Valerie A. Fontaine earned her JD from UC Hastings College of Law 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 Secretary to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and Chairs its Newsletter Committee.
The skills that make a great rainmaker are not necessarily the same skills that make a great law firm associate. In the first few years, associates are valued for traits similar to those that brought success in law school—the ability to learn quickly and produce massive quantities of quality work. Suddenly, a few years later…
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On February 6th, 2018, SpaceX launched its first Falcon Heavy into space with an unusual payload: SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s red Tesla Roadster with Starman, a spacesuit-clad mannequin in the driver’s seat “listening” to David Bowie’s Space Oddity on loop. As Starman blasted off, so did space law. The term “space law” refers to the body of international…
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When you return to work after leaving law practice for any length of time, you need to prepare for a successful transition. You can jump right back in, like cannon-balling into a swimming pool full of icy water. But you might be wiser to dip your toe in first—and ease into it—getting used to the…
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Once you decide to return to law practice after a taking a break, such as to raise children, write the Great American Novel, or pursue other personal or professional interests, you need to determine the type of position you seek, assess your transferable skills and brush up if necessary, and let the world know you’re…
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