Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
350 Cedar Street, 2nd Floor | San Diego, CA 92101 | (619) 525-7087 | www.cwsl.edu/career
Courtney Miklusak, Esq., Assistant Dean
Matthew Lab, Esq., Director, Access to Law Initiative (ALI) & Professional Development
Jocelyn Salvatori, Esq., Associate Director – Noelle Dorman, Assistant Director, Projects & Employer
Development – Drew Lautemann, Esq., Assistant Director, Pro Bono & Public Service
Robin Lake, Esq., Graduate Career Advisor – Heidi Weaver, Esq., Career Advisor
Efa Akutekha, Department Coordinator – Riley Davis, Administrative Assistant
A resume is an individual expression of who you are. It is also your one chance to make a
great first impression. The idea is to set yourself apart as a professional from the rest of the
crowd, while still maintaining the traditional professionalism required in the field of law. It is
an interest-piquing summary of your background containing powerful “sound bites” of your
academic and work experiences, and your skills.
A law resume is your marketing tool. As with all legal documents, a law resume has a
distinct, uncomplicated format that makes it easy for the reader to quickly locate the
substantive information he or she is looking for to hire you. Your goal is to present that
information in a concise, easy to read and interesting way that captures your readers’
interest.
The resume is not a complete autobiography! Its main goal is to convince prospective
employers to contact you for an interview. Your resume is a sample of your writing and
persuasion skills, and it must be drafted carefully.
Most law students will use a reverse chronological resume format. See samples that follow
this section. However, in a rare instance, a law student might use a functional resume
format. If you are not certain which suits your situation best, please ask a Career Advisor for
assistance.
B. Functional. This resume works well for people who have a great deal of varied prior
experience and who need to demonstrate how that background merges with law. For
example, for someone with a career before law school, a functional resume could be
used to combine similar positions in a career of substantial length (e.g. professional
nursing experience, teaching experience, etc.) into one description. A functional
resume can also organize your background by skill categories that clearly show the
prospective employer the skills you will bring to the job (e.g., “Negotiation,” “Oral
Advocacy,” “Contract Writing,” etc.). Each category is then further described by listing
concrete examples of your use of those skills.
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II. GENERAL GUIDELINES
A. One page.
Unless you have an extensive career history before law school, or you are seeking a
public interest position and have extensive public interest volunteer work in your
background, limit your resume to one full page. You must communicate your particular
suitability for the position quickly and immediately. This is a sample of your ability to write
efficiently and succinctly.
However, if you do have an extensive background which is significant and relevant to the
position you are seeking, you may need to use a two-page format. Reviewers of your
resume will skim your resume quickly; be sure to draft your resume so as to provide a
strong picture of your qualifications on the first page and lead the reviewer to look at the
second page. If you do use a two-page format, place your full name on the first line,
and “Resume, Page 2" on the second line of the second page. Also, be sure to fill your
second page. A second page with a large portion of white space looks unprofessional.
B. Easy to read.
Your resume must be an inviting document to read. Do not present an employer with a
dense, confusing document printed in a small font size. Rather, encourage an easy
reading of your resume through an effective use of concise formatting, white space and
carefully selected language.
Avoid ornate or decorative styles. Use effective combinations of CAPITAL letters, bold
or italic typefaces, and underlining for name, schools, employers and position titles to
enhance readability. Be judicious as overuse of these tools can result in a confused look.
Italics are often used for honor designations (e.g., “B.S., magna cum laude, Biology,
2012") and underlining is often used for publications. Also, be consistent within
categories. If you present one position title in bold caps, type all position titles in bold
caps. Be consistent with abbreviations. For example, if you use J.D. instead of Juris
Doctor, use B.A. instead of Bachelor of Arts, etc.
Choose an easy-to-read typeface. Times New Roman 12 point font or Arial 11 or 12 point
font are both good choices. Use a larger font size for your name.
