I’ll be the first to admit it feels good to be right. There’s a comfort, if not outright confidence, in that moral certitude that comes from knowing you are correct in a situation. Recently a vendor and I disagreed over a matter that was objectively verifiable and I knew I was right. It took some effort on my part, but he finally agreed with me.
I was referred to an attorney by a medical testifying expert I know. Because of that referral, I got right through to the attorney and thought “this is going to be easy.” I couldn’t have been more wrong. After briefly discussing my CLNC® services, he responded “I have been doing this for 35 years myself. There is no way you can do a better job than I do.” I acknowledged his expertise as the attorney and then proceeded to explain how I could save him time and money by screening his cases first before he sent them to expensive MD experts. He didn’t bite.
It’s important to avoid a bulletproof mentality in the decisions you make for your legal nurse consulting business as well as in the cases you’re working on for your attorney-clients. I like to shoot holes in my own decisions. This doesn’t mean I don’t move forward with the decision, but it does mean I’ll be more prepared if things go south. Then, when things don’t go perfectly, or as planned, we’re not a perfect target for perfect failure and destruction.
The business relationship with the attorney who gave me my “breakout” case has developed in a way that I did not envision because it has resulted in my consulting almost exclusively for this one attorney-client. I know if I do a great job and maintain a successful relationship with this attorney, other attorneys in his law firm will also hire me.
One of the most important principles I have learned from consulting with attorneys is to anticipate the opposing side’s arguments and positions. I also learned this analysis strategy in law school. On final exams, my grades depended upon my ability to argue both sides of every case even when I didn’t like my own arguments.
An email titled Send This to Everyone in New York Who Handles Nursing Malpractice Cases was forwarded to me by one of my attorney-clients. The author was the managing partner of New York City’s largest medical malpractice firm. For the last six years, I had been trying to think of a creative way to get referrals from this firm. Vickie’s blog on intuitive vision was still fresh in my mind. I knew immediately that I had to stop reviewing a complex medical record, put the day’s usual business on hold and focus on this potential opportunity.
Everyone has a favorite restaurant and I’m lucky enough to have several, depending upon which city I’m in when I get hungry. Here in Houston, it’s an Italian pizzeria enoteca called Dolce Vita in an old house near downtown. Sunday afternoons, if we’re in town, you can frequently find Tom and me on their shaded patio indulging in the outdoors with a glass of healthy red wine and scrumptious, real Italian food. This is a very casual, feel-good, comfy restaurant completely void of pretensions. But Dolce Vita’s standards are far from casual.
One of our CLNC® pros shares how losing sight of her business plan almost cost her a valuable attorney-client and what she did to come back even stronger.
I have to admit, unlike Tom, there are not too many devices that give me “gadget envy.” One that does is the iPad2®. I’m sure there’s an iPad in my future – if for no other reason than to allow me to read magazines and books while listening to music or to watch my own choice of movies on long international flights. Other than the obvious email, web-surfing and entertainment uses, I’ve been trying to find professional uses, so I surveyed attorneys and Certified Legal Nurse Consultants to ask how they use their iPads. I also spoke with a friend who has a company that creates demonstrative evidence for law firms to see how he’s using his iPad.
Many of you know I share my birthday with my twin brother Vince. (No, we’re not identical, he’s my brother.). When we were teenagers, our parents took us to the local roller-skating rink for our birthday party. All of our friends came and we were soon skating clockwise around the rink, all at different speeds and at different levels of skill.
*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
Copyright © 1999-2024 LegalNurse.com.
All rights reserved.
CLNC® and NACLNC® are registered trademarks of
LegalNurse.com.
