I have received hundreds of responses to my recent email, The Spirit of New Orleans Will Survive with the "Kindness of Strangers." I want to thank you for your warm and generous thoughts. I’m truly blessed to have the love and support of so many wonderful CLNC^®s who certainly aren’t strangers.

I was also overwhelmed by how generously each of you is helping New Orleans and Gulf Coast families. I wanted to share with you how I am helping those in the wake of the devastation left by hurricane Katrina. I have personally donated $100,000.00 in direct relief to affected families in the New Orleans area.

Additionally, I am offering hurricane victims in the NACLNC^® Community a one-year extension of their CLNC^® Certification. CLNC^®s in the affected areas whose certification expiration date falls between September 1, 2005 and May 1, 2006 will receive an automatic one-year extension at no cost. If you are an affected CLNC^®, you do not have to do anything. We will automatically extend your certification.

Finally, I would like to share a few of the many heartfelt emails I have received from CLNC^®s around the country. It is nurses like you who make me passionate about what I do.

I attended the NACLNC^® Conference in New Orleans last spring. That was my first visit to New Orleans and I am grateful to have seen the "Big Easy" and come to know some of the wonderful people in that part of the country. Vickie, I know how much you love your hometown. My heart goes out to you and to the residents of New Orleans. I am so sorry for the sense of loss you must feel.

– Misty Coffman, RN, CLNC

Dear Vickie, I attended the 2005 NACLNC^® Conference in New Orleans earlier this year. It was my very first time in New Orleans and we all had a great time. Your conference was fantastic and ever so motivating, as usual. Several CLNC^®s came from my area, and we went early and toured New Orleans every day and every evening. We took the river boat tour, the horse-drawn carriage city tour at night, the bayou tour, the ghost tour, etc. We drank hurricanes and ate 'gator bites at Pat O'Brien's. We had the best time. The people of New Orleans were so friendly. In that short week, it was easy to see why you love it.

Now seeing what has happened to New Orleans, I am SO glad I had the opportunity to experience YOUR town. During the 2005 NACLNC^® Conference, it was apparent that you truly love your city and its people. I feel so sorry for you, the people of New Orleans and the devastation that has occurred. I sincerely hope you, your friends and family are well. Thank you again for allowing me to experience a New Orleans that I don’t think we will ever see again.

– Penny L. Watkins, RN, BSN, PHN, CLNC

Vickie, I want to take this opportunity to tell you how often you and your family have been on my mind and in my prayers. May God bless you as you bless others daily.

I cannot remember how many times my partners and I have said how much we want to tell Vickie what she means to us. We have been in business for seven months and feel we owe all our success to your CLNC^® Certification training. Every time we have a success, like getting eight new cases last week, we want to tell you, "Vickie, your system works." We apply what we learned in your CLNC^® 6-Day Certification Seminar and our 60 years of combined nursing experience, and we feel we can do anything, because as you say, "We are nurses and we can do anything!"

Vickie, "thank you" seems so little for all you gave us. We are meeting our goals and are out there making our dreams come true, all because of you. You challenge us and we use the CLNC^® Certification Program materials almost daily.

You are in our thoughts and every day we share with others our very deep appreciation for you. Our prayers are with you and your family, as well as with all the hurricane victims. I am looking forward to seeing you at the 2006 NACLNC^® Conference in San Diego.

– Joyce A. Donaldson, RN, BSN, CLNC

	1		FREE Coaching and Mentoring – CLNC® Mentoring is a benefit you'll enjoy not only as a student of the Institute but for a lifetime as long as you remain certified. A practicing CLNC® Mentor is just an email or phone call away to answer all of your legal nurse consulting questions.
	2		FREE Opportunity to Network, consult and subcontract with over 6,000 CLNC®s nationwide with your FREE access to the online NACLNC® Directory of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (CLNC®s).
	3		FREE Listing in the online NACLNC® Directory of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants (CLNC®s). Your listing will be easily accessible to more than 6,000 CLNC®s seeking testifying experts and CLNC® subcontractors from all over the U.S.
	4		Exclusive NACLNC® Conference Pricing to attend the world's largest legal nurse consulting conference where you learn from the top legal nurse consulting experts in the country. It's the best place to network with NACLNC® members to locate your CLNC® subcontractors and testifying experts.
	5		Exclusive Products and Programs for CLNC®s Only – Vickie Milazzo Institute is the leader in developing cutting-edge products for CLNC®s such as these powerful and advanced training programs: 2-Day NACLNC® Apprenticeship The 2-Day NACLNC® Apprenticeship is scheduled following each CLNC® 6-Day Certification Seminar, as well as right after the 2006 NACLNC® Conference. In two power-packed days you will learn how to plan your marketing strategies, sharpen your selling skills and draft your first reports with hands-on guidance from the professionals who live it and work it every day. When you attend the 2-Day Apprenticeship, you receive a FREE CLNC® Marketing LaunchBox that saves you thousands of dollars. You will be ready to start marketing to attorneys immediately with brochures, stationery and business cards developed by me and my team of professional writers and design experts. Private NACLNC® Apprenticeship Attend the week-long Private NACLNC® Apprenticeship in the home office of a successful, full-time CLNC® Mentor. You'll learn everything a practicing CLNC® does under expert supervision so you can master any attorney situation with confidence. Only CLNC®s and students of Vickie Milazzo Institute are eligible to participate in these advanced apprenticeship programs.
	6		FREE NACLNC® Community Website Benefits – You receive FREE and exclusive access to the Internet's preeminent legal nurse consulting resource – the private, password-protected online NACLNC® Community, where you will find an unrivaled storehouse of information including: Marketing – Guidance on marketing and the CLNC® Marketing LaunchBox. Online NACLNC® Directory – Access more than 6,000 CLNC®s by state and nursing specialty. Interview Questions – Each question comes complete with proven knock-the-attorney's-socks-off answers. Recommended Authoritative Nursing and Medical Textbooks – Locate the right reference quickly and easily with this extensive medical and nursing publication listing. Legal Nurse Consulting Ezine Archive – Access hundreds of tips, techniques and best practices from Vickie and the CLNC® Pros. CLNC® Resource Links – Target hundreds of the best Internet links for medical, nursing and business topics. Sample Case Screening Form Computer Recommendations – Use these guidelines to select new hardware and software for your office.

