Nursing Law & Order

What Do Lawyers Have a Duty to Disclose to PCs (Prospective Clients) and Clients?

Take a look at this article and the comments. 

http://lawyerist.com/do-you-have-a-duty-to-disclose-that-you-are-a-hatemongering-racist/

I posted my picture on my blog and started mentioning I was black about 8 years ago after I met with a prospective client who allegedly made inappropriate remarks about Blacks, Jews, and Lesbians at a hospital. I met with the Prospective Client and it was pretty obvious he/she did not know I was black. 

So in full disclosure to my clients and prospective clients who may or may not want to retain my services based on my views. Actually all of this info is available on this blog anyway but I will summarize:

* I am a black female but I am not mad, anymore (hint: Diary of a Mad Black Woman is a movie); http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0422093/

* I vote as a Democrat because I am more concerned about the welfare and well-being of others more than myself as a small business owner and professional because honestly I am entrepreneur at heart and I can invent ways to make money in my sleep if need be;  

*  I am left-handed and I hold extremist views in this area: Left-Handed Folks should and one day will be running the world;

* I attended the same public school district (Princeton) from preschool to 12th grade;

* I am a liberal but I am not loose;

* I am a Baptist (yes, I am @ church at least 3 hours on Sunday; call me after 2pm);

* I don't eat beef or pork but I love fish, chicken, and turkey;

* I like fruity and sweet alcoholic beverages; I am sipping a Lemonade flavored Dailys "Ready to Drink" frozen beverage as I type this blog post; 

* I have an unhealthy (at times) emotional attachment to caffeine: hot tea, sweat tea, Pepsi, the Dews, and coffee;

* I like to dance and as a Gen Xer,  I grew up with Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, etc.; 

* I like aged rap music (like Scarface, the Ghetto Boys, Black Rob, the Wu Tang Clan, McLyte, etc.) and old school R&B. I remember listening to rap music and being lost in the melodies as a teenager. Please don't tell my grandmothers but I wanted to be a rapper AND an astronomer (I still have my first telescope) when I was 15 y/o; and 

* I am in recovery (we are all recovering from something) from the use of expletives & profanity. 

Now you know and can make an informed decision on whether or not any of the above will impact my ability to represent, counsel, and advise you before the State Nursing Board:) 

 

Law Firm Brochures now available in Candy Land; Email or Text Me Sugar Drop!

I am offering two updated law firm brochures for nurses and these are available to individual nurses and nursing students who need legal assistance. The first brochure discusses the difference between a legal consultation vs. legal coaching vs. traditional legal representation. The second brochure reviews State Nursing Board complaints. 

If you would like a brochure, send me an email at [email protected]. Include in the email your full name, mailing address, and State of Licensure(s) and I will email the brochure(s) to you. 

These brochures are for nurses who need assistance before the State Nursing Board; my brochures are not for attorneys who are trying to break into the nurse license defense market by poaching articles, website information, and other documents from more established attorneys and their law firms.  

The lyrics in one of Top 10 favorite rap songs says "there is evil in the streets and everybody is starving..." Some attorneys are starving for clients similar to "The Walking Dead" zombies and will do anything to obtain clients. Please don't call me on Sunday from 7pm to 10pm because I am watching The Walking Dead!

What is anything?

IMO, anything is representing a nurse before the State Nursing knowing full well the attorney is not familiar with the process and procedure and cannot adequately counsel and advise or defend the nurse. Anything is taking a case because it is "just a State Nursing Board case" and how difficult can it be anyway as you took an "admin law" course in law school and one of your uncle's babies moms is a physical therapist and in nursing school. Anything is saying you have represented nurses before (implying you have represented nurses before the State Nursing Board) when what you really mean is you have done wills, trust, personal injury, and/or divorce cases for a RN, LPN, APRN, or nursing student. 

I had planned to post my two updated law firm brochures online but I decided not to because there is an attorney who has copied and pasted information from my law firm website, www.nursing-jurisprudence.com to his/her website which IMO shows a lack of ethics, civility and professionalism. Also it is just plain tacky.

Just ask me can you copy and paste the info and I would 9 times of out 10 say "yes" because it is just not that serious and I like to help other attorneys if I can; I am a helper and often I help until it hurts. Oh, snap, of course I help until it hurts, I am a nurse. 

Nurse license defense is very small Bar and niche area of practice in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. I can count 4-8 lawyers in Ohio, 2 in Kentucky, and 1 in Indiana who I know practice from day to day in nurse license defense or health care professional license defense work and who I would have defend me before the State Nursing Board if I accidentally and without specific intent slapped someone in the face for stealing my material.

Bit of Advice: Once you get a "rep" as being a bottom feeder, borrowing material and holding it out as your own, and/or engaging in other questionable behavior in nurse license defense; it follows you for the remainder of your admin law practice.  

