The Earnings of a Legal Nurse: What to Know

What is a LNC?

In addition to the education and the skills and abilities required in the healthcare field, the legal nurse consultant (LNC) must become proficient in the topic of health, the law, and the linkage between those two areas. His/her key role involves assisting either the legal professional or the healthcare professional with issues where the fields of nursing, law and/or the healthcare field overlap.
The LNC practices within the legal arena, but she/he is not a legal professional . Among the major roles of the LNC are: working with the attorney or appropriate agency in the review of case records and documents; working with physicians and healthcare professionals with development of healthcare applications of legal concepts; aiding the attorney in preparation of trial strategies and other litigation activities; providing expert testimony in the courtroom or deposition; interpreting medical records and other healthcare-related documents and performing informal settlements for the injured party or bereaved family. In short, the LNC uses her/his nursing education and knowledge in dealing with the legal area, as well as the law, to serve as liaison between attorneys and healthcare professionals.

Factors Affecting Your Salary as a Legal Nurse Consultant

As with most professions, a number of different factors can impact the salary for a legal nurse. Three of the most important of those factors are education level, years in the field and where the nurse and his or her clients are located.
Education Level
Generally speaking, the more education a professional has, the higher his or her salary will be. This is because those who acquire more experience tend to have greater educational credentials and be awarded more responsibility, which comes with higher rates of pay. However, this is not always a hard-and-fast rule. A second alternative would be that the professional has acquired a lot of valuable experience through a job or internship and as a result, a lower level of education than salary levels may indicate.
Years in the Field
As is the case with many legal and medical jobs, a good deal of experience and research is required before one can truly understand specific processes and be able to apply them in a practical setting. Law firm clients want to know they are getting workers who can handle such intricacies with skill and proficiency.
Location
A variety of factors can impact a legal nurse consultant’s salary: particular regions might have higher concentrations of nursing facilities or hospitals, or law offices might have more disposable income to hire a consultant in wealthier areas. A location also may see a greater number of skilled workers move to the area in search of better job opportunities, lowering the salary.

How Much Do Legal Nurse Consultants Make?

Compensation varies from state to state, but a recent BLR study showed that, on average, a legal nurse consultant in the United States makes about $81,500 per year. The lower end of average legal nurse consultant salaries are around $55,000 across the country, while the higher end of the pay scale for LNCs reach up to $175,000, and that number is rising in the year 2023.
Research shows that hourly compensation for legal nurse consultants reaches an average of $40 to $89 per hour, with the lowest paid legal nurse consultants receiving approximately $22 per hour. The annual salaries for legal nurse consultants working full time range from $50,000 to $150,000.

LNC vs. Nursing: Pay Comparison

A legal nurse consultant’s earning power far exceeds that of a traditional, hospital-based Registered Nurse (RN) and even surpasses the salary of a Nurse Practitioner (NP) over the course of an entire career. The average base salary for a newly graduated RN is around $54,000. After 10 years on the job, their salary rises to approximately $72,000. A new NP earns about $90,000 in their first year. After the same decade of experience, their salary climbs to an average annual income of roughly $118,000 . However, with the experience and the right education, a legal nurse can bring in earnings between $70,000-$125,000, with some making as much as $150,000 or more by doing both legal nursing consulting and at least part-time hospital nursing. The bottom line is that a LNC will make more than an RN, and up to 20% less than a typical NP—however, with far more control over their income and working hours. Given the potential for increased income and flexible hours, more former bedside and hospital nurses are transitioning to legal nurse consulting.

Career Growth as a Legal Nurse Consultant

As in most professions, salary increases are available through career advancement. They can come in several ways: Advancing beyond the legal nurse consultant position to a high level clinical or practice management position is another avenue to increased income. Some legal nurse consultants excel so highly that they are sought out for these positions within hospitals or medical groups. Marketing, business development and sales positions are others that offer opportunities for increased income. These positions were formerly unique to legal nurse consultant firms, which were typically small and needed one person to do all of these tasks. Now, there are several national LNC firms, as well as many in-house LNC departments at large law firms. At these larger firms, however, it takes more than one person to fill the jobs. LNC firms that have had a physician leave their positions in our firms, in addition to increasing clinical knowledge and expertise, have discovered another need for a legal nurse consultant with strong communication and public speaking skills-one who can present medical evidence to legal