Success Is Yours! Vickie L. Milazzo, RN, MSN, JD

P.S. If you are not yet a CLNC^®, call 800.880.0944 today to inquire about our trademark CLNC^® Certification Program.

Let us know how your NACLNC^® membership has benefitted your CLNC^® practice. Send your story to feedback@LegalNurse.com.

The first thing CLNC^®s need to keep in mind when adding defense attorneys to their clientele is this simple principle: Whether the defendant is a healthcare corporation, practitioner or other entity trying to guard against a wide range of possible claims, the defense attorney's ultimate goal is providing the best possible defense for the defendant.

The first step for the defense team is to ascertain what happened during the incident in question based upon the complaint filed and the defendant's recounting of the incident. Next, the defense may attempt to convince the plaintiff's attorney that the case should be dropped for lack of merit. If this proves unsuccessful, witness depositions usually begin. If the plaintiff has a questionable history (drug abuse, significant psychiatric history, legal offenses or history of bogus litigation), this will be brought out through investigations, medical records and the discovery process, including the plaintiff's own deposition.

Plaintiff and defense attorneys often follow similar strategies. Both sides try to get the case either dropped or settled out of court. The two sides may try to settle through mediation based on the mediator's opinion of how much the case is worth. The insurance company may accept this settlement or proceed to trial if the defense attorney believes a favorable outcome is likely.

6 Ways to Market Your CLNC^® Services to Defense Attorneys

The first key to marketing to defense attorneys is to remember that, just like plaintiff attorneys, defense attorneys can be very busy people. The following marketing strategies will help you get the defense attorney's interest:

	1.	When using direct mail, call ahead and ask the attorney (or her secretary or paralegal) to expect your mailing. This helps to assure that it gets read.
	2.	Periodic electronic newsletters that are short, to the point and germane to defense attorneys are a good strategy. Topics should vary from issue to issue, and newsletters should have an interesting look that shows they are professionally prepared. Always include a direct link to your company website and end with a call to action: "Call us today for a free telephone consultation."
	3.	Consider being a presenter or exhibitor at legal conferences for defense attorneys. If you exhibit, offer a few giveaways, such as a drawing for a free literature search or 30-minute phone consultation. This lets you obtain business cards from many attorneys to build your marketing database.
	4.	Many defense attorneys benefit from a quality literature search, whether the case involves toxic tort, products liability, personal injury or medical malpractice. Send out a one-page announcement highlighting your ability to find literature that will help them effectively defend their cases.
	5.	Acquaint yourself with the defense attorneys in your state. An easy way to do this is to call your state bar association and ask to receive periodicals listing recently litigated cases. These publications can tell you which defense (and plaintiff) attorneys work on cases in your areas of expertise. Call these attorneys and offer to assist on their cases, emphasizing that their specialty is your specialty.
	6.	Take a defense attorney to lunch and ask her how you can be of help. Find out what kinds of CLNC® services she thinks she and her colleagues may need. This can be an invaluable method of learning how to better serve the defense attorneys in your area.

Make Yourself and Your CLNC^® Services Invaluable to the Defense

In addition to these marketing strategies, you can increase your business with defense attorneys – and increase their satisfaction – simply by demonstrating the value of your CLNC^® services. For example, developing deposition questions can be an invaluable service. Show your defense attorney-prospect that you know how to draft the relevant questions that should not be missed.

Once you begin working with a defense attorney, remember to communicate in your initial screening the arguments the opposing side might use.

If the plaintiff attorney prepared a life care plan, suggest that the defense develop their own life care plan with a critique of the one produced for the plaintiff.

If you or the attorney suspect that the plaintiff is malingering or has a significant psychiatric or substance abuse problem, recommend that the attorney have the plaintiff evaluated by a psychologist. You should offer to attend the IME.

Be prepared to help the attorney establish that the incident in question is isolated, not part of a complex pattern of malpractice.

The more you can offer about other possibilities such as plaintiff negligence, the more you help the attorney build solid defense theories for use in the upcoming depositions, mediation or trial.

Working with defense attorneys can be challenging yet rewarding, knowing you are helping defend nurses, physicians and other practitioners who have worked long and hard to get where they are professionally. Opportunities are wide open for you and your subcontractors to help defendants receive fair representation. The defense world can become one of your more interesting keys to success as a CLNC^®.

Brian Johnson, RN, PhD, CLNC, a CLNC^® Mentor and guest faculty member for Vickie Milazzo Institute, specializes in neurological and psychological injury claims. He is also a life care planner and neuropsychologist in private and hospital practice in California.

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"Thank you so much for the request for production questions in the LNC Ezine. Many questions apply to cases I'm currently working on and have coming in the near future. As always, Vickie and her staff give us the best of the best tools to perform at the top of our game as CLNC^®s. Vickie, you've given me a new career. Keep up the GREAT work!"

– Katt Bowers, RN, CLNC, Illinois