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.
Like car engines, the hybrid combines the best of both worlds. Once you get some legal experience under your belt, we recommend a combination functional/chronological resume format rather than a straight reverse chronology of your work experience. Format choices Chronological A chronological resume is organized by your employment history in reverse order from the present…
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College and law school placement offices tout informational interviews as a strategy for students exploring their career options, but it is an important tool for experienced attorneys making transitions in their legal careers, as well. If you find yourself unemployed, underemployed, or in need of retooling your practice skills, knowledge gleaned from informational interviews can…
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In today’s dynamic legal market, it is possible to change jobs without leaving your desk. With the increasing pace of partner moves, practice group acquisitions, spin-off firms, and law firm mergers, you might find yourself working for a progression of different law firms, without making a job move personally. This can have an important impact…
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Senior attorneys have further issues to consider when negotiating and evaluating offers of employment. Achieving equity status is not necessarily the “be all and end all” of a partner-level offer. Other, equally important issues involving your partnership rights and responsibilities and the financial health of the firm need to be addressed. Because a lateral move…
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