Attorneys are generally conservative by nature when it comes describing their practice. Whether it is the idea of promoting your skills and abilities or the potential value of your practice, most attorneys will take a modest approach. Yes, managing expectations is important but being too conservative can really be to your detriment.
It is okay to list your strengths and accomplishments right in your resume. Likewise, you should absolutely stress these things in an interview if given the opportunity. The key is to express and instill confidence without giving the impression of outright cockiness. For any given open position you can expect to be competing against dozens, if not hundreds, of other candidates. Distinguishing yourself from the pack is essential to have a real chance of moving forward. Academics and experience alone are typically not enough when there could many others with comparable attributes.
When it comes to describing portable business, attorneys are also notoriously conservative in their estimations. This is a tricky spot because you never know what clients will move and how much business they will send, so the tendency is to play it safe and underestimate. Again, managing expectations is important here but taking it too far could completely end the conversation or have a significant effect on compensation negotiations.
The market is slowly improving, but when you know there will be stiff competition for desired positions why not give yourself a boost by demonstrating why you are the right person for the job. Modesty is a not bad thing – you just don’t want it to hold you back.