Podcast: Becoming More Competitive in the Diversity & Inclusion Arena

Episode 74

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How SeltzerFontaine goes beyond attorney placement to consult on business strategy such as career development and billing rates.
• How law firms of all sizes are incorporating diversity and inclusion in their hiring practices.
• Why mental health diagnoses are becoming a growing part of the diversity conversation.
• What steps smaller firms can take to become more competitive in the diversity and inclusion arenas.
• How metrics are showing that firms should look beyond a candidate’s law school and grades when making a hire.

About Valerie Fontaine:

Valerie Fontaine is a founding partner of SeltzerFontaine, a legal search firm based in Los Angeles. She places attorneys with law firms, corporate law departments, governmental entities and nonprofits as well as consults on career and practice development and law firm office management and expansion. Prior to SeltzerFontaine, Valerie practiced law with a prominent Los Angeles firm and entered the legal search profession in 1981.

Valerie is a frequent speaker on topics related to attorney job search, partner recruitment and placement and career development, and has published numerous articles in the national legal press. She is the author of “The Right Moves: Job Search and Career Development Strategies for Lawyers,” now is in its second edition.

Valerie is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and serves on its Ethics Committee. For many years, Valerie served on the Board of Governors and the Advisory Council of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA). She was UC Hastings’ 2002 Alumnus of the Year, past president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the UC Hastings Alumni Association, honored as the 1998 L.A. Alumnus of the Year, the first woman president of the UC Hastings Foundation and was a longtime member of its Board of Trustees. UC Hastings’ Clara Foltz Feminist Association honored Valerie with its Role Model Award.

Additional resources:

• Website
• Valerie’s Website Bio
• Valerie’s LinkedIn
• Twitter

Episode Transcript