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Attorney Resume Guide

Section 1: Practice Areas A-B

Practice Areas A-B: Complete Reference Guide

This section covers all practice areas beginning with letters A through B. Each practice area includes specific guidance for when to select this specialization on your resume, when to avoid it, and the essential keywords to include for optimal ATS performance.

How to Use This Guide:

  • Select if You Are: Criteria for including this practice area on your resume
  • Avoid if You Are: When this practice area doesn't fit your background
  • Include These Keywords: Essential terms for ATS optimization

Advertising & Marketing

Select if You Are:

  • • Providing legal guidance on advertising regulations, promotional campaigns, or consumer protection compliance
  • • Advising brands, agencies, or media companies on advertising law or marketing regulations
  • • Handling FTC compliance matters or advertising disputes

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working in general commercial or IP law without specific advertising law reference
  • • Creating standard commercial contracts not related to advertising
  • • Handling trademark matters without advertising industry context

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

FTC compliance false advertising endorsement agreement sweepstakes promotions law Lanham Act ad review marketing law advertising compliance social media campaigns endorsement rules

Alcohol Beverage Law

Select if You Are:

  • • Advising breweries, wineries, distilleries, or alcohol distributors on regulatory, licensing, or compliance matters
  • • Handling matters before the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) or state alcohol control boards
  • • Working with distribution agreements, label approvals, or tied-house laws

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Mentioning alcohol law in passing without specific legal tasks
  • • Working in general hospitality or restaurant law without alcohol-specific matters
  • • Handling only general regulatory work without alcohol industry focus

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

TTB label approval tied-house alcohol licensing alcohol distribution craft brewery compliance liquor law alcohol permits ABC board state liquor authority distillery regulation alcohol tax law

Antitrust and Competition

Select if You Are:

  • • Working on matters involving competition, price fixing, market allocation, or monopolistic practices
  • • Handling government investigations (FTC, DOJ Antitrust Division) or providing antitrust counseling for mergers
  • • Working in antitrust law across multiple domains (litigation, regulatory, compliance, transactions)

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working in general corporate or litigation without reference to antitrust or competition law
  • • Mentioning compliance generically without antitrust-specific duties
  • • Working in areas clearly focused on specific antitrust sub-specialties

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

Sherman Act Clayton Act FTC DOJ Antitrust price fixing monopoly cartel antitrust merger review market dominance exclusive dealing horizontal agreement vertical restraint antitrust compliance competition law restraint of trade anti-competitive conduct market concentration merger clearance antitrust due diligence

Antitrust and Competition – Mergers and Acquisitions

Select if You Are:

  • • Advising on merger filings, HSR Act compliance, or antitrust aspects of M&A transactions
  • • Coordinating with competition authorities in cross-border M&A
  • • Working on Hart-Scott-Rodino filings, merger clearance, or regulatory review before FTC or DOJ

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working only in litigation or investigatory experience without M&A deal work
  • • Involved only in corporate work unrelated to antitrust concerns
  • • Working purely in litigation-related antitrust experience

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

HSR filing merger clearance premerger notification second request antitrust due diligence FTC merger review EU competition filing gun-jumping concentration filing merger control FTC second request DOJ antitrust review merger analysis FTC approval DOJ review

Antitrust and Competition – Litigation and Investigations

Select if You Are:

  • • Representing clients in antitrust litigation, including class actions, cartel investigations, or monopolization cases
  • • Responding to civil investigative demands (CIDs) or subpoenas from DOJ or FTC
  • • Defending or prosecuting price fixing, monopolization, bid rigging, or market allocation claims

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Handling only compliance or transactional antitrust work
  • • Working without litigation-specific duties described
  • • Working in general commercial litigation without antitrust-specific focus

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

cartel defense price fixing litigation bid rigging civil investigative demand antitrust subpoena class action Section 1 Sherman Act Section 2 Sherman Act antitrust investigation DOJ Antitrust Division FTC enforcement antitrust trial antitrust damages monopolization antitrust litigation market allocation FTC investigation

Art & Museum Law

Select if You Are:

  • • Handling matters involving art transactions, provenance, museum governance, or art lending
  • • Representing artists, galleries, or cultural institutions
  • • Advising museums, galleries, or artists on legal matters related to art, cultural property, or restitution

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Mentioning copyright or trademark only without art-sector relevance
  • • Working in general IP or entertainment law without museum/art focus
  • • Working in general IP or transactional experience unrelated to art-specific matters

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

provenance art fraud museum law restitution deaccessioning cultural property artist rights gallery agreement art appraisal dispute art foundation art insurance repatriation gallery agreements art finance cultural heritage

Art & Museum Law – General

Select if You Are:

