Dear Donna,

If I take a legal nurse consultant course, what are the chances of my getting hired by a law firm? I don’t want to invest the time and money if there are no jobs out there. I would appreciate any info you can offer.

Interested in Legal Nurse Consulting

Dear Interested in Legal Nurse Consulting,

For starters, it is not necessary to take a course in legal nurse consulting nor to get certified in the specialty in order to do this type of work. It is your nursing knowledge and experience, including your ability to navigate your way through a medical record, that are valuable and marketable in this arena.

According to the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants, about half of all LNCs are self-employed with their own consulting practices. Another 25% are employed by law firms. The other 25% are employed by insurance companies or hospitals.

I suggest that before you invest any time and money in anything, you do some informational interviewing with nurses who are successfully working as LNCs, whether they work for a law firm or other facility or are self-employed. This will provide information about what the specialty is really like, what the career opportunities are in your local area and available resources to help you work in this arena. “The scoop on information interviewing” explains how to conduct an informational interview.

Find these nurses by asking around, on social media, such as LinkedIn and through AALNC. I recommend you attend local chapter meetings of AALNC as a guest for now. When there’s something you want to do it makes sense to rub elbows with those already doing it.

Best wishes,
Donna