If you have to ask me do you need an attorney then 9 times out of 10 you need a lawyer.
I can tell you I don't represent myself in anything because I am my own worst enemy and I know it because I have a tendency to rationalize my own behavior, minimize my wrong doing, inappropriateness, or failure to do something, and think it is all going to be okay if I just tell my story. Also I can be a drama queen with respect to my own personal affairs at times. Does this sound familiar?
I have a nursing license and three law licenses, if I get a speeding ticket, I call my lawyer and let him worry about it; that's his job. I worked hard to obtain my licenses and have been blessed in Christ to have a busy law practice doing what I love. Now why would I want to take on the risk of advising myself in a legal proceeding when I can have the benefit of independent and objective legal counsel. I want to hear what he has to say about my legal matter not what I have to say about my own legal matter. Legal fees are a business expense and an expense that all licensed healthcare professionals especially nurses need to consider.
Yes, it cost money to retain an attorney and yes you can represent yourself before the State Nursing and counsel and advise yourself by doing your own research, relying on the statements of family, friends, and colleagues about what should happen and what is fair in your situation, and trolling the nursing chatroom and forums for information about legal issues in nursing and then applying this to your own case and situation.
Spend the money and hire a lawyer to represent, counsel, and advise you. If you can spend a few thousand on Christmas gifts, a vacation, downpayment on a luxury vehicle, loaning family money, or living beyond your means to keep up with the Joneses, why can't you spend a few thousand dollars on legal representation, counseling, and advising with respect to your nursing license which directly impacts your employability in nursing? If you don't have a nursing license, you can't work as a nurse. I really scratch my head when I see APRNs represent themselves before the State Nursing Board.
In a perfect world, nurses wouldn't need to retain lawyers and we all would have a perfect nursing practice and work in perfect nursing environments. We also would all hold hands and sing....
This isn't a perfect world. There are legal risks, potential liabilities, and action against the license behind almost every door in healthcare in addition to Vampires and Lycans. You counsel and advise yourself at your own peril and I see it everyday especially when nurses appear at hearings without counsel or just sign a Consent Agreement, Agreed Order, or Offer of Settlement with the State Nursing Board without understanding the implications for his/her nursing practice.
I am not saying you have to retain me but retain an attorney in your state of licensure who practices before the State Nursing Board frequently and move forward. Retain an attorney with experience before your State Nursing Board and then work with your attorney for the best outcome possible and probable in your case. Yes, it cost money to retain an attorney but it may be the best $2,222.22 to $7,777.77 you have spent. Yes, you can afford it; LPNs, RN, and APRNs earn decent salaries and hourly wages; it is just a matter of do you want to pay the costs associated with legal services for defending your license?
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