CLNC subcontractors

Gina D’Angelo, RN, BSN, MBA, NHA, CLNC shares how, after getting in front of 60 attorneys at a medical-malpractice conference, her CLNC^® business has grown so much she’s now using CLNC^® subcontractors to keep up!

Watch and learn her secrets to CLNC^® success.

Congratulations, Gina!

Success Is Inside!

Vickie, I just have to tell you about my recent exhibiting success. I started my Certified Legal Nurse Consultant business 5½ months ago after a long hiatus from nursing. I was fortunate to be able to work on my legal nurse consulting business full time and I made a concerted effort to use the marketing strategies I learned from the CLNC^® Certification Program. I got my first two cases on the same day within a week of my launch date just networking with friends. This networking brought me two attorneys and seven cases in the first three months.

To create immediate success for my legal nurse consulting business, I decided to exhibit at a statewide plaintiff attorney convention. I put to use the event marketing information in the Core Curriculum for Legal Nurse Consulting^® textbook, NACLNC^® Apprenticeship and Advanced CLNC^® Practice-Building Programs. I decided to spend the money to hire a graphic designer to create a professional tri-fold exhibit I could use repeatedly. I was thrilled with the final product and thanks to the information I received from Vickie Milazzo Institute, my exhibit booth looked attractive and professional.

I stood in front of my exhibit throughout the convention and introduced myself to most everyone who walked by. I passed out numerous business cards and brochures. I focused my conversations on how the attorneys were currently screening and developing their medical-related cases and how I could save them time and money. On the first day, I stayed until all attorneys and all but two exhibitors had left the exhibit hall. Ten minutes after returning to my hotel room, I got a call from an attorney-prospect who was waiting by my booth with medical records for me to review! Needless to say, I ran downstairs to meet with him. Believe it or not, I walked away from that convention with not one but two sets of medical records and retainers for both cases from that one attorney!

I received permission to follow up from every attorney with whom I spoke. I also gave free screenings to three attorneys who were particularly interested in my CLNC^® services. Two other attorneys asked me to call them after the convention to discuss a case on which they needed help. The day after I notified one attorney of his free screening, he called me to discuss a case he wanted me to handle. He needed help with several cases and wanted to get started. His firm handles a large number of malpractice and negligence cases so this opportunity really opened doors for my CLNC^® business.

I was surprised on the second day of the convention when one of the other two legal nurse consultant exhibitors shut down their booth (three RNs were exhibiting together). It was “tax-free shopping” that weekend so they closed their booth at 11:00am and went shopping! Needless to say, they had not attended the Vickie Milazzo Institute’s CLNC^® Certification Program. Since the convention was only 2½ days, they lost a huge opportunity to meet attorneys.

All in all, as a result of exhibiting at this one event I came home with the following:

• Two sets of medical records and retainer fees for each case from the same attorney.
• Requests from two attorneys to call regarding cases on which they need help.
• Request to screen a case for merit from a new attorney-client.
• Request to locate two testifying experts.
• Plus I received the attorney mailing list database from the association sponsoring the convention.

While exhibiting is not cheap nor easy, it definitely paid off for me. It gave my CLNC^® business statewide exposure and I will be hiring my first CLNC^® subcontractor to help with my rapidly increasing case load. I love my new career as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant and look forward to many years of exhibiting success.

Laura H. Beard, RN, BSN, CLNC is president of LHB Medical-Legal Consulting located in South Carolina and specializes in medical malpractice, personal injury, workers’ compensation cases and Medicare Set-Aside Allocations.

Screening medical-related cases is one of the most important legal nurse consulting services you will provide as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant. Not only is it one of my favorite CLNC^® services but it is the first CLNC^® service you usually provide for new attorney-clients. Do it well and the attorneys keep coming back for more. Here are 16 screening strategies to keep your attorney-clients coming.