  • • Advising broadly on art-related matters but no specific litigation or transactional detail provided
  • • Practicing broadly in legal matters affecting museums and art institutions including contracts, governance, and compliance
  • • Working with both transactional and advisory aspects of art and museum law

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working clearly in transactional or litigation that can be classified under more specific art subcategory
  • • Working only in litigation or IP licensing work without museum-related experience
  • • Working only in litigation experience or unrelated practice areas

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

art law fine art cultural institution art market art collection museum compliance art authentication artist representation museum governance collections management art transactions charitable foundations 501(c)(3) art cultural property law art loan agreement art acquisition NAGPRA

Art & Museum Law – Litigation/Transactional

Select if You Are:

  • • Litigating art-related disputes or negotiating contracts for art sales, museum loans, or copyright issues
  • • Representing clients in either disputes over art or in structuring transactions involving artwork (sales, loans, donations)
  • • Handling litigation and also drafting contracts or advising on transactions in the art world

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working without direct litigation or contract negotiation involving the art world
  • • Working only in art advisory or consulting work without litigation or contract experience
  • • Working without litigation or transactional component

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

title dispute art sale agreement art litigation museum loan agreement art consignment gallery dispute stolen artwork art settlement IP in art context art sales contract loan agreement art dispute title claim replevin donation agreement art fraud litigation consignment agreement museum indemnification provenance dispute

Bankruptcy

Select if You Are:

  • • Working in bankruptcy-related matters for individuals, businesses, or creditors
  • • Handling filings, restructuring, adversary proceedings, or debtor-creditor negotiations
  • • Working with broad experience across bankruptcy-related matters (creditor, debtor, restructuring, or litigation)

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working with only tangential involvement with bankruptcy matters (e.g., contract drafting during restructuring)
  • • Working only in debt collection or general commercial litigation without bankruptcy proceedings
  • • Working only in corporate workouts without formal bankruptcy filings

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

Chapter 7 Chapter 11 Chapter 13 debtor creditor bankruptcy trustee reorganization automatic stay bankruptcy court plan of reorganization 341 meeting preference action restructuring trustee bankruptcy petition discharge debtor-in-possession

Bankruptcy – Creditors Rights

Select if You Are:

  • • Representing banks, lenders, landlords, or vendors asserting claims in bankruptcy
  • • Working with lifting stay motions, asserting liens, or negotiating creditor treatment
  • • Representing creditors (secured/unsecured) in bankruptcy cases, adversary proceedings, or enforcement of judgments

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working only in debtor-side experience or general restructuring without specific creditor advocacy
  • • Working only in debtor representation or general commercial disputes
  • • Working in collections without formal bankruptcy court work

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

secured creditor creditor claim relief from stay collateral recovery proof of claim UCC lien creditor committee loan workout bankruptcy enforcement involuntary bankruptcy automatic stay relief preference action reclamation UCC Article 9 collection

Bankruptcy – Debtor

Select if You Are:

  • • Representing debtors in bankruptcy proceedings, including Chapter 7, 11, or 13
  • • Working with individuals or companies seeking protection or restructuring
  • • Handling Chapter 11 reorganizations or individual filings

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working only in creditor representation or collections without advising debtors
  • • Working only in creditor-side or trustee roles
  • • Working primarily in debtor-side experience or trustee representation

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

debtor representation plan of reorganization fresh start Chapter 7 discharge Chapter 13 plan DIP financing personal bankruptcy debtor-in-possession discharge Chapter 11 filing stay

Bankruptcy – Consumer Credit

Select if You Are:

  • • Handling individual bankruptcies, especially Chapter 7 or 13 involving consumer debt
  • • Focusing on consumer bankruptcies including Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings
  • • Working with individual consumers seeking debt relief

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working in corporate restructuring only or no mention of individual filings
  • • Working only in corporate or commercial bankruptcy work
  • • Focusing primarily on business bankruptcy matters

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

credit counseling consumer bankruptcy credit card debt Chapter 13 repayment means test foreclosure defense personal debt relief Chapter 7 Chapter 13 consumer debt dischargeable debt

Bankruptcy – Restructuring (Chapter 11)

Select if You Are:

  • • Assisting businesses or high-net-worth individuals through Chapter 11 restructuring
  • • Working with plan negotiation, DIP financing, or reorganizations
  • • Representing companies in restructuring under Chapter 11

Avoid if You Are:

  • • Working only in liquidation (Chapter 7) or individual consumer bankruptcy (Chapter 13)
  • • Working without involvement with Chapter 11 cases or corporate restructuring
  • • Focusing on consumer bankruptcy rather than business restructuring

Include These Keywords in Your Resume:

Chapter 11 reorganization plan DIP lender creditor committee debtor-in-possession automatic stay restructuring support agreement restructuring plan DIP financing 363 sale reorganization