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.
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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The harsh reality is that most cover letters are not even read. Most recruiters and hiring partners flip to the résumé first and read your cover letter only if your credentials merit further consideration. While your cover letter can’t make you, it certainly can break you. Thus, it should be perfect in terms of grammar,…
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A contingency search firm gets paid only if its candidate accepts the position and stays there for a guaranteed period. Consequently, it’s in the search consultant’s best interests to ensure there’s a good fit for both their employer client and you, the candidate. To increase the likelihood of a successful placement and maximize the fee,…
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Scenario #1: You decide to explore the legal marketplace and want a headhunter’s help. But, you’ve heard that it’s better if the recruiter calls you rather than the other way around. Scenario #2: Your colleague was happily working away when, out of the blue, she got a call from a search firm and just landed…
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