Stay Focused on the Essentials

1. Give the attorney an objective, candid and honest opinion without regard for what you think the attorney wants to hear. Put aside interests in personal gain (e.g., more billable hours) and focus only on what is ultimately best for the attorney, the client and the case.
2. Discuss the issues and theme of the case with the attorney-client and ascertain the date of the incident (when known) to help you focus quickly on the important events. If the case has been filed, request a copy of the complaint or petition. You will screen many cases in which the attorney knows little about the facts and has formed no opinion. If the attorney does have an opinion and you believe he is focusing on the wrong issues or your opinion is different, be sure to communicate your reasoning right away.
3. If you do not have time to do the screening as soon as you receive the case, at least read the cover letter and scan the medical records. This helps you to establish deadlines, determine the basic issues of the case and assure you have all the necessary records. If relevant records are missing, inform your attorney-client immediately.
4. Scan all relevant medical records and, where appropriate, note important observations and opinions. Avoid excessive writing at the screening stage, especially if you haven’t yet identified the essential issues and themes of the case. Your goal at the screening stage is to be efficient, and until you’ve reviewed all relevant records and identified key issues, it is very easy to go down unnecessary rabbit trails.
5. Use the screening form to track all possible defendants, types of experts needed, additional documents needed and recommended research. When you give your screening opinion to the attorney, you can incorporate some of these into recommendations for the next indicated steps.
6. Screening a case is similar to reading a mystery novel. You may even be surprised by the outcome because the focus may shift from something obvious, like a patient fall, to a less obvious issue, such as medication administration or safety policies and procedures. As new and more relevant issues arise, determine their significance and how they impact the essence of the case.
7. Do not overlook the obvious by overanalyzing the records. Likewise do not assume that the issues will automatically jump out at you. If you become overwhelmed by the task at hand or the volume of medical records, walk away for a while, or a day or two, then come back fresh and start again.
8. Do not assume the case has no merit simply because a physician reviewed the records and found no merit. Physicians tend to limit their reviews to doctors’ records and in so doing, they often miss vital information. For example, many MD experts do not review the nursing records and often it’s the nursing notes that shed the most light on what really happened to the patient. Always review the records completely and look for discrepancies in documentation by different providers.
9. If you were hired by the plaintiff attorney, look at the case from the defendant’s viewpoint. (What are the defenses or rationales in this case?) If you were hired by the defense attorney, look at the case from the plaintiff’s viewpoint. (What went wrong, if anything? Could anything have been done differently? Were any standards of care or practice guidelines breached?)

Efficiency Saves You Time and Saves Your Client Money

10. Don’t organize the medical records before you screen and you will save valuable time in the initial review process. If organizing the records is necessary before screening, do not organize them for comprehensive review and analysis, but organize only with the objective of making screening easier.
11. Do not do a formal report during the screening stage – just complete the screening form to facilitate communicating your opinion clearly and concisely. More comprehensive reports are only indicated once you have communicated your screening opinion and both you and the attorney agree that a comprehensive review and analysis of the medical records is indicated.
12. Access relevant healthcare references as needed while you are reviewing but don’t overdo it at this stage. Unless you need some piece of information before you can move on, make a list of topics to search on the Internet and do all your searching at once. This will keep you focused as you read through the record. Narrow your searches to match the factors in your particular case (e.g., octogenarian, female, femur fracture, mortality). Be sure to research any articles and publications authored by all the relevant players in the case.
13. Consider subcontracting the screening if the issues are outside your area of expertise. Make the decision to subcontract quickly, then act on it. Don’t wait until you need a CLNC^® subcontractor to try to find one. Develop a pool of CLNC^® subcontractors who are ready to respond to your needs. All successful CLNC^® consultants know what they don’t know and wisely tap the expertise of their peers.
14. Use a magnifying glass (buy the best one you can afford) so you can read those little squiggles and impress the attorney with your knowledge of hieroglyphics. You may determine the outcome of the case by being able to decipher something illegible to the average eye.
15. Keep a calendar of the year in question close by. Look for weekends and holidays when short staffing is common.
16. Pay particular attention when operative notes, admission history and physicals, discharge summaries and autopsy reports are dictated and transcribed. If an unusually long period of time elapsed between the event and the transcription, note that for future consideration.

Use these 16 strategies to make screening medical-related cases one of your most popular and satisfying CLNC^® services. Keep your attorney-clients coming back for more.

Success Is Inside!

Everyone knows that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant knows at least one CLNC^® consultant, if not more. If you’ve attended one of our CLNC^® 6-Day Certification Seminars, you’ve made lifelong CLNC^® friends. When you attend the NACLNC^® Annual Conference, you reconnect with CLNC^® consultants from all over the country. But all too often you only do it for those short periods of time. Not everyone capitalizes on their connections to make a strong chain or develop a mini-network.