I don't stick my feet in criminal defense, wills and trust, personal injury, workers compensation, or other areas because my cup of Lipton tea, bread and butter, and WC coffee heavy heavy is nurse license defense. If you are an attorney and you are taking on your first State Nursing Board case; then say so to a nurse contacting you for assistance and co-counsel with another attorney or at least allow your client to make an informed decision on whether or not retain your services.

Nurse License Defense is a mixture of admin law, civil law, family law and criminal law and the implications for dropping the ball are vast. You can screw up and extinguish the ability to earn a living, pursue higher education (BSN, MSN, etc.), become an advanced practice nurse, and smother their aspirations, dreams and hopes by having a nurse sign Board of Nursing, Consent Agreements, Consent Decrees, and Agreed Orders if you cannot adequately inform the nurse or nursing school graduate of their options and the implications of signing on the dotted line.

These are not CANDY LAND cases, Sugar Drop! Candy Land is described as a simple game. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Landhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Land

Nurse License Defense is anything & everything but simple! 

 

Billy Bad A## Approach when Defending Yourself before the State Nursing Board

There are three essential components to traditional and full-scale legal representation: 

a. representation and advocacy in a formal legal matter; 

b. counseling a Client on the legal process and procedures involved in a legal matter; and

c. advising a Client of his/her options so the Client can make informed decisions on how to proceed in his/her case, matter, or situation. 

There is nothing wrong with making an informed decision to REPRESENT yourself before the State Nursing Board. It saves you money (you don't have to retain or pay an attorney) and you can have it your way, like at Burger King.

What is representing yourself before the State Nursing Board? This means you do not have an attorney who has entered a Letter of Representation or Notice of Appearance of Counsel which is the formal way of letting the State Nursing Board know you are represented by counsel. This means that State Nursing Board staff including investigators, attorneys, and others may contact you directly about the State Nursing Board complaint to interview you, schedule a meeting with you, ask you additional questions about a statement or information you submitted to the Board, etc. 

You are also COUNSELING & ADVISING yourself with respect to the decisions, actions, and tasks to be undertaken in your case and implications those decisions, actions, and tasks have for your nursing practice, the Board of Nursing case against you, and your current and future employment in nursing. 

How do you "counsel and advise" yourself? You ask your peers, neighbors, colleagues, nursing professor, church pastor, and others for advise on what you should or should not do in your situation. You join a nursing chatroom and you look for answers to your questions or you do  your own research. Again there is nothing wrong with counseling and advising yourself before the State Nursing Board. 

I would dare to say it is very American and Billy Bad A// to take on the establishment and prove a point after all you are "not guilty" of anything, you didn't do anything wrong, and once the Board hears your version of events, the Board will send you a letter of apology for wasting your time. You tried it!!!

I received a lot of "counsel and advice" from friends, family, colleagues, peers, and others during my divorce in the summer of 2011. I received the WORST advice and counsel from the MAJORITY of people with respect to dealing with the trauma associated with the failure of my marriage. Failure was something I was not accustomed to dealing with in my personal life (or professional life) and the failure of my marriage brought me to my knees.

At the time when I needed it most, I received what I know now (and I knew then) was super duper and just plain bad advice. Thank God, I did not follow the majority of the advice given to me by the majority. But these folks of course meant well.

I received some good advice but it was from professionals who were objective and a few others lay folks. I joined a Divorce Support Group at a local church, I started attending a small group for "the divorced", and I began the long tedious process of healing from the inside out; actually being transformed is more appropriate.

I am Type A, B, C, D, and E. I am the person who gave myself 6-8 weeks in my schedule in the Summer of 2011 for divorce healing, recovery, and rebuilding. What type of nut job calendars emotional healing? I can laugh about it now because my divorce was the best thing (right after attending nursing and law school, Walmart selling 1.5 liters of Pepsi, and my purchase of a three-wheel bike last summer) that has happened to me. I had in 2011:

a. my divorce in May;

b. my "I am 40?" mid-life crisis in July;

c. my retrospective childhood "I didn't get the dog I asked for in the 1st grade" tirade and temper tantrum over a few months witnessed by both sets of my grandparents. I love my grandparents; they observed in disbelief and prayed without ceasing for me as I festered in a funky furnace of fire only after bathing in my own milky mess of self-centeredness and applied lastly lotion lavishly; and  

d. my life changed by the effectual call from Christ in December. Busy year.  

W hy am I telling you this?

1. Because your White Swan and your Black Swan can meet and really be FB friends; and

2. The advice and counsel of professionals is INVALUABLE when faced with a life event. A State Nursing Board complaint is a life event and if someone tells you it isn't smack his/her face and then call, text, fax, and email me (from jail); I can defend you before the State Nursing Board. Anytime you are involved in legal matter which impacts your education, employment, license, credentialing, AND identity it is a life event. Professionals help you navigate life events and you have a retain and pay professionals, sometimes out of the pocket. 

