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.
One of the most dreaded interview questions is “What are your weaknesses?” No matter how qualified you are, you can’t get away with saying that you have none. If things are going well up to this point and you’ve established a strong rapport with the interviewer, you can try some humor and say, “Isn’t this…
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In the past, once a lawyer went in-house, there was virtually no going back to the law firm environment. That’s no longer the case. Law firm employers realize that in-house attorneys often have credentials, sophistication, practice experience, and demanding work schedules similar to those the firms require. Corporate counsels often bring valuable connections, business insight,…
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In addition to doing copious amounts of excellent legal work, lawyers who wish to progress in their careers have a few extra tricks up their sleeves. Have “the talk” A crucial step to getting ahead is to find out exactly what you need to do to achieve success in your particular organization. Sit down with…
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There’s good news and bad news for those transitioning from a military legal career to the civilian legal job market. First, the bad news: JAG recruiting websites for all branches of service state that JAG experience will make your move to a civilian legal career “seamless” or “effortless”. That’s not true. Entering the legal job…
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