In this information/communication-driven world of Facebook^®, Twitter^®, Skype^® and the Internet, the only thing holding you back is the lack of a plan. Given the myriad ways we can communicate these days there is nothing, and I mean nothing, stopping any Certified Legal Nurse Consultant from setting up their own CLNC^® Connection Chain (or “CCC” for short).

Set up your CCC in 5 easy steps:

1. Use Darwinian Selection. From your certified, but not certifiable, colleagues pick 5-8 other CLNC^® consultants you respect, who have different specialties than your own and who are in different parts of the country. This is Link 1 in your CCC.
2. Facebook’em Danno. Next, set up your own private group on Facebook and send an invite to each of the Certified Legal Nurse Consultants you’ve identified and ask them to join your group. You now have the second link in your CCC, a place where you and the CLNC^® members of your group can communicate freely and network with each other that doesn’t require any special skill. Remember to set your privacy settings to keep others from seeing your group’s discussions. CCC Link 2 is complete.
3. Get Yourself a Glam-Cam. Your next step is to go out and spend less than $60 and buy a USB web cam with embedded microphone for your computer (unless you’re lucky enough to have an Apple^® laptop or iMac with one built in). Install the camera. (Tom installed mine and claims it’s so simple even a caveman can do it.) Then sign up for the free version of Skype. This will allow you to have weekly video conferences in pairs or in groups with your CCC members. It’s much more fun than telephone conferences and much more rewarding in terms of retying the connections with the other CCCers. You can also use this to check in with your hi-tech attorney-clients. Link 3 checked off.
4. Tweet Like a Tweety-Bird. Join Twitter but be sure to protect your “tweets.” Protecting your tweets allows only those Twitter members you specifically approve to see your tweets. You can still follow Ashton Kutcher, but your tweets will only be seen by those you approve to view them. Use the initiation function of Twitter to send email invitations to your list of CLNC^® colleagues. If you have a texting plan for your smart phone, turn on the mobile tweets function of Twitter and select only those people in your group to update you via cell phone. You can read the rest of the twitterers using Tweetdeck or on Twitter. This way you’ll get texts of important updates from your CCC. Use Twitter to schedule your Skype calls, update your CCC on new attorney-clients or just to tell them what you’re doing. Link 4 in place.
5. Meet Up to Keep Up. When you attend the NACLNC^® Annual Conference, plan on flying in at least two days early to brainstorm with your CCC members. You’ll want to meet before the conference to get your face-to-face time in with your CCC members. Focus on learning from your group and grab new ideas for your legal nurse consulting business so you can rock back and enjoy the conference. Link 5 done and your CLNC^® Connection Chain is ready to pay off big!

Now put your CLNC^® Connection Chain to use. Set accountable and measurable objectives, and share them with your CLNC^® chain members. When you complete an objective, send out a tweet. Schedule at least two Skype calls a month so that everyone can update each other on the steps they’ve taken towards their accountable objectives. Research shows that being accountable to others for the action steps in your strategic plan help you implement them. Celebrate each others’ successes and brainstorm over what went well and what didn’t. This is your private brain trust, exclusive board of directors and personal planning committee – make use of them!

A CLNC^® Connection Chain is a great way to make sure your legal nurse consulting business succeeds. Here’s my challenge to Certified Legal Nurse Consultants – set up your own CCC and put it to the test for 60 days. I’ll be waiting to hear from you when you share with all of us how your CCC has helped your legal nurse consulting business.

Success Is Inside!

There I was nearly nine years ago, suffering from what I now refer to as “professional bradycardia.” I signed up for Vickie Milazzo Institute’s CLNC^® Certification Seminar and had my breath taken away! That 6-day seminar in 2000 was about to change my life forever and ever. However, at the time I only knew it was The Best program I had ever attended as a nurse, bar none!

It would be one and a half years later that I would have to wait for another positive breathless moment. It came after my first attorney-client gave me my first three cases, one right after the other, and then stated to me after paying his third retainer, “Larry, I just want to let you know that that you are not charging enough for these reports.” That was the icing on the cake. It made me realize that I could do this type of work and do it well, but thinking at the same time…well duh…I was trained by The Best! Based on that attorney’s advice and knowing that I was trained by the best, I substantially increased my hourly fee, never looked back and now never blink, shudder or stutter when I quote my fee to attorneys.

