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.
Money shouldn’t be the primary motive for a career move, but it’s an important factor. In a down market, lawyers have little bargaining power; but in good times, law firms compete financially for the best and the brightest. Historically, elite New York law firms led the pack in associate salary increases, and other firms struggled…
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– ABA Journal, Asked and Answered podcast, featuring Valerie A. Fontaine
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Is the hot job market finally forcing law firms to look beyond the pedigree? The legal profession is experiencing the hottest job market in years. After putting a temporary hiring freeze on lawyers at the onset of the pandemic, law firms are trying to catch up. Business is booming and, to fill the pent-up demand,…
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“The Cavalry Isn’t Coming.” Those words caught my attention when uttered by a panelist during one of the innumerable Zoom programs I attended while working from home during the pandemic. Her message was that, unlike in the classic Western where the Cavalry swoops in to save the day, when it comes to your career, you…
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