Turn your bedside experience into expert witness work
Learn what legal nurse consultants and nurse expert witnesses really do, then get the documents, skills and community to do it well.
Start with the CV & fee schedule assistantLegal nurse consulting
Behind the scenes with the legal team: record review, chronologies, merit screening, standard of care analysis, deposition prep, focus groups, mock trials and finding the right experts. Usually not testifying.
Nurse expert witness
Retained to form opinions on whether the nursing care met the standard. Writes a report when required and may testify at deposition or trial.
Why it matters
Courts and attorneys look closely at an expert's qualifications. The CV, the fees and the testimony history all get read by the other side.
What legal nurse consultants do
An LNC is the bridge between medicine and law. The attorney owns the legal strategy; the LNC brings the clinical insight. Typical work includes:
- Medical record review and summaries: reading the full chart, organizing it and explaining it in plain words
- Chronologies: putting assessments, orders, medications and interventions in time order
- Standard of care and case screening: flagging where care may have fallen short, and giving an early, objective look at case merit
- Causation and damages support: including coordination with life care planners and damages experts where it fits the case
- Locating and vetting experts: finding qualified clinicians and checking credentials, clinical experience and fit for the case
- Deposition preparation: outlines, medical questions, and helping prepare witnesses alongside the attorney
- Focus groups and mock trials: organizing and helping run panels of community members who react to the case facts, and mock trials that test how the case may come across to a jury
- Trial materials: timelines, medical chronologies, demonstrative exhibits, visual aids and medical illustrations
- Research and other support: clinical guidelines, policies and literature, clinical input on jury questionnaires, and help wherever the medicine matters
LNCs do not give legal advice.
Your host
Brandy Seyller, BSN, RN, CAVRN, CLNC
Critical care nurse with 22+ years of experience, focused on CVICU and ECMO. Legal nurse consultant with Medical Case Consultants, LLC since 2017, and founder of ClinicianExperts.com.
- ECMO
- CVICU
- Cardiac surgery
- Critical care
- Legal nurse consulting
CV & Fee Schedule Automated Assistant
Upload your current CV and fee schedule, or fill it in line by line in short steps. Instantly generate polished PDFs built for expert-witness work.
- Instantly generate polished CV and fee schedule PDFs
- Update anytime as your experience grows or your fee schedule pricing changes
- Request edits
- 4 professional template styles
- Download at the end: watermarked or clean copies, in Word (.docx) and PDF
- Built for expert work: hospital size, trauma level, exact month and year
Join the waitlist for first access.
Join the waitlistExpert Witness Fee Calculator
Free. See what to charge based on your specialty and experience.
Open the free calculator (opens in a new tab)Next: turn your rates into a polished fee schedule PDF. See the assistant
Why an expert-witness CV is different
A job-hunting CV sells you to an employer. An expert-witness CV is a sworn-adjacent record of your qualifications that opposing counsel will check line by line. It lists exactly where you worked, the unit, hospital size, trauma level and exact dates, so a judge and jury can see why you are qualified for this specific case.
The impeachment risk
Wrong dates, an inflated title, an expired certification listed as current, or a CV that does not match your LinkedIn or your deposition testimony can be used to attack your credibility on the stand. See the full explainer
Learn exactly what you need, nothing you don't
Short, practical courses. Take one or take them all.
The Expert-Witness CV That Holds Up Under Cross
Build an accurate, defensible CV that attorneys trust and opposing counsel cannot pick apart.
Pricing Your Expertise
Set your rates, write a fee schedule and retainer terms, and get paid on time.
Medical Record Review & Chronologies
Turn thousands of pages into a clear, cited timeline attorneys can use.
Standard of Care for Nurse Experts
Duty, breach, causation and damages through a nursing lens, with real-world examples.
Deposition Ready
What to expect, how to answer, the common traps, and how to stay credible under pressure.
Your First Attorney Clients
Positioning, outreach letters, LinkedIn and referral networks that bring in cases.
All 6 mini-courses bundle
Everything you get to go further
Add any of these to your CV & Fee Schedule Assistant.
Expert bio one-pager & rate card
A one-page bio attorneys can forward, matched to your CV design.
LinkedIn profile makeover
Headline, About and experience rewritten to match your expert CV.
Attorney introduction letter & emails
A letter plus 3 short outreach emails in your voice.
Testimony & case log template
Track every deposition and trial, ready for the 4-year disclosure list.
Retainer agreement template
A starting template for scope, fees and terms. Review it with your own attorney.
Deposition prep checklist
A printable checklist for the week before and the day of.
60-minute mock deposition
A one-on-one practice session with feedback.
Group membership: coming soon
Legal nurse consultant vs. nurse expert witness
Both roles use your clinical expertise to help attorneys. The difference is whether you work behind the scenes or give opinions under oath. Many nurses do both.
| Legal nurse consultant | Nurse expert witness | |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Review and summarize medical records, build chronologies, spot standard of care issues, screen case merit, find and vet experts, help prepare for depositions, organize focus groups and mock trials, and create trial materials. | Give independent opinions on whether the nursing standard of care was met, and explain them in a written report, at deposition and at trial. |
| Who sees your work | Usually behind the scenes, for the attorney and legal team. | Your opinions, your report and your CV are seen by both sides, the judge and possibly the jury. |
| Testifying | No. You consult; you do not testify. | Yes. Reports, depositions and trial testimony. |
| Clinical background | Strong clinical depth in the area of the case. | Many states require recent, active practice in the same specialty as the nurse in the case. |
| Your documents | A consulting CV and a clear fee schedule. | An expert-witness CV that holds up under cross-examination, a fee schedule and a testimony list. |
Expert qualification rules vary by state and by case. Educational information only, not legal advice.
Free: What Is Legal Nurse Consulting? Starter Guide + Resource List
What LNCs do, how to start, and where to connect. Also free: the 20-item Expert Witness Readiness Checklist.
Free: Attorney Email Outreach 101 + 8 email templates
Who to email, how to find attorney emails the right way, email rules in plain words, and templates for intros, follow-ups and after you meet. Ready for the next step? The Attorney Events & Relationship Playbook shows where attorneys gather and how to speak for CLE.
Courses I recommend
Two trusted programs for nurses and clinicians building an expert witness practice.
Marketing & Testimony SkillsThe Prepared Expert: Testify Well Under Pressure
By Heather Hansen, Trial Lawyer. Learn to handle cross-exam with confidence.
View the course
Marketing & Business SkillsBFB 2.0: Build Your Expert Witness Business
A step-by-step system for building your expert witness practice, with mentorship and marketing training included.
View the courseAffiliate disclosure: I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend programs I believe are useful.
Educational only. Courses and products teach skills and documentation practices; they are not legal advice and do not guarantee that you will be retained, qualified as an expert, or paid any amount.