I was so excited that I picked up the phone and called Vickie Milazzo Institute in Houston. I asked if I could thank Vickie in person at the next CLNC^® 6-Day Certification Seminar in Philadelphia (my CLNC^® training ground). The answer came back, “yes,” and I found myself driving to Philadelphia in September 2002. I gave my little thank-you story with a microphone in front of me and I found myself breathless again, both from the fright of public speaking and from the reaction I received from the 300 nurses in attendance. I remember pinching myself and smiling from ear to ear on my drive home that day from Philadelphia.

I once again became breathless in March 2003 as I received the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants CLNC^® Success Story Award at the annual NACLNC^® Conference. Imagine, this old-as-dirt nurse, with average nursing skills, up on that huge stage with Vickie Milazzo in Orlando, Florida receiving such an award! It DID take my breath away and It DID FEEL GOOD!

One final breathless moment I would like to share, came very recently as I expanded my CLNC^® business to include nine subcontractors, all of whom are Certified Legal Nurse Consultants! I refer to my initiative as Peas in a Pod with the POD being my company who will act as the Point Of Distribution for casework to the Peas who are the CLNC^® subcontractors. We have bi-weekly group phone conferences and also stay connected by Pea Pod Ponderings, a weekly email sent by Larry Pea to the other Peas. All the Peas, each with their specific area of nursing expertise, makes the POD strong and unique, however what takes my breath away is the fact all the Peas are very, very special to me and as a POD, we are able to offer my attorney-clients over 225 years of nursing experience, guiding them as we journey through the medical records! Another breathtaking moment indeed will also be when the Peas collectively meet at the next NACLNC^® Conference!

Thank you Vickie for making me one SOB (Short Of Breath) Certified Legal Nurse Consultant!

Lawrence H. Frace, RN, CLNC

Read Part 1.

In Part 1 we discussed 6 Best Practices for subcontracting with Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to grow your CLNC^® business. Here are 9 more Best Practices.

1. Sign a formal contract with each subcontractor, and include a fair noncompetition clause. Use the recommended CLNC^® subcontractor contract from Vickie Milazzo Institute.

2. Have each CLNC^® subcontractor fill out a W-9 form at the time they sign their contract. Don’t pay their invoice until you receive a completed form. You can download a W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification form and instructions from IRS.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf.

3. Market to your attorney-clients that you have a network of CLNC^® subcontractors in a variety of specialties to encourage them to send you more cases.

4. Communicate your expectations, deadlines and budget for the assignment clearly. Every attorney-client is different and there’s more than one right way to design the report. Clear communication helps to ensure that the CLNC^® subcontractor provides work product that meets your attorney-client’s needs.

Dale Barnes, RN, MSN, CLNC says,

“A mistake I made in the beginning was not giving the subcontractors a deadline. I found that by leaving the deadline to them, it was often last minute, and I got nervous about getting the report to the attorney in a timely manner. Now, I always give a reasonable deadline, allowing a bit more time than the CLNC^® subcontractor may need so that it can be done expediently.

I have also learned the importance of giving the subcontractor parameters and limits for hours allowed per case. It is the same as checking with an attorney before doing too much or too little. If you do not provide a budget, you could end up paying more than is necessary for details that are not needed quite yet.”

Nikki J. Chuml, RNC, FMC, PRN, CLNC says,

“I make sure my CLNC^® subcontractor knows the deadline and I have them check in along the way. I like to see the first page of their report. I just want to make sure they are on the right track. Once I approve the first page, they continue with the case.

About halfway through the case, I have them check in again to make sure it remains what I want. If all is okay, then they complete the work. If something is not meeting my expectations, I discuss it with them before they finish the entire report. I want to save them time also. I am confident that as long as we continue to communicate with each other, the report will be what I want for my attorney-client.

When the finished product is sent to me, I review it, make any necessary changes and send them the completed one so that they can see what I like and expect for the next time. I don’t believe in wasting their time or mine, so I like to be with them throughout the process.

One thing I always make sure of is that my CLNC^® subcontractors get paid on time. I like to keep them happy so they will work again.”

Don’t cut your deadlines too close. Get your work from the CLNC^® subcontractor as far in advance of the due date as possible to allow you to assess their work product.

