Top 12 Litigation Manager Skills to Put on Your Resume

In the highly competitive field of litigation management, showcasing a robust set of skills on your resume can set you apart. Below are the top 12 skills litigation managers should feature to demonstrate depth, agility, and readiness for the grind of modern disputes.

Litigation Manager Skills

1. LexisNexis
2. Westlaw
3. CaseMap
4. Time Matters
5. PACER
6. Relativity (eDiscovery)
7. TrialDirector
8. Clio Manage
9. Negotiation
10. Mediation
11. Project Management
12. Risk Assessment

1. LexisNexis

LexisNexis delivers legal research, analytics, news, and practical guidance in one ecosystem. For litigation managers, it backs case strategy with precedent, Shepard’s citation checks, and jurisdiction-specific insights.

Why It's Important

It underpins sound strategy. Fast retrieval of controlling authority, validated citations, and current awareness all reduce risk and sharpen arguments.

How to Improve LexisNexis Skills

1. Master search modes: Use both natural language and terms-and-connectors. Layer filters by jurisdiction, date, court, and practice area.

2. Cite-check ruthlessly: Run Shepard’s early and often. Track negative treatments before a position calcifies.

3. Build research systems: Save searches, pin key sources, and create matter folders with shared notes for your team.

4. Alerts and tracking: Set up targeted alerts on issues, parties, judges, and dockets. Let updates come to you.

5. Analytics and Practical Guidance: Pull judge, expert, and motion analytics where available. Leverage checklists and templates to speed repeatable work.

6. Integrate your tools: Export to your DMS or case platform, standardize naming, and log research time for budgeting accuracy.

How to Display LexisNexis Skills on Your Resume

2. Westlaw

Westlaw offers comprehensive primary law, secondary sources, and tools like KeyCite, the Key Number System, and increasingly powerful search capabilities.

Why It's Important

It fuels accurate, defensible research and fast issue-spotting. Strong Westlaw command tightens briefs, motions, and risk calls.

How to Improve Westlaw Skills

1. KeyCite with discipline: Validate every authority. Track depth-of-treatment signals and history for appeal posture.

2. Exploit the Key Number System: Jump from issue to issue across jurisdictions without reinventing the wheel.

3. Precision search habits: Combine proximity connectors, field restrictions, and filters. Save search templates for recurring issues.

4. Personalized workspace: Create folders, set alerts on topics, and pin frequently used sources.

5. Drafting aids: Use clause banks, forms, and brief analysis tools to spot gaps and strengthen citations.

How to Display Westlaw Skills on Your Resume

3. CaseMap

CaseMap (including CaseMap Cloud) centralizes facts, issues, people, documents, and timelines so teams can see how the pieces connect and where proof gaps lurk.

Why It's Important

It transforms piles of evidence into a coherent theory of the case, improving collaboration, briefing, and trial-readiness.

How to Improve CaseMap Skills

1. Data hygiene: Standardize naming, keep fields tight, and audit entries so facts and sources stay reliable.

2. Issue-driven structure: Tag facts and documents to issues, witnesses, and elements. Build timelines that track admissibility and support.

3. Templates and fields: Customize matter templates and add fields for privilege, sensitivity, and probative value.

4. Integrations: Connect to your DMS, eDiscovery, and research tools. Keep a simple, repeatable intake process for new evidence.

5. Collaboration controls: Use role-based access and change logs. Encourage short, source-linked notes—not long emails buried elsewhere.

6. Continuous training: Short, live demos and quick reference guides beat one-and-done onboarding.

How to Display CaseMap Skills on Your Resume

4. Time Matters

Time Matters is a legal practice management platform focused on calendaring, contacts, matters, documents, tasks, and workflows—handy for litigation teams that live by deadlines.

Why It's Important

It corrals dates, filings, and communications. Miss fewer deadlines. Create fewer bottlenecks. Gain predictable throughput.

How to Improve Time Matters Skills

1. Customize matter types: Add fields, triggers, and workflows for pleadings, discovery, dispositive motions, pretrial, and trial.

