Senior Counsel Resume
Rather than provide a traditional curriculum vitae, the writer created this resume, which focuses on the applicant's professional achievements to set him apart from the competition. The resume "drew a 100% response rate for positions in corporate and private-practice environments in his specialty areas." For the past three workplaces, the writer uses diamond bullets and boldfacing to direct attention to achievements. A pair of lines encloses each main heading.
Sample Senior Counsel Resume
Experienced attorney with expertise in corporate law, bankruptcy/insolvency, commercial lending and commercial real estate in banking and private-practice environments.
- Effective litigator in both state and federal courts. Successful negotiator of complex transactions and contracts.
- Preparation of opinion letters, loan documents, pleadings, contracts and memoranda.
- Strengths include cultivating and managing client relationships, marketing and business development. Computer proficient in legal research software.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
TRANS-AMERICA CORPORATION, Madison, New York 1993–present
Senior Counsel/Department Head—Legal Services Unit
Direct law department and professional staff of multibillion-dollar financial services division. Manage personal portfolio of active litigation and transaction matters while overseeing caseloads of legal staff. Represent organization in bankruptcy and collection proceedings (foreclosures, replevins, liquidations) and in defensive litigation. Provide counsel to internal management and account officers.
- Resolved numerous litigation and workout cases, resulting in $29M in cash recoveries for division within first year after assuming department leadership.
- Expanded client services to include defensive litigation and loan closings for Commercial Lending and Community Banking divisions.
- Effectively negotiated complex Chapter 11 bankruptcies, including cash collateral orders and reorganization plans.
- Negotiated and drafted documents for real estate and asset-based loan workouts and restructures.
- Drafted master environmental engineering contract used in all site assessments organization-wide.
- Educated officers, division senior staff and law department personnel on various legal issues including bankruptcy, eviction process and limited liability companies.
MANAGEMENT CORPORATION LAW DEPARTMENT, Hartford, Connecticut 1991–1993
Senior Counsel/Litigation Team Leader 1992–1993
Counsel 1991–1992
Promoted to manage litigation team specializing in legal issues and remedies of FDIC, including application of FIRREA and FDIC authority in liquidation of failed banking institutions. Managed personal portfolio averaging 60 high-profile corporate cases. Counsel to approval committees, providing written legal opinions to support proposed settlements/restructures. Researched FDIC, fraud and bankruptcy issues.
- Represented organization in bankruptcies, foreclosures, liquidations, collections and deedsin- lieu of foreclosures, resulting in multimillion-dollar cash recoveries each quarter.
- Negotiated and drafted documents for commercial real estate and asset-based workouts.
- Trained loan assistants on Article 9 filings, and all officers and legal staff on bankruptcy issues.
PETERSON, SCHMIDT AND TOWNSEND, P.C., New York, New York 1985–1991
Associate
Managed diverse caseload in commercial lending, commercial real estate and corporate law for large private legal practice. Incorporated businesses and formed limited partnerships, including preparation of incorporation documents, shareholder and partnership agreements and certificates of limited partnerships. Negotiated and drafted employment contracts and licensing agreements.
- Negotiated and drafted loan documents, and closed commercial real estate and assetbased loans of up to $10M.
- Restructured $55 million line of credit for a major retail chain and represented buyers in a stock purchase for an automotive parts business.
- Researched Regulation D and Regulation A private offerings and assisted senior counsel in preparing Form D documents and prospectus.
- Developed and marketed expertise in bankruptcy, foreclosures and loan workouts through informational seminars for officers of financial institutions.
- Generated $300,000-plus annually for the firm and maintained a full-time caseload from new business developed.
COLE, DAVIS AND ROBINSON, P.C., New York, New York Summers 1984–1985
Law Clerk
OFFICE OF THE U.S. ATTORNEY, New York, New York Summers 1983–1984
Law Clerk
EDUCATION
J.D., NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, New York, New York, 1985 B.A. (Political Science), HARVARD UNIVERSITY, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1982
Additional
Advance Trial Practice Training, National Institute of Trial Advocacy, 1994
ADMISSIONS and MEMBERSHIPS
New York Bar, 1985
District of New York Federal Court, 1986
New York Bar Association, Commercial Law & Bankruptcy Section