5. Put each new subcontractor to the test. Start with small tasks and advance to more complex projects.

6. Be sure to review the work prepared for your clients by your subcontractors (especially beginners) before submitting it. Always allow time to carefully check and edit your subcontractors’ work. Share your changes so the subcontractor can learn to model your best practices.

7. Pay your CLNC^® subcontractors 50% of your billing rate. The attorney will be invoiced at your hourly rate. It is not necessary to indicate to the attorney the number of hours you worked vs. the hours your CLNC^® subcontractor worked. Pay within 30 days of invoice date to encourage loyalty and enthusiasm for future projects.

8. Treat each CLNC^® subcontractor as an individual. Focus on and use their strengths to supplement your own strengths. One CLNC^® consultant may write great personal injury chronologies, but is not as strong at analyzing medical malpractice cases. Likewise, the CLNC^® subcontractor who is masterful at analyzing malpractice cases may be easily bored by writing personal injury summaries.

9. Acknowledge and thank your CLNC^® subcontractors. Don’t take your CLNC^® subcontractors for granted.
   
   As Larry Frace, RN, CLNC says,

“Keep in constant touch with all of your CLNC^® subcontractors by teleconferencing, emailing and at the next NACLNC^® Conference.”

Follow these Best Practices and you will master the art of sensational subcontracting to achieve sensational results for your CLNC^® business.

Success Is Inside!

Read Part 2.

The quickest way to grow your legal nurse consulting business is to expand with CLNC^® subcontractors. Check out these Best Practices and how the CLNC^® Pros are using them to expand their CLNC^® business in sensational ways.

1. Hire only Certified Legal Nurse Consultant subcontractors. This will save you time and heartache in the long run. Through the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants, you’ll find plenty of qualified CLNC^® consultants who can help you manage your cases. Working only with other CLNC^® consultants is the key to sensational subcontracting and the strongest method for building your CLNC^® business.

Suzanne E. Arragg, RN, BSN, CDONA/LTC, CLNC says,

“I am a firm believer in using only CLNC^® subcontractors. In the beginning, I tried using non-Certified Legal Nurse Consultants because I thought, ‘Gee, she is a good nurse… she knows what she’s doing.’ But the reality was, I ended up reviewing the chart and writing the report all over again because it just wasn’t a product that met my standards or those of my attorney-client. Needless to say, this was exhausting, double the work, and just wasn’t worth my time, energy or money!”

Dale Barnes, RN, MSN, PHN, CLNC shares,

“Many years ago, as a new CLNC^® consultant, I learned my first lesson about subcontracting. I knew so many RNs and thought I could use them as subcontractors. I found a couple of really good nurses who wanted to learn from working with me. Though I showed them reports I had written and clearly explained what I needed from them for the work product, they still lacked the CLNC^® training I had received as a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant from Vickie Milazzo Institute.

These RNs wrote their reports and gave them back to me. To my great disappointment, I found that I had to rewrite most of what they gave me. These were not billable hours. Due to their lack of formal training, they were not capable of producing the same level of work product. I wasted a lot of time and energy, and have only used Certified Legal Nurse Consultants since that time.”

Lawrence H. Frace, RN, CLNC recommends,

“Only use Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. I repeat… only use Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. I decided that since I was going to use subcontractors and had the agreement ready to go, why not start with nine CLNC^® subcontractors and cover the nine major areas of nursing. I chose CLNC^® consultants who had experience in long term care, emergency room, medical/surgical, neonatal, obstetrics, operation room, pediatrics, critical care, outpatient care and mental health. I had always feared that an attorney might offer me a case in which I lacked nursing experience. Now with nine hand-picked CLNC^® subcontractors in place, I feel confident that I can accept any case offered. No more fear for Larry, thanks to my CLNC^® subcontractors.

I had networked at prior NACLNC^® Conferences and from that networking, already had most of the names I needed to get started. I also accessed the listing of CLNC^® consultants from the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. The reason that I stress using only Certified Legal Nurse Consultants as subcontractors is because it’s smart to bring a team together who are all singing off the same page from the get go. We were all trained by the best – Vickie Milazzo Institute – why settle for anything less?”

2. Build your CLNC^® subcontractor network in advance of needing each one. This allows you to respond timely to the attorneys’ deadlines on cases outside of your specialty. The best way to find subcontractors is by networking at the National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (NACLNC^®) Annual Conference and with the NACLNC^® members on our password-protected website. The online directory is an exclusive benefit for CLNC^® consultants only.

