General Counsel CV Examples & Writing Guide

Format and structure

A General Counsel CV runs 2–3 pages. You need the space to evidence technical depth, commercial scope and leadership track record. Do not shrink the font to cram everything onto two pages; let it run to a third page if the content justifies it. Use reverse-chronological order throughout.

What to include, section by section

Length and tailoring

A GC remit varies enormously. Public-company GCs spend time on securities law, ESG and shareholder engagement. Private-company GCs focus on M&A, commercial contracts and fundraising. Regulated-industry GCs live in compliance and regulatory relations. Use the job spec as a checklist and re-weight which practice areas you foreground. Keep multiple CV versions and tailor every application.

When the employer is lesser-known, add a one-line descriptor in parentheses after the company name: sector, revenue or headcount, listed vs. private, regulated or not. A GC's value is relative to business complexity, so "GC of a £200m FCA-regulated fintech" reads very differently from the same title at a 10-person startup.

The result-plus-metric pattern

Every bullet should answer: what did you do, and what changed because of it? General Counsel work touches the bottom line in measurable ways. Quantify the levers you actually own: external legal spend reduced, contract cycle time, settlement value, compliance rates, team headcount built, deal size, and jurisdictions covered.

Before and after examples

Before (duty-focused):

Responsible for managing all commercial contracts and advising the business on contract risk.

After (outcome-focused):

Built and deployed a contract playbook and self-serve template library, reducing sales-contract cycle time from 18 days to 7 days and enabling the commercial team to close 40% more deals per quarter.

Before (vague):

Provided legal support for the company's acquisition strategy.

After (specific and quantified):

Advised the board and CEO on the £68m acquisition of a Dublin-based advisory firm, leading due diligence, transaction documentation, regulatory approvals (Central Bank of Ireland) and post-completion integration, delivering the deal four weeks ahead of schedule.

Before (generic):

Managed external legal spend and panel firms.

After (measurable impact):

Reduced external legal spend by 28% (£310k annually) by establishing a panel-firm framework, bringing routine employment and commercial work in-house, and implementing matter-budgeting controls.

Prove expertise with named deals

Do not just list practice areas. If you have led M&A, identify the four or five largest deals you have handled and their strategic value. For compliance programmes, name the specific initiatives and their measurable outcomes. The detail is what separates a credible GC from someone who has simply held the title.

Action verbs for General Counsel CVs

Use verbs that signal leadership, judgment and business partnership: advised, led, negotiated, designed, implemented, reduced, built, managed, delivered, overhauled, supported, coordinated, achieved. Avoid passive constructions and pure task verbs like "drafted" or "reviewed" unless paired with an outcome.

Function-specific sub-headings

For your most recent role, consider breaking your bullets into sub-headings that mirror a GC remit:

• Management Responsibilities (team size, budget, jurisdictions)
• Corporate Governance (board support, company secretarial, shareholder engagement)
• Risk and Compliance (regulatory programmes, audits, policies)
• Commercial and Transactional (M&A, contracts, disputes)

These act as a snapshot of your scope and help a recruiter or hiring manager place you in six seconds.

Qualification credentials

Your admission as a solicitor (SRA) or call to the bar, law degree, and Legal Practice Course are gatekeeping facts that a recruiter will verify. Present them clearly in your Education section, but do not lead with them. At General Counsel level, these are table stakes, not differentiators.

Include:

• Admission date and regulator – e.g. "Admitted as Solicitor of England and Wales, September 2012 (Solicitors Regulation Authority)"
• Law degree – institution, class of honours, year
• LPC or BPTC – institution, grade (Distinction/Commendation), year
• Company secretarial or governance qualifications – Chartered Secretary (ICSA/CGI), if held

Do not include A-levels or GCSEs unless you are very early in your career (fewer than five years PQE). Do not list every module from your law degree.

Certifications that matter

For General Counsel roles, the following certifications and memberships add weight:

• Chartered Secretary (ACG or FICG) – signals company-secretarial and governance expertise, especially for listed or regulated companies
• Solicitor (England and Wales) – your core professional qualification
• Specialist accreditations – e.g. Law Society accreditation in a niche area (rarely relevant at GC level, but include if directly applicable to the role)

Do not list generic CPD courses or one-day training unless they are highly relevant and recent (e.g. a board-effectiveness programme or ESG-reporting certification).