C. Focused.
Tailor each resume you send to each individual employer so that the employer identifies
most with your background and skills. By highlighting experiences and skills relevant to
the particular employer, you will create a resume that causes you to stand out from the
pack. Presenting different combinations of your experiences and skills may cause you to
stand out more for one employer than for the next.
For instance, if you have experience in both criminal and civil practices, you should
consider including more detail about the criminal experience and the skills you derived
from that experience for application to the Federal Public Defender than you would for
application to a corporate securities law firm. Similarly, if your undergraduate study
included focused coursework in accounting and geology, you may want to consider
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highlighting the former for application to an estate planning practice and the latter for
application to an environmental law practice. You should always tailor your resume to
the particular employer.
Do not use the resume templates that come with most word processing software
packages or online. These templates confine your ability to set your resume up to your
best advantage and restrict your ability to add future employment experience due to
space limitations. They also often contain features not appropriate for a law resume,
e.g., an “Objective” section. Rather, construct your own format from a blank word
processing document.
Do not include an “Objective” section on your resume. These are generally not used for
law clerk or lawyer positions. Instead, your objective will form a part of your cover letter.
Include whatever experiences you have gained since you last submitted a resume. If
appropriate, consider adding courses taken, seminars or conferences attended, grades
received or projects completed since your last draft.
The following outline is in the appropriate order for law students and recent graduates who
are seeking law clerk or first entry-level attorney positions. Once you are into your first or
subsequent job as an attorney, when you are preparing a resume to make a lateral job move,
you should reverse the order of the “Education” and “Experience” sections, and also lead off
with a “Professional” section listing bar licenses and bar associations. See sample that
follows.
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B. Education.
Include law school, graduate and undergraduate schools in reverse chronological order.
For each, list the official name of the school, the city and state, the degree(s) earned and
the date(s) you received the degree(s) (not the years you attended). If you are applying
for positions outside of Southern California, it is valuable to note California
Western’s accreditation with the ABA and AALS as follows: California Western
School of Law, ABA/AALS, San Diego, CA. Otherwise, do not include that information.
For students currently enrolled, state the degree and the date on which it is expected to
be conferred (e.g., “Juris Doctor expected May 2019" or “Juris Doctor candidate,
December 2018"). For all degree programs, also consider including any distinguishing
and relevant features, including, but not necessarily limited to: academic performance,
honors and awards, extracurricular activities, focus of study, independent study topics,
titles of relevant papers written, etc. You may also want to consider including an official
coursework concentration, identification of relevant courses taken, research papers
relevant to the particular employer, etc.
1. Honors and awards should be included if, for example, you graduated cum laude
from undergraduate school, or received a scholarship or award (if the title of your
award does not clearly reveal its nature, you may annotate that entry, e.g., “scholastic
honor” or “advocacy awards”). Also, you should include if you are a member of an
honor society, placed in a moot court competition (not just participated in the
competition), or engaged in a scholarly writing or publication project. You should also
consider identifying the substantive topic of your Law Review Note or Comment, Moot
Court Brief, Scholarly Writing paper, etc., when relevant to the employer’s practice.
2. Activities are important to include when they demonstrate your leadership, initiative,
personality, responsibility, interests, energy and/or desire to participate in your
community. Keep in mind there may be times when an extracurricular activity may be
more appropriately described under the “Experience” section of your resume. For
instance, if during your undergraduate years you were the student representative on a
committee of faculty members charged with improving curricula, you might want to
detail in the “Experience” section the skills you employed when you “assessed
curriculum shortcomings and needs, advocated students’ positions to committee,
negotiated compromise between competing interests, and presented resulting
curriculum changes to entire student body,” rather than simply to list that you were a
“Curriculum Committee Member.” (Note: As time passes, tangentially-related
activities during undergraduate years become less relevant and thus may be better
left off your resume.)
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3. Academic performance generally (e.g., GPA, class rank and/or percentile standing)
may be important to include on your resume. If your GPA and rank are not your best
attributes, you should omit the information so your application is not immediately
eliminated on the basis of grades or rank alone. There is no hard and fast rule about
whether or not to state your academic standing on your resumes, and one approach
may be preferable for one employer, but not for the next. As with all features of your
background, assess each situation individually and make your own judgment
regarding what to include on each version of your resume. A Career Advisor will be
happy to help you determine what is best for you.
