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.
To conduct a successful job search, you need to tell a consistent story in your resume and cover letter, and continue the theme throughout the interview process. Just as a narrative hook grabs readers’ attention at the beginning of a story and draws them in so they continue reading, in a job search, you need…
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New Year career planning includes an analysis of how your practice did last year and what you expect in the year to come. Look not only at the clients and matters you’re handling, but also at what’s going on at your firm and in the legal marketplace and business environment generally. Hot and cold areas…
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Towards the end of the calendar year most law firms announce the elevation of their new partnership classes. Although the demand for legal services picked up somewhat since the end of the recession, especially in transactional areas of practice, firms remain conservative in their partnership decisions. What does it really mean to become a partner? …
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American law schools offer an increasing variety of advanced legal degree programs. Historically, an LLM in tax was—and still is—valued and specifically sought by employers in the market for new and lateral attorneys in tax, estate planning, and related positions. Rarely, if ever, do employers ask for candidates with an LLM in another specialty. Employers…
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