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. She is a frequent speaker on topics related to the legal marketplace and has published numerous articles in the national legal press, both in print and online. Her book, The Right Moves: Job Search and Career Development Strategies for Lawyers, published by NALP (National Association of Law Placement), now is in its second edition.
In 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, Valerie was named to the Annual Lawdragon Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting and was one of three legal recruiters in the U.S. elected to its inaugural Hall of Fame, a “recognition for those consultants whose strategic insight has been unsurpassed in a career dedicated to helping law firms ascend.”