If you do state your performance, list either your GPA or class standing, but not both.
In general, class standing or Class Rank Percentile is easier for employers to
understand.
a. Class Standing. If you elect to list class standing, you must list it as issued by
the Registrar’s Office (Class Standing: 108/221). Class standing is computed
by the Registrar only. You may not compute your own mid-year class standing
or GPA.
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c. Grade Point Average. If you choose to list your GPA on your resume, it must
be listed exactly as it appears on your transcript or rounded down. For
example, a GPA of 86.46 may be listed as 86.46, rounded down to 86.4, but
may not be rounded up to 86.5. Always state your GPA as a fraction
identifying California Western’s 95 point scale, e.g., 86.4/95. If your GPA has
improved over time, it may be to your advantage to show a GPA for each year
or for particular years or trimesters. If you choose to list a GPA and/or class
standing other than your current cumulative GPA and/or class standing, you
must identify the corresponding year(s) and/or trimester(s) for those
GPAs/class standings listed.
If you do not state your academic performance, consider whether you might
want to highlight a particular good grade or an upward trend in your trimester
GPAs. Also consider if you are listing your undergraduate GPA, but not your
law school GPA. You probably want to list both, or not list either, but do not list
only one. An employer is sure to ask you about the one you left off.
C. Experience.
Whether you have recently graduated from an undergraduate institution or have had a
substantial prior career, it is crucial that you identify the legal and non-legal skills that will
be valuable to the particular employer. This is the section of your resume in which you
identify what practical skills and traits you will bring to an organization.
First, list the name of the employer/organization for which you worked (regardless of
whether you were paid or volunteered), the city and state in which it was located, the title
of your position(s) and dates (month and year) you held the position(s). If you did not
have a formal title, choose one that positively and accurately describes the position.
Remember that volunteer work is appropriate to include as “experience.”
Second, in narrative or “bulleted” format (whichever you choose) describe what you did
and the skills you used in a concise and interesting way. This is the challenging part.
The goal is to engage the reader and identify your skills in a way that leads the reader to
the conclusion that you can contribute to their organization. Do not assume that only
legal experience is relevant. Lawyering skills are often developed during non-legal
experiences. For example, if, as Secretary of the Soccer Club, you took minutes of all
meetings and wrote articles for the semiannual newsletter, by all means highlight those
critical listening and note-taking skills you used to keep minutes, as well as the
interviewing, factual analysis and writing skills you employed in writing for the newsletter.
The list of “Action Verbs Used to Describe Skills Employed by Lawyers” of this
Guide is extremely useful in extracting from past experiences, legal and non-legal, the
law-related skills you used. Review this list one by one and ask yourself “Did I ‘achieve,’
‘adapt,’ ‘administer,’ etc. anything during this particular experience?” Doing so will boost
the power of your resume. Then, begin each entry in your description with an action
verb. For example, as Soccer Club Secretary, you may have “Achieved goal of
increasing funding by 100%” or “Adapted procedure for scheduling games and fields” or
“Administered internal and external budget.”
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Describe current work in the present tense and prior work in the past tense. Omit the
personal pronoun "I" and articles such as "a," "an” and "the."
When describing your work, do not evaluate your own worth, e.g., "effective negotiator"
or “excellent communicator”. Instead, let the results of your efforts speak for themselves.
Report the incidents that demonstrate your worth in a factual, anecdotal manner
(“Negotiated campus-wide refund of excessive tuition charges,” or “Communicated
organizational mission and goals to government officials.”)
CAUTION: Remember that until you pass the bar and are licensed by a state to practice
law, you may not practice law. Unauthorized practice of law (before license) is a crime.