Nikki J. Chuml, RNC, FMC, PRN, CLNC explains,

“I subcontract my cases only to other Certified Legal Nurse Consultants. I like to search from the cards that I receive at the NACLNC^® Conferences or look in the NACLNC^® Directory for someone who meets the criteria.”

3. Don’t become dependent on just one or two subcontractors. Continue to expand your CLNC^® subcontractor network. This frees you to meet tight deadlines or to let go of someone who is not the right match for you.
4. Hire CLNC^® subcontractors who live outside your geographical area. This will help to avoid any competitive attitude between you and your CLNC^® subcontractors. Avoid networking with local groups who may mean well, but are more interested in competing with you than helping you.
5. Look for a CLNC^® subcontractor who has three to five years of experience in the nursing specialty of the case and who is still connected to the healthcare system. This assures you’re subcontracting with a true expert on the issues.

Nikki J. Chuml says,

“I will contact the CLNC^® consultant and do a phone interview. Once I like how the telephone interview goes, then I will tell them a little about the case and see if their experience fits the case. After the agreement has been made, I will send the CLNC^® subcontractor an agreement to sign.”

6. Require all subcontractors to provide a resume and to produce some sample work product before you hire them. Assess the samples to be sure all work product is consistent and represents the same level of quality you provide to your attorney-clients.

Success Is Inside!

I frequently mentor Certified Legal Nurse Consultants who are challenged by the demands that go with their having created successful CLNC^® businesses with lots of cases and lots of attorney-clients.

Many CLNC^® consultants try to do everything themselves because they feel no one can provide the CLNC^® services to their attorney-clients the way they do. That’s what I thought when I first started my legal nurse consulting business and, it’s true. However, I quickly learned that if I hire the right CLNC^® subcontractor, that person might do some things better. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the many CLNC^® consultants who bring their unique expertise to my legal nurse consulting business.

From the beginning, you want to build a network of CLNC^® subcontractors who will help you offer a wider range of expertise to your attorney-clients. This is the smart way to increase your client list, your caseload and your CLNC^® business revenue.

Subcontracting ensures that as you take on more cases in different specialties, and add more attorney-clients, that you will continue to bring accurate and cost-effective opinions to the table. As you continue to promote your business more aggressively, you will still have time for yourself, which is why you got into business for yourself in the first place.

According to the LA Daily Journal, “On average, a nurse working at a hospital makes $40,000 annually, according to the American Nursing Association, while legal nurse consultants can make $200,000 a year or more if they consult full time….$400,000 a year for an established legal nurse consulting firm is not unheard of.”

There is only one way you can possibly earn $400,000 a year for your legal nurse consulting business: by leveraging time through other CLNC^® consultants.

Leveraging is the principle of using other people’s time, energy, talents, money, knowledge and effort to achieve your desired goals faster than you could on your own. Time and brain power are your two major assets. You can’t control time and can only work so many hours a day no matter how energetic you are. You have to leverage time with CLNC^® subcontractors.

Billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty once said, “I would rather earn one percent of 100 people’s efforts than 100 percent of my own.” That’s leveraging in a nutshell. Subcontracting is a way of leveraging your time, knowledge and efforts.

Larry Frace, RN, CLNC shared this with me about subcontracting.

“I cannot believe that I have been a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant for nine years and it took me eight of those years before I started using Certified Legal Nurse Consultant subcontractors. I must be a slow learner because I vividly remember Vickie saying in the CLNC^® Certification Program nine long years ago, that we all should consider utilizing CLNC^® subcontractors in our business. All I can say at this point is better late than never. I wanted to take my CLNC^® business to the next level and wanted to create my dream team by using CLNC^® subcontractors. Looking back now it was really quite simple to do.

I wanted my utilization of subcontractors to be something special and different. I wanted a dream team. Enter my PEA-POD Concept – I wanted all my CLNC^® subcontractors to feel that they were a part of a team, like Peas in a Pod. The POD would be my company acting as the Point Of Distribution of cases that I would obtain from marketing to attorneys; however, now my marketing focus would be showcasing the combined experience of ten CLNC^® consultants with well over 240 years of nursing experience!

