Adding Bar Admission to your Resume

Graduates should indicate on their resume that they have passed the bar and have been admitted to practice. Many options exist to reflect this information on your resume. Most attorneys create a separate section to show admission to the bar, but it is not required by any code of resume etiquette. The label for this section can be any of the following: BAR ADMISSION, BAR MEMBERSHIP, ADMISSIONS, PROFESSIONAL LICENSES, LICENSES. It should be plural if there are going to be more than one listed, singular if not. For those that are eager to indicate that they have passed the bar, but have not yet been sworn in or completed all the requirements to be eligible to practice, consider the labels: BAR EXAM OR BAR PASSAGE.

When applying for positions immediately after being admitted, it is probably best to put bar information at the top of the resume. After practicing for a time, most attorneys put this section as the last on their resume.

Do not use the label BAR ASSOCIATION to indicate that you are licensed to practice. In most states, membership to the bar association, a private organization, is not related to membership to the state bar itself.

The following are some examples of resume sections related to bar admission.

BAR MEMBERSHIPS
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2000
State of Delaware, 2001

ADMISSIONS
New York State Bar, Second Department, 1999
United States District Court, E.D.N.Y., 2001

BAR ADMISSION
United States Patent and Trademark Office, 1996

PROFESSIONAL LICENSE
Florida State Bar, 2000

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