Unless you are licensed to practice law, or a certified law student (and then only under
prescribed circumstances), you cannot “advise clients,” “represent the State,” “counsel
immigrants,” or the like, regarding legal matters. However, you can “inform,” “explain,”
“describe” and “assist attorneys in” legal matters. Thus, choose your action verbs
carefully to ensure that you do not inadvertently admit to the crime of unauthorized
practice of law.
Where possible, you should try to be even more specific in describing each experience
using a P-A-R (Problem-Action-Result) formula. Describe the Problem (or
challenge/responsibility) you faced in the position, Action(s) you took to reach an
objective/goal and the Result of the accomplishment.
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Contrast the effectiveness of these two statements:
4. Publications. List significant published legal and non-legal work under a separate
category (or on a separate page, if necessary) entitled “Publications.” All lawyers
need to be effective communicators, both in written and oral format. If you have been
published, that fact is proof of your abilities in this area and also in the areas of
analysis and research.
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IV. OPTIONAL CONTENT
If you are bilingual or multilingual, this information should definitely be included on your
resume in a separate “Languages” section. When stating your level of proficiency,
include whether you are “fluent” or have “conversational” or “basic” knowledge. If your
written abilities are different from your spoken language abilities, so state. Be careful
not to include languages unless you can really speak and understand to the level you
state. We have known interviewers to speak to interviewees in a language listed on
the interviewees resume, even if it is not a widely spoken language. You should be
prepared or not list it at all. If you used your bilingual abilities in any of your work
experiences, include that fact in your description of the job responsibilities.
(“Interpreted for Cantonese-speaking clients in meetings with attorneys,” or “Lectured
in Spanish on immigration rights to Spanish-speaking community groups.”)
B. Personal Information.
An “Interests” section may be included on your resume if space is available and these
interests contribute to your marketability or provide an interview "ice breaker.” Make
sure you state your interests in an interesting manner. Otherwise, they will be “bores,”
not “interests.” Do not simply say you “enjoy reading” or “sports.” Rather, identify
“14th Century Irish literature” or “Ocean Kayaking” as your interests. Never state
race, religion, sex, age, marital status or other personal data that has no relevance
to your employment qualifications. Doing so suggests you do not know, or are
insensitive to, laws prohibiting discrimination on those grounds.
V. RESUME ETHICS
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VI. PRODUCING, PRINTING AND E-MAILING
Use a laser or high quality inkjet printer to print your resumes. Laser is preferable as ink
jet printers do not print as crisply and cleanly. After all your work on your resume, make sure
it looks as well as it reads. It is your professional portrait. Remember, you may use the
printers in the Career and Professional Development Office.
Create a PDF of all your final application materials, including your resume. NEVER send a
Word document; all of your corrections/edits may be viewable by the inquisitive. The
following PDF conversion service is FREE and easy: http://www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/.
You can also convert or scan your materials to PDF in our office.
Do not use resume preparation programs or services that write your resume for you.
No one knows or can express your accomplishments, strengths and skills better than you.
Do not rely on someone else’s abilities in this regard.
For hard copy applications, white, ivory or very light grey resume paper is available in a
variety of fiber contents and textures at office supply stores and in our office. Buy in bulk to
save money! Pastels, bright and unusual colors should not be used. Resume, cover letter,
reference list, writing sample cover sheet and envelope paper should all match and the
“letterhead” on all should be uniform.
A law resume does not list references on the resume itself, nor should a law resume include
a statement indicating “References Available Upon Request.” The employer knows you will
provide references if requested to do so.
Instead, prepare a separate list of three to five references (including your recommenders’ full
names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail address(es) and how they know you) on
a separate sheet of paper that has the same “letterhead” as your resume (your name,
address, telephone number and e-mail address). Have copies of this reference list, a
discussion and sample available whenever you meet with an employer.
Choose your references based on their knowledge of you and your work performance.
Always ask your references in advance for their permission to include them on your list
of references. Current and former employers and law school faculty are often good
references, provided they will attest positively to your skills.
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VIII. PROOFREAD!
Nothing will kill your prospects faster than a resume, reference list or cover letter (or any of
your application materials) with typographical or grammatical errors. Do not rely on spell
checking programs or Career Advisors. Get several friends to proofread your resume.
