Valerie A. Fontaine earned her JD from UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) and her BA, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, from UCLA. She was on the Editorial Board of COMM/ENT, a Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law. Valerie practiced law with a prominent Los Angeles law firm and entered the legal search profession in 1981. Valerie is past Secretary to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and former Chair of its Newsletter Committee. She currently serves as a consultant to NALSC headquarters.
Was practicing law in the metaverse merely a flash in the pan? The metaverse combines virtual reality and augmented reality devices and blurs the lines between the physical and digital. Through visual, auditory, and sensory experiences, the metaverse conveys a sense of actually being present in the alternative world and allows you (through your avatar)…
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Marijuana is big business and continues to grow. What was once viewed as a fringe or experimental sector has evolved into a sophisticated, highly regulated industry that continues to generate significant demand for legal services. The legal cannabis industry in the U.S. topped $30 billion in annual sales in 2025 and is projected to expand…
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NASA is flying to the moon in 2026! NASA is sending astronauts around the moon with the Artemis II mission, hoping to launch as early as February 6th for a 10-day journey to test systems for future landing missions. This will be the first crewed lunar mission in over 50 years. Exactly eight years earlier,…
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Few experiences are as unsettling for a lawyer as losing a job—or realizing that your current target is unattainable. Whether the trigger is an economic downturn, a failed bar exam, or performance-related concerns, being unemployed or underemployed can feel like being in a professional free fall. Yet career interruptions are increasingly common, and—handled thoughtfully—they need…
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