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.
The hidden dangers lurking in virtually any interview are those tough questions for which there seem to be no right answers but many wrong ones. When one rears its ugly head, listen carefully, determine what underlying information is being sought, and answer directly and succinctly without giving away any negative information. Attempt to sell yourself…
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Although legal employers should know better, sometimes an interviewer may ask a questionable question. In this era of heightened sensitivity to inappropriate language or actions, interviewers generally are more careful, but there may be an unintentional slip-up. When this occurs, what is the best way to handle the situation? In all instances, it is best…
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Rather than being intimidated by facing multiple interviewers at the same time, you can ace a panel interview with some preparation. Basically, you need to follow the rules for one-on-one interviews, but with a few tweaks. Just as with any interview, you must do your homework regarding the firm, job, and interviewers, and be prepared…
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Lunch often is an important part of the interviewing process, and must be handled properly. The lunch (or breakfast, or dinner) interview is ideally suited to reveal characteristics about the candidate not often discovered otherwise, and can be useful from the candidate’s point of view for similar reasons. And, if things are going well, the…
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