Madeleine E. Seltzer earned her JD from USC Law School in 1975 where she received the Best Brief Award in the Hale Moot Court Honors Program. She attended UC Berkeley and received her BA from UCLA. After practicing law for eight years in law firms and as General Counsel for a corporation, Ms. Seltzer began her legal search career in 1983.
Ms. Seltzer sits on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and is a member of the Ethics Committee. She regularly speaks before various organizations and is published in the national legal press regarding subjects related to job search and career development in the legal profession.
In addition to her professional activities, Ms. Seltzer is a member of the Docent Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art where she tours groups of school children from all over the greater Los Angeles area.
Direct dial: 310-842-6984
Valerie A. Fontaine is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UCLA and earned her JD from Hastings College of Law in 1979. 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 has served on the Board of Governors and the Advisory Council of the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA). She was Hastings' 2002 Alumnus of the Year, is past president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Hastings Alumni Association, was honored as the 1998 L.A. Alumnus of the Year, and was the first woman president of the Hastings 1066 Foundation. In 1999, Hastings' Clara Foltz Feminist Association honored Valerie with its Role Model Award.
Valerie has published numerous articles in the national legal press.Her book, The Right Moves: Job Search and Career Development Strategies for Lawyers, was published by NALP in January 2006.
Additionally, Valerie volunteers her time regularly with non-profits throughout the Los Angeles area, including as a tree care supervisor with TreePeople, helping to plant and care for the urban forest in Los Angeles.
Direct dial: 310-842-6985
Randy Beckwith is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UCLA where she earned her BA and Ed.D degrees. She also has a MA from Harvard University. She has been a legal search consultant since 1983. Randy served on the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) Board of Directors for ten years. During that time, she served one term as president and was co-chair of three national conferences.
Since its inception, Randy has volunteered with the Koreh L.A. program. Each week she reads on an individual basis with several students at Wilton Place School. Helping students become better readers provides a great deal of satisfaction as does the time she spends with her grandchildren.
Prior to entering the search profession, Randy was a consultant with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Direct dial: 310-842-6986
Roberta Kass has over 20 years of legal recruiting experience. She received her BA, Phi Beta Kappa, from UCLA and is a 1979 graduate of the JD/MBA program at UCLA. She practiced corporate law with a Los Angeles law firm and in-house, and served as the assistant to the president/chairman of the board of a publicly held company.
Roberta currently serves on the Alumni Board of the UCLA Anderson School of Management and is active with the UCLA School of Law, where she is a former chair of the Dean’s Annual Fund. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Temple Isaiah, served on the board of directors of a local AIDS organization, and regularly organizes blood drives for the American Red Cross.
Direct dial: 310-842-6987
Amber Handman spent 10 years at one of Washington, D.C.’s largest law firms, Arent Fox PLLC, as the Attorney Recruitment Manager prior to joining Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith. While at Arent Fox, Amber was responsible for hiring over 600 partners, associates, and law students, and managed summer associate programs. Amber initiated a Diversity Committee aimed at increasing recruitment and retention of minority attorneys at the Firm. She frequently presented at Washington, D.C. area law schools. Amber started an annual summer associate event with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Amber is a 1995 graduate of Emory University, where she received her B.A. in Psychology. She currently serves as president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Emory Alumni Association.
While in Washington, Amber was actively involved in W.A.L.R.A.A. (Washington Area Legal Recruitment Administrators Association), NALP, and the Emory D.C. Young Alumni Association. Since returning to Los Angeles, Amber continues to support the UCLA Bruins men's basketball team and work on her jewelry making.
Amber volunteers with the Koreh L.A. program, reading on an individual basis weekly with two third graders at Richland Avenue Elementary School. She also is co-chairing a committee for the Bet Tzedek Justice Ball, in addition to being a Steering Committee Member of EMET, the Legal Services Division of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.
Direct dial: 310-842-6989
Donna McKown is Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith’s administrator and client liaison. Donna began her career in the Los Angeles legal marketplace over 20 years ago on the other side of the desk as the Recruiting Administrator of a major New York-based law firm. She was responsible for lateral attorney hiring, on-campus recruiting, the summer associate program, and in-house educational seminars for the firm’s lawyers. Donna owned and managed retail and hospitality businesses in Prescott, Arizona, and joined Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith in 2000.
Seltzer Fontaine Beckwith is actively involved in the broader community and is proud to support the following charitable organizations:
American Red Cross
Bet Tzedek-House of Justice
California Science Center
California Women's Law Center
Koreh LA/Wonder of Reading
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
ORT
Public Advocates
Sojourn Services For Battered Women And Their Children
