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 Secretary to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and Chairs its Newsletter Committee.
O’Melveny jumped to the front of the Biglaw recruiting pack with the announcement of its plans to use a gamified career assessment and recruiting platform to evaluate potential law school candidates. Through the gamification of recruiting, the firm hopes to broaden its recruiting pipeline and gain access to more diverse candidates. Gamification uses game theory,…
Read article
Should lawyers mix business with pleasure when it comes to social media? Previously, I would have answered that question with an emphatic “NO!” But now, I’m not so sure. Panelists at the NALSC (National Association of Legal Search Consultants) 2018 Fall Symposium in New York City have me wondering whether I should soften that stance.…
Read article
Law firms pay associate bonuses not only to incentivize excellent performance and high productivity, but also to entice lawyers to join them and stay. Firms may pay discretionary bonuses predicated on excellent associate work and strong financial performance of the firm, hours bonuses requiring a minimum number of annual billable hours for any bonus eligibility…
Read article
Whether you are the employer-client or the attorney-candidate, you want your legal search consultant to handle your search honorably. One of the ways you can help ensure that your recruiter plays by the rules is to ask whether the search firm is a member of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) or, at…
Read article