My marketing package turned into a 25-page portfolio that I now send out along with Ghirardelli chocolates, educating attorneys how they will obtain ‘Sweet Results’ if they choose to use my company’s ‘Dream Team!’ I keep in contact with my CLNC^® subcontractors by group teleconferencing once a month and emailing them weekly at first and now as needed. You guessed it…the title of my emailing is PEA-POD PONDERINGS. What makes this concept dear to me however are the PEAS and how we connect with each other.

Professional and passionate CLNC^® consultants

Encouraging each other to take,

Action steps each day to achieve,

Success with spectacular results!

Avoid your fear of subcontracting. Get rid of your own stinking thinking! As I stated above, utilizing CLNC^® subcontractors is a simple way to expand your business by taking it to the next level. Once you decide to use CLNC^® subcontractors, plant that idea firmly in your mind and take action in order to cultivate your decision to grow your own PEA POD!”

This is the smart way to expand your CLNC^® business. Start building your network of CLNC^® subcontractors today.

Success Is Inside!

For the first two months, nothing was happening. What was I doing wrong?

My husband said, “Give it a chance, Melanie. Let me help.”

He began calling the attorneys I had sent postcards to, and he got results. He booked me for presentations at law firms where I discovered that face-to-face interaction is my strong suit. Once an attorney agrees to a presentation, and I show what I can do, closing the sale is a given.

My first big client, however, came by way of a referral from my insurance agent. My agent’s neighbor is an attorney who referred his medical malpractice and personal injury cases to another attorney. That’s when I found out how useful it is to know people who know people who know people. He passed my name along, and I got a call.

“What can you do for us?” the attorney asked.

Boy, did I answer that question. Amazingly, their firm hadn’t used legal nurse consultants. Their paralegal was pulling her hair out, unable to provide what they needed.

In closing I asked, “When may I come to your office and show you what I can do?”

The Work Started Flowing and We Replaced My Husband’s Salary

I handle all of that attorney-client’s cases, including medical malpractice, personal injury and workers’ comp. This single attorney-client can keep me busy full time, but my goal is to grow big enough to hire CLNC^® subcontractors. We’re almost there. We have four attorney-clients now – and the work keeps flowing.

I say “we” now because my husband left his job and came to work for me full time as an office manager. That was one of the smartest moves I made. A disabled veteran, he’s able to take care of our children and still help with our marketing. He also answers the phone, which means an attorney gets a live voice, not an answering machine.

Being responsive is one important reason our business has grown so fast. We make $5,000-$6,000 per month and have already replaced my husband’s salary.

I Like Educating Attorneys – Once They Know You, They Need You

The most amazing thing happens when I give a presentation at a law firm: attorneys pay attention. I wow them with the CLNC^® services I can provide to help them win cases and they treat me as a professional. I use their feedback to refine my presentation for the next time I deliver it.

After attorneys learn what a CLNC^® consultant can do for them, they see the value. Later, when I actually work with them, they begin to rely on me in more and more areas, on more and more cases. Just recently, our biggest attorney-client emailed us to say we had become their best friends and they cannot function without us.

One thing I learned from Vickie is to hold my ground on nonmeritorious cases. That principle is working for me. After I review a case, my client will ask, “Melanie, what’s your recommendation? What do I do with this?”

If the case has merit, fine. I lay it out. But I sometimes have to say, “I understand that something bad happened, and your client is upset about it, but I don’t see merit here.” In the long run, the attorney saves money by not pursuing cases he can’t win.

My attorney-clients listen to me and respect my judgment. That makes me feel that my nursing experience and knowledge are making a difference.

While taking my CLNC^® training, I came up with the slogan we use in our marketing: We make you look best. My attorney-clients love it.

I Enjoy What I Do Every Day

Being a nurse is important to me, and my CLNC^® business makes me happy in many ways I never expected. I enjoy my attorney-client relationships. I enjoy feeling that I’m still helping people, even though it isn’t at the bedside.

On every case, I learn something new, which I can then use on future cases. That’s exciting. While I’m teaching my attorney-clients about medical records and the healthcare side of a situation, they’re handling the legal side and I’m learning from them, too. Together, we make a brilliant team. I help identify issues that will help them look good in the courtroom and win the cases that deserve to be won.

I also enjoy knowing that my children are not spending time at daycare. I used to feel guilty about leaving them, but now they’re getting the best care at home with their father. My CLNC^® business has positively impacted our entire family.

