Yes, Zermatt is more quaint than your average town, as is Saas Fee, but alot of the towns in the alps mentioned above have many of the same selling points - without the Matterhorn view of course. Chamonix is my destination of choice but because opportunities are tourism based and seasonal I've moved to 40mins away from Chamonix, view of Mont Blanc from the living room and yet still commutable to a decent sized city. Italy is a good suggestion too as there's two major cities that can be commuted to with the big 4,000ers not far in the opposite direction - but expect it to be far more difficult to get by speaking English. Unless you can get some kind of business of your own started, or are a shit hot alpinist and skier who some US or UK agency would want to employ there just aren't alot of possibilities in Zermatt - especially for someone without a work permit.
The population of Valais alone is about 300,000, so there has to be opportunities somewhere, most likely outside Zermatt. With a legal background the Leman basin would be a great place to seek work, with all the NGOs, intergovernmental and big multinational offices here, many of them being American. I imagine Zurich would be similar, though more dependent on banking and finance. If it's the beauty of the place that is drawing you to Zermatt then as said already there are also other locations in the alps that are just as or almost as impressive and some are even more accessible and closer to jobs than Zermatt - Interlaken/Grindlewald or Chamonix for example. If you have the money start up something on your own - Switzerland is very welcoming to enterprise, just not to people trying to steal swiss jobs. Or, just take a break from the rat race for as long as you can afford to, chance your arm and see if anything comes your way. Of course that depends on your bank balance....and that's none of my business! All that said, if I hailed from the other side of the pond we'd have moved to Oregon, Washington or BC.....we almost did BC but visa issues screw things up in both directions......and it's a long way from home. Anyway, best of luck with the research - oh and nothing can prepare you for learning swiss german.

'What did that guy say?' 'I have no idea. Ask him if he speaks English'.

Not that I've ever lived there, but from my time in the Valais so far I've had the impression you couldn't make a comfortable living in the smaller towns without being a guide or having a big wad of cash to start a hotel or something similar. If you're serious about moving to Switzerland what about the big cities?

If you want the vibe of the smaller places how about Sion, the Valais capital? It's a 45/60 minute drive from the mountains (Arolla anyway) and I imagine there would be more jobs there than in Zermatt.

Depends how you want to do it - the Swiss are very choosey about who they let live there - more chance if you´re a brain surgeon or a multi millionair for example. It´s easier to work there and live in say France and Germany and travel across the border everyday as I did. But that limits you´re range of course. Being American I guess you´d need a work permit for something half way official.
Nice idea though.

As small as the Alps are you could live pretty much anywhere near them and be in traveling distance, compared to the distances in the states.

Seattle is nice for climbing, big volcanoes with big glaciers, (they train for the Himalaya on Rainer) other big alpine and long rock climbs, within driving distance of Yosemite and the Canadian Rockies, and the Bugaboos. Jumping off point for Alaska. There's still some first ascents here to be had, and first winter ascents. There is some down time with the rainy weather, it helps if you ski.