If you are involved in a State Nursing Board case, take the time and consult with an attorney. It may cost you a few hundred dollars but at least have a nurse license defense attorney take a look at your matter for a "fresh set of eyes" of your case. I routinely send my cases for review by a nurse expert prior to a hearing so I can get a different perspective on the case. You should consider doing the same with your case. 

 

LaTonia Denise Wright offers Legal Coaching Services for Nurses in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana

My law firm is pleased to offer legal coaching services to nurses starting today. This a brand new service I am offering to respond to the demand for legal services. I receive a number of calls, emails, texts, and faxes from nurses who desperately need legal services but cannot afford or do not want to pay for the full scale legal services associated with the traditional attorney-client relationship. My law firm utilizes flat fees and I have done so for years. I am very comfortable quoting flat fees for representation. My flat fees for traditional legal representation before the State Nursing Board start at $2,500.00 and the fee charged varies depending on the issues involved in the case. 

My firm has offered legal consultations for a number of years which allows a nurse to pay for a one-time appointment with me. In the context of the consultation, I review documents usually Board Adjudication Orders, Consent Agreement, Alternative Program Agreements, criminal case records, etc. and then counsel and advise the nurse on his or her options. A legal consultation is a one-time appointment with me either by telephone or in-person and it is of course confidential. See this pdf file for additional information on legal consultations with my office.  Download Legalconsultations2012. 

The majority of RNs, LPNs, APRNs, nursing students, and NCLEX-Applicants involved in State Nursing Board disciplinary investigation represent themselves and I am sure this is because of the cost of legal services. I also believe it is because most of us fail to appreciate just how adversarial the disciplinary investigation and suitability for licensure can be. It is a formal legal process, not what you see on TV and it has vast implications on the careers of those who are involved. 

This is why I am offering legal coaching services for nurses in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana because it allows a LPN, RN, APRN, nursing student, or NCLEX-Applicant to pay for a certain number of hours of legal services which include reviewing correspondence and documents, revising documents, legal and nursing research, legal opinions, reviewing Nursing Board documents, agreements, and contracts, reviewing criminal case documents and then I counsel, advise, and coach my client on his/her options. 

This allows the Client to continue to represent themselves before the State Nursing Board, with an employer if negotiating an employment agreement or involved in a workplace investigation, etc. and still receive legal coaching, advice, and counseling from a nurse license defense and nursing law attorney.

In the legal world, this type of arrangement is called limited scope representation and unbundled legal services. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unbundled_legal_services

 For example, let's say a nurse is involved in a criminal case and wants my involvement on a limited basis to review the nursing practice, Board of Nursing issues, and other nursing related facets of the criminal case. The nurse can pay for 3 0r 4 hours of legal coaching which is less expensive for nurse and allows the nurse to receive the specific advice, counseling, and support needed with respect to nursing licensure, credentialing, and employability.

Another example would be a nursing student who has to disclose criminal convictions to the State Nursing Board and needs legal coaching, advising, and counseling on the submission of the Initial Application for Licensure by Examination to the Ohio, Kentucky, or Indiana State Nursing Board. The nursing student could pay for 3 or 4 hours of legal coaching which would be less expensive than retaining me for traditional representation. Also the nursing student would need more time than the 30 minutes or 1 hour offered with a legal consultation.

Yes, this is Nursing Law & Order but in real life with real issues before the State Nursing Board and in nursing law and professional practice matters involving real nurses, I can't always resolve issues and wind up a case in 60 minutes like Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler on Law & Order SVU. This is why I offer legal coaching services and full scale representation with a flat fee retainer. 

Another example, would be a nurse who has been reported to the State Nursing Board and wants my assistance reviewing the complaint, researching the issues, and assisting the nurse with a response to the Board of Nursing Complaint. This could be accomplished with legal coaching. However I would not file an appearance with the State Nursing Board or contact the State Nursing Board on behalf of the nurse because I am not "representing" the nurse before the State Nursing Board. I file an appearance indicating I am the attorney of the nurse if a nurse retains me for a flat fee which is involved in a traditional and full scale legal representation.

If you are involved in a formal legal matter before  the State Nursing Board and you do not have an attorney advocating for you before the Board as your attorney then you are "pro se." A nurse is proceeding "pro se" and involved in self-representation. What is Self-Representation? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_se_legal_representation_in_the_United_States

My legal coaching service is a hybrid service and I see it another avenue to fulfill my calling (and make money; I am a lawyer now:) and as a go-between one-time legal consultations and traditional and full scale legal representation, counseling, and advising. 

Some nurses do not want to or need to work with an attorney over an extended period of time and this is a option for nurses who want to tryout legal services on a limited basis to start a nurse-owned business, review unemployment, workers comp., nursing malpractice, or other matters.

