Heh. Lani's actually representing me. *grin* We knew each other via blog culture for about a year before she approached me; I'd been yammering about editing a novel and she said it sounded like just the thing she'd like to work with (YA historical). I've nothing but good to say of her; she actually helped me edit it first, then after we did a revision together she signed me. Admittedly, I'm a friend, which means I'm probably going to get slightly different treatment, but nonetheless.
Not only did she help me hugely -- she laughed when I thanked her for all her help, saying I was the one wrote the 75k novel, not her, but it wouldn't be nearly as good as it is if it weren't for her help -- she's been wonderfully supportive when I've had a few crises (my little brother was hospitalized, my hard drive died and I lost EVERYTHING, etc). As for industry contacts, she's only now getting off the ground as an agent, but she does work in publishing (and in fact first offered to pass it on to someone else if I weren't comfortable having her represent me), and had a woman from Puffin (Penguin's YA/children's chapter) call her looking for submissions. Which is where my sample and synopsis have been for about six weeks now. *crosses fingers*
At any rate. She *is* legit, though as she told me, there's no harm in someone else's wanting someone with a bit more experience on the representation side of things, rather than publishing/editing. Your mileage may vary and all that. For me, she's a perfect fit, though; I've nothing but good to say of her.