2. Automate routine: Templates for letters, notices, and standard motions. Rules for task cascades tied to events or court dates.

3. Outlook and DMS sync: Centralize emails and documents to the matter. Enforce naming conventions.

4. Mobility: Ensure secure mobile access for on-the-fly approvals, calendars, and documents.

5. Security reviews: Tighten permissions, MFA, and audit trails. Revisit quarterly.

6. Team training: Short sprints on features, plus periodic cleanup days to keep data trustworthy.

How to Display Time Matters Skills on Your Resume

5. PACER

PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) provides access to federal dockets, filings, and orders—indispensable for tracking matters and spotting trends.

Why It's Important

It delivers real-time visibility into what’s been filed, when, and by whom. Faster intelligence, fewer surprises.

How to Improve PACER Skills

1. Search with intent: Use advanced filters, exact party names, ranges, and court-specific nuances. Keep a cheat sheet for common searches.

2. PCL alerts: Set alerts in the PACER Case Locator to catch new filings or cases involving your parties or topics.

3. Tidy workflows: Standardize how downloads get named, saved, and linked back to matters. Automate docket pulls where possible.

4. Cost control: Monitor statements, consolidate downloads, and favor docket reports that bundle information efficiently.

5. Security basics: Strong passwords, MFA, least-privilege access, and periodic credential audits.

How to Display PACER Skills on Your Resume

6. Relativity (eDiscovery)

Relativity centralizes ingestion, processing, search, analytics, review, and production for large ESI sets—email, chats, docs, and beyond.

Why It's Important

It turns overwhelming data into manageable review sets. Better culling, cleaner productions, tighter timelines.

How to Improve Relativity (eDiscovery) Skills

1. Core search fluency: Get comfortable with dtSearch syntax, filters, and fielded searches. Test, refine, repeat.

2. Lean on analytics: Email threading, near-duplicates, concept search, and clustering reduce review noise.

3. Workflow design: Map intake-to-production steps. Automate batching, QC checks, and escalation paths.

4. TAR and prioritization: Use active learning when appropriate; track precision/recall and document your decisions.

5. Quality control: Statistical sampling for privilege and responsiveness. Validate redactions and metadata.

6. Keep current: New releases add features—schedule periodic refreshers and sandbox practice.

How to Display Relativity (eDiscovery) Skills on Your Resume

7. TrialDirector

TrialDirector helps build and present exhibits, video, and callouts in court with speed and precision.

Why It's Important

Jurors and judges absorb clean visuals. Smooth presentation can sharpen arguments and avoid fumbling at critical moments.

How to Improve TrialDirector Skills

1. Rehearse with purpose: Build full decks, run callouts, and test video sync. Practice switching exhibits fast.

2. Templates and naming: Standardize exhibit IDs, labels, and playlists so anyone on the team can drive.

3. Hardware checks: Test projectors, audio, adapters, and backups. Pack redundancy.

4. Hot-seat drills: Simulate live objections and last-minute swaps. Time the transitions.

5. Version discipline: Lock final sets and archive prior versions to prevent mix-ups at counsel table.

How to Display TrialDirector Skills on Your Resume

8. Clio Manage

Clio Manage is a cloud-based practice hub for matters, time, billing, documents, tasks, and communications—well-suited to distributed litigation teams.

Why It's Important

It streamlines intake to invoice. Clear visibility over tasks, deadlines, and budgets keeps matters moving.

How to Improve Clio Manage Skills

1. Matter templates: Preload phases, tasks, custom fields, and document templates for each case type.

2. Automation: Trigger task lists and deadlines from key events. Use document automation for repeat filings and letters.

3. Time discipline: Track time from email, calendar, and mobile. Compare planned vs. actual to refine estimates.

4. Collaboration: Use secure messaging and portals for clients and experts. Keep communications tied to the matter.

5. Reporting: Monitor WIP, realization, cycle times, and aged AR. Adjust staffing and scope early.

6. Training cadence: Short, frequent refreshers as features evolve. Gather feedback and iterate templates.

How to Display Clio Manage Skills on Your Resume

9. Negotiation

Negotiation is the disciplined pursuit of agreement—anchored by facts, framed by interests, and constrained by risk.