After serving his country in Iraq, my husband came home with limitations that make it hard for him to work outside the home. I created a job for him, and he’s a valuable asset to my CLNC^® business. No one could do a better job running the office, and I love working with him. This could never have happened if I’d stayed full time at the hospital. I’m proud that ours is a family business, that we can grow it together.

Recently, I’ve begun traveling for my attorney-clients, which is another exciting aspect of what I do. On one case, the attorney requested that I meet with his client who needed to be assessed for a life care plan. When I asked the attorney if he wanted me to find someone local to assess his client in order to save on travel cost, he insisted that I go myself because of the quality of my work. I was flattered. My office-manager husband made all the travel arrangements for me to fly in early one morning and come back the same day. This was a wonderful experience! I had never had a frequent flyer card before now. I feel professional!

We Keep Marketing Smart to Attract New Attorney-Clients Like Vickie Taught Us

One day we drove past a billboard for a law firm that specializes in personal injury cases. I told my husband, “We should call on them.” He called and booked me for a presentation.

That’s the sort of marketing that gets big results at low cost. This month we’ll be mailing out and following up on a hundred postcards, which is also low cost.

We offer a discount on the first case. Attorneys are like anybody else when it comes to saving money, they expect to get value for their dollars. The discount encourages them to take a chance, and it costs us nothing until a prospect actually hires us. We do a great job, the client is impressed and hires us again at our full rate. Marketing can be effective without draining your bank account – Vickie taught me that too.

Vickie Made It All Possible

I feel very lucky to have been trained by Vickie Milazzo. She’s amazing. When I came home from the CLNC^® 6-Day Certification Seminar, I told my husband, “She’s a tiny lady but powerful. She looks at you like you’re the only person on the planet. The world around her stops and she listens to you, giving you her time and all her attention.”

It has been a year now since my CLNC^® Certification. A very happy year. I think back to those first two months, when I doubted myself, and I have to laugh. My life has changed in so many wonderful ways since I became a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant.

Guest Blogger Profile

Melanie V. Paquette, RN, BSN, CLNC is co-founder with her husband of Paquette Legal-Medical Consulting Services LLC based in Texas. She has more than 13 years of clinical experience in emergency care, intensive care, level 1 trauma, cardiology, interventional radiology, neurology and has hospital and insurance experience as a case manager.

Every day at our Chicago CLNC^® 6-Day Certification Seminar, the housekeeper left a handwritten thank-you note on my pillow. With that little note, she received a pay raise. The money I was leaving for a tip doubled after that second note. Her simple act of gratitude for a small gratuity led to a larger gratuity.

This week, make it your goal to send three handwritten, attitude-of-gratitude notes every day. Send thank-you notes to:

• Attorneys you’re currently consulting with.
• Anyone who has helped you get those attorney-clients.
• Inactive attorney-clients for their past business.
• Your CLNC^® subcontractors who have helped you on cases.
• Anyone else you can think of who helps to make your CLNC^® business easier to manage and more profitable.

This is a powerful marketing tool that will reap big rewards for Certified Legal Nurse Consultants and everyone else. Think about the last time you received a personalized, handwritten, thank-you note from someone. Didn’t it make much more of an impression on you than a thank-you email? In a world where technology rules, it’s the simple handwritten thank you that will stand out and stick in the recipient’s memory.

At the Institute we post all the handwritten thank-you notes and cards we receive on the bulletin board in our lunchroom. That way, all the staff can share not only the sentiments of the author, but also the pride the recipient feels in being recognized.

Handwritten notes are not only a great way to demonstrate how much you respect the professional relationship, but are also a great way to retie connections with attorney-clients, subcontractors and vendors. Your personal message reminds attorney-clients of the work you’ve done for them in the past and of the relationship that you share. Even a little 4-sentence note may open the door for additional business!

Every CLNC^® consultant should have a box of high-quality note cards. Embossed with the name of your legal nurse consulting business isn’t required, but go ahead and spend the extra money for good quality paper and presentation. It’ll be worth it.

Send thank-you notes for the next thirty days and watch your CLNC^® business soar along with your attitude of gratitude for all of the new cases you are receiving.

Success Is Inside!

P.S.	Discover 54 more free ways to promote yourself to attorneys.