Career Advisors usually look for format, content and obvious mistakes. Sometimes Career
Advisors miss things that could be caught by proofreading your document multiple times.
The table below includes words that are often misspelled or misused in resume writing and
cover letters. Carefully review your resume to make sure the proper words are used and that
all are spelled correctly.
Check to make sure your resume does not have any of the following
common and embarrassing mistakes:
appellate affect/effect
constitutional then/than
committed/commitment apprise/appraise
criterion (plural = criteria) capital/capitol
cum laude (use lower case & italicize) my/by
liaison is/it
memorandum (plural = memoranda) complement/compliment
misspell council/counsel(ing)
precede/proceed Juris Doctor (not Doctorate)
perspective/prospective principle/principal
relevant oriented (not orientated)
trial/trail
there/their
public/pubic
you/your/you’re
of/or
way/was
ensure/assure/insure
advice/advise
form/from
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RESUME WRITING TIPS
2. Do tailor your resume to the specific 2. Don’t list references on your resume
employer, i.e., be sure to include skills or indicate “References Available
and experience sought by that Upon Request” (legal employers do
employer. (Different legal employers – not want to see references on your
e.g., public interest vs. civil law firm – resume). Have a separate list
do not necessarily seek the same available if requested.
skills/qualifications. You should have
several versions of your resume.) 3. Don't use personal pronouns (I, my,
me) in a resume. Instead, use
3. Do follow one of the acceptable resume “action” verbs to start all phrases.
formats. (See samples that follow.)
4. Don’t use the resume templates
4. Before including anything on your which come with most software
resume, do ask yourself this: Does this packages. (They confine your ability
information have relevance and to create your best legal resume.
significantly contribute to my And they do not put your resume in a
presentation? proper law resume format.)
8. Do proofread (for accuracy, spelling, 10. Don’t use colorful paper (instead use
grammar, punctuation and correct standard colors such as white, buff,
telephone number and e-mail address). muted gray or beige).
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Action Verbs Used to Describe Skills Employed by Lawyers
EDUCATION
EXPERIENCE
JOHN J. BOOKER
1234 Front St., #13, San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 234-8518 • jjbooker@law.cwsl.edu
EDUCATION
California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA
Juris Doctor expected April 2019
Legal Skills I Course grade: A
Creative Problem Solving Scholarship Recipient, 2016
EXPERIENCE
San Diego Unified School District, San Diego, CA July 2014 – December 2015
Substitute Teacher
Taught large and small groups in all subjects. Assessed student needs and prepared
corresponding lesson plans. Counseled individual students on academic and personal
issues. Maintained classroom order and decorum. Enforced school policies.
San Diego Peak Performance Day Camp, San Diego, CA Summers 2010 – 2014
Director of Aquatics
Supervised other lifeguards and instructors at busy pool for summer day camp program.
Taught water safety to youth and adult students. Ensured safety and health code compliance
during operational hours.
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SAMPLE 2L RESUME Showing Part-Time 1L Summer Law Clerk Experience and STEPPS
EDUCATION
California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA
Juris Doctor candidate, April 2019
Academic Excellence Award (Highest Grade in Class): Torts I
Large Group Tutor, Torts I, Fall 2017
Moot Court Honors Board, Trial Coordinator, 2017
Women’s Law Caucus, Vice-President, 2017 – Present
Business Law Society, Member, 2017 – Present
University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, English; Minor in Communications, May 2006
University Publication (scholarly publication for English majors), Founder/Editor/Writer
Outstanding academic achievement, community service award recipient (Wellesley Book Award)
Universidad de Brasil, Spanish and Portuguese intensive language session, Summer 2005
EXPERIENCE
STEPPS Program, California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA
Participant, 2017 – 2018
Completed intensive practical lawyer skills and professional responsibility training including
simulations in client interviewing and counseling, drafting client correspondence, analyzing pertinent
facts, developing case strategy, drafting pleadings, propounding and responding to motions to compel
production of documents, and preparing memorandum of points and authorities in support of motion
to dismiss complaint.