Why It's Important

Done well, it trims cost and time, protects relationships, and secures outcomes that court alone might not deliver.

How to Improve Negotiation Skills

1. Prepare obsessively: Know your BATNA and theirs. Map interests vs. positions. Script opening anchors and fallback ranges.

2. Listen for leverage: Ask calibrated questions. Surface hidden constraints and tradeables.

3. Package proposals: Trade across issues—timing, scope, money, confidentiality—rather than haggling line by line.

4. Use objective criteria: Benchmarks, industry norms, prior orders, and risk models cool hot disagreements.

5. Manage tempo: Deadlines sharpen focus; breaks defuse escalation. Control the clock without losing rapport.

6. Document precisely: Memorialize deal points immediately to avoid drift and misunderstanding.

How to Display Negotiation Skills on Your Resume

10. Mediation

Mediation is a confidential, facilitated negotiation where a neutral helps parties reach a voluntary, structured resolution.

Why It's Important

It’s faster and more flexible than trial, often preserving relationships and enabling creative settlements courts can’t order.

How to Improve Mediation Skills

1. Pre-mediation prep: Pinpoint interests, hurdles, and non-negotiables. Draft a crisp, candid statement for the mediator.

2. Build trust: Establish ground rules, clarify confidentiality, and show a genuine intent to problem-solve.

3. Strategic caucusing: Use private sessions to test options, reality-check valuations, and sequence concessions.

4. Numbers discipline: Bring models for damages, fees, and timing. Stress-test assumptions in real time.

5. Close cleanly: Reduce to writing immediately—terms, timing, releases, and enforcement mechanics.

6. Follow-through: Track obligations post-mediation and address slippage before it becomes failure.

How to Display Mediation Skills on Your Resume

11. Project Management

Project management for litigation means scoping, sequencing, staffing, budgeting, tracking, and steering matters to outcome.

Why It's Important

Structure beats chaos. Clear plans, visible progress, and deliberate risk control keep cases on time and on budget.

How to Improve Project Management Skills

1. Plan the work: Define objectives, deliverables, and success metrics. Build a timeline with dependencies and milestones.

2. Work breakdown: Create a WBS for pleadings, discovery, experts, motions, and trial. Assign owners and due dates.

3. Communication rhythm: Standups, status reports, and a single source of truth for updates and docs.

4. Risk register: Track likelihood, impact, triggers, and responses. Revisit weekly.

5. Change control: When scope shifts, adjust timeline, budget, and expectations explicitly.

6. Retrospectives: After major phases, capture lessons and bake them into templates and checklists.

How to Display Project Management Skills on Your Resume

12. Risk Assessment

Risk assessment evaluates legal, financial, operational, and reputational exposure tied to strategies and decisions across a matter’s lifecycle.

Why It's Important

It informs go/no-go decisions, settlement posture, reserves, disclosures, and resourcing—protecting the organization while advancing goals.

How to Improve Risk Assessment Skills

1. Issue inventory: Map claims, defenses, elements, and proof. Flag gaps and dependencies.

2. Risk matrix: Score likelihood and impact. Track monetary exposure, injunctive implications, and collateral effects.

3. Scenario modeling: Model outcomes (win/lose/mix), legal spend, fee-shifting, and timing. Update as facts evolve.

4. Data-driven updates: Fold in judge tendencies, venue stats, and prior rulings. Revise assessments as new orders land.

5. Privilege and PR: Evaluate confidentiality, reputational risk, and regulatory ripples alongside dollars.

6. Governance and documentation: Record assumptions, sources, and decisions. Keep stakeholders aligned with clear summaries.

How to Display Risk Assessment Skills on Your Resume