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 dramatic increase of women and minorities entering the legal profession over time has not translated into commensurate increases in their power and influence. Female and minority attorneys don’t make equity partner or reach the higher echelons in proportionate numbers as compared to their white male counterparts. Although women have specific issues related to their…
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One of the many dramatic changes in the legal profession beginning in the mid-1970s was the growing number of women, minorities (African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, Hispanic, and multi-cultural), and others with diverse backgrounds entering the practice of law. In addition, along with growing awareness in society as a whole, more LGBT and lawyers with…
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As technology breaks down barriers of time and distance, and with business going global, law firms are expanding internationally, as well. More than half of 2012 AmLaw100 firms now spread across three or more continents. Between 1992 and 2012, the number of overseas offices of National Law Journal’s top 250 firms increased more than two…
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Consolidation of the legal market heated up over the past 10-15 years as law firms look to mergers as a strategy for growth. The push to merge or acquire is fueled by the breakup of financially weaker firms and by partners who believe their clients are better served by a larger platform. Most of the…
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