LANGUAGES
Fluent Korean and Spanish
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SAMPLE 2L RESUME Showing One 1L Summer Internship and Three 2L Positions
MATTHEW PARKER
7028 Hillsboro Ln., San Diego, CA 92120 ● (619) 205-1442
matthew_parker@law.cwsl.edu
EDUCATION
EXPERIENCE
Fluent Spanish
Toussaint Teen Center, San Diego, CA, Volunteer, 2011 – Present
Habitat for Humanity, Projects in Tijuana, Mexico, Volunteer Carpenter, 2008 – 2011
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SAMPLE 3L RESUME With Several Law Clerk Experiences and Showing a Future Job
Note two addresses are given when applying to Northern California employer only.
HECTOR GOMEZ
HG1@law.cwsl.edu ● (619) 555-5666
Permanent Current
44 New York Plaza 163-B Milpitas Way
New York, NY 10004 San Diego, CA 92618
EDUCATION
California Western School of Law, ABA/AALS approved, San Diego, CA
Juris Doctor expected May 2019
California Western Law Review and International Law Journal, Associate Editor, 2016 – Present
Note Topic: “Trading with Foreign Traders: Inherent Securities Fraud?”
Top 30%, based on class standing of 93/313
Health Law Society, Member
New York University, New York, NY
Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, English, June 2016
Phi Beta Kappa
Student Senator
EXPERIENCE
U.S. Attorney's Office, Civil Division, San Diego, CA Summer 2018
Law Clerk
Will draft legal motions and briefs, including a Rule 52 motion, and a trial brief for an FTCA personal injury trial.
Will write a summary judgment motion for a medical malpractice case. Will research and write memoranda
regarding discovery for Affirmative Civil Enforcement Division.
Sullivan Smith & Johnson, LLP, San Diego, CA May 2015 – Present
Law Clerk
Draft memoranda regarding practical implications of Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 on health care providers,
including potential revisions to system-wide education, policies, and employee codes of conduct. Review and
recommend revisions to compliance policies and procedures, including conflicts of interest, gifts and gratuities
and compliance hotline. Revise compliance and HIPAA/privacy education for all students and registry
employees and draft annual education materials for all staff.
JAMES JACKSON
163-B Garnet Ave., San Diego, CA 92109 • jjackson@yahoo.com • (415) 555-5666
PROFESSIONAL
Admitted, State Bar of California, 2016
Awaiting Results of July 2016 Arizona Bar Examination
San Diego County Bar Association, Member
EDUCATION
California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA
Juris Doctor, cum laude, May 2016
Scholarly Writing Topic: Discrimination in the Workplace
Moot Court Honors Board, Chief Sophister
University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
Bachelor of Arts, History (Minor in Political Science), June 2013
EXPERIENCE
Thompson & Stevens, LLP, San Diego, CA
Clinical Intern Fall 2014
Researched and investigated issues in labor and employment law relating to unfair labor
practices, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Drafted legal memoranda on a
variety of legal topics, including personal injury, civil rights, medical malpractice and contracts
law. Drafted motion for summary judgment relating to constructive discharge. Researched
and drafted motion to change venue, motion for removal, interrogatories and requests for
production of documents. Wrote correspondence to clients and opposing counsel.
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SAMPLE RESUME FOR STUDENTS SEEKING A POSITION WITH AN INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY FIRM: Note how the technical/scientific training and expertise is highlighted in a
separate statement. This sample is ONLY for students who are eligible for the Patent Bar.
PROFESSIONAL
Awaiting Results of Examination for Registration to Practice in Patent Cases before the
USPTO
Society for Neuroscience, Member
EDUCATION
EXPERIENCE
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Led a study to investigate the cellular basis for Fragile-X Mental Impairment Syndrome.
Summarized findings and extensive data to present to Board. Met routinely with team of
scientists to determine status and course of action.
Jill R. Clark, Ph.D. Page 2
TECHNICAL SKILLS
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