Best Practices for Including References on an Attorney's Resume

Description

• Harrison advises against listing references on your resume.
• Instead, wait for the law firm to request them.
• Mentioning references can sometimes signal a weak resume.
• Exception: If you have a notable reference, consider including it.
• Law firms typically request references if necessary, so be prepared.

Transcript

Transcript:

Typically, you don't want to list them if people ask; give them; you don't want to say references available on requests. You don't want to say anything about references, and there are many reasons. But the idea is that you want the law firm to ask for people to make references available on request.

I'm not trying to be rude here, but typically, these are people whose resumes aren't good. You don't need to put references on there. Sometimes, people may have done vital work or worked for the general counsel of a giant company. Something that will list that, or they may have an essential reference to the list.

The same logic applies: you must be careful about listing those references. If people ask for the references, you can typically give them. Most law firms are going to ask for something other than a reference. They will ask for them if they feel like they need them.