subjects that fit the job.

Recent graduate, or many years as a lawyer

If you are a recent graduate, your education, master's thesis and what you did alongside your studies set you apart. Give the topic and grade of your thesis, and mention subjects that fit the job. Student jobs at law firms, summer jobs, free legal aid work and positions of responsibility are worth including, ideally with what you did. Many law firms run summer programmes for students, so make it clear if you took part. Our guides to a CV for recent graduates and finding relevant work experience as a student have more advice.

If you have many years as a lawyer, specialisation and responsibility are what count. Show your areas of law, the types of cases, client responsibility, court experience, articles and talks, and responsibility for teams or clients. Cut student jobs down to one line. If you are moving from a law firm to public administration, our guide to an adviser and case officer CV shows what public employers look for.

Common mistakes in a law graduate CV

Lawyers are judged on precision and language, in the CV too. Look out for these before you send it:

• Education without the year, university or grades when the ad asks for them.
• Calling yourself an advokat without a licence.
• Vague points with “assisted” and “took part” instead of what you did yourself.
• Client names or details that could reveal who the case was about.
• Long, legalistic paragraphs. Your CV is not a pleading.
• Spelling mistakes and inconsistent formatting.

Create your CV and cover letter for the legal job with Selja

Legal jobs look for different things. A business law firm wants to hear about transactions and agreements, a court about case handling and writing, a directorate about administrative law. With Selja you paste in the job ad and upload the CV you already have, and in under a minute you get a professional, ATS-friendly CV and cover letter tailored to the job, with the areas of law and keywords from the ad where they match what you have done. If the ad is in English, you get your CV and cover letter in English.

Selja never adds experience or skills you do not have. If the ad asks for something your CV does not show, for example due diligence experience, Selja asks you first and only uses what you confirm. With Premium you can also practise the interview for the exact job you have applied for, speaking or writing, with feedback on every answer. It is free to start: check your CV for free, or take a free ATS check. Get started when you want to create the application.

The application and next steps

The cover letter for a legal job should be short, precise and free of mistakes. Say why you want to work there and in that particular area of law, and what you can contribute. Many employers ask for your diploma and transcript, so attach them when the ad asks for them. See our example of a job application for a template.

The interview may include technical questions, a case or a writing task. Read our guide to common interview questions, and practise with the interview questions for the role. Before you negotiate, check the level with the free pay check and read our guide on how to negotiate your salary.