Do you want more information about the difference between the legal coaching, legal consultations, and traditional representation, counseling, and advising services offered by my law firm? You can email me at [email protected] or [email protected]. You can call my office at 513-655-6586 or text me your email and we will send you additional information. 

What are the costs of legal coaching with my law firm? See http://www.bookfresh.com/service/cincinnati/law-office-of-latonia-denise-wright-lpa/157503739. 

 I will also post a flyer in the next few days which discusses the difference between legal consultations, traditional attorney representation, counseling, and advising, and legal coaching services I offer for nurses. 

I actually see this as being a very popular service for nurses who want to get me involved in their case, matter, issues, or professional practice legal and ethical quagmires but do not want or need to (this is a personal decision) proceed with full scale legal services at this time.  You are the boss with limited scope representation and unbundled legal services and you are proceeding as an informed consumer who is essentially representing him or herself. 

 

 

 

Bucks and Sucks: Retain a Nurse License Defense Attorney to Defend You before the State Nursing Board

If you are going to retain an attorney to represent you in a State Nursing Board investigation, hearing, or matter, you should retain an attorney who has experience practicing before the State Nursing Board defending nurses. 

This may seem like a no-brainer but I receive a lot of calls, emails, faxes, and texts from nurses across the country who have retained an attorney only to find out later that the attorney really does not have any experience practicing before the State Nursing Board and therefore the advice, counsel, and/or representation provided by said attorney bucks and sucks. 

How can you determine if an attorney has experience practicing before the State Nursing Board?

1.   Ask the attorney about his or her experience before the State Nursing Board with questions like:

a. How many cases do you currently have before the State Nursing Board?

b. How many cases have you had in the last year before the State Nursing Board?

c. How long have you practiced before the State Nursing Board? 

d. Is defending nurses before the State Nursing Board the majority of your law practice? What percentage of your law practice involves nursing law and defending nurses? 

DO NOT just rely on what the attorney tells you. Research the attorney and his or her law practice online. Take a look at the firm website and/or blog to determine if nurse license defense is listed as an area of practice. 

It is your nursing license and your case. You have a responsibility to yourself to do your own research and homework and locate a reputable attorney to defend you.

How do you find an attorney with experience defending nurses?

1. Online research;

2. Contact your State Nurses Association for a referral to a nurse license defense attorney; 

3. Contact The American Association of Nurse Attorneys (TAANA); and/or

4.  Seek referrals from colleagues. 

Also do not believe the hype and also fight the power while you are at it; it is more important to retain an attorney with significant experience in nurse license defense than to retain an attorney who lives 2 miles from you in your city. Geography really is not an issue in these types of cases because most State Nursing Boards are located in a state capitol or another geographically central city in a state. It is more important that you retain an attorney with significant experience than to retain an attorney who lives in your city. 

Do your research and retain the right attorney initially because if you have worked with multiple attorneys in your State Nursing Board case it is a red flag. When a nurse tells me she was represented by XYZ law firm initially and then fired that firm and retained ABC law firm because of DEF but then later fired the attorney because of HIJ and is now calling me because of MNOP I see fire engine colored red flags and I always double or triple my flat fee.  This usually signals problem client and I need more money to work with problem clients because:

a. the extra Pepsi, coffee, hot tea, and sweet tea I am drinking will eventually lead to a UTI;

b. doctor visits for Ibuprofen 800mg for stress headaches;

c. weaker ankles from having to ride my three-wheeled bike to the post office and walk more to de-stress; I will have to wear my ankles braces which do not coordinate well with my Vera Bradley pocketbooks;

d. weaker wrists from typing harder on my keyboard responding to emails even with an ergonomic keyboard; I will have to wear my wrist braces which do not match my earrings, necklaces, and/or bracelets;

e. in addition to increased costs for Ms. Jessie's, Design Essentials, and other natural hair products because I will have to swim and relax more in my swim spa more frequently. Did I tell you I purchased a swim spa? I love it. My backyard is like a waterpark now with a swimming pool, hot tub built in the deck, and now a swim spa. I am a water sign, Cancer (not CA) and I love the water. I can not wait until the summer although I am swimming in the swim spa now. I increased my legal flat fee agreements charges this year by $9.97 to help defray the financing and electrical costs associated with my swim spa.  

f. Working in time for an additional 60-90 minute Christ-centered small group or bible study plus 1-2 hours of weekly prep time because meekly, humbly, patiently, gently, lovingly & nicely saying "four letter profanities" in a brown paper bag isn't emotionally or spiritually healthy. 

Okay back to the point, I was making. Do your research on attorneys. It is not about the cheapest attorney, closest attorney, or cutest attorney. You want someone to do their job, be painfully objective, and be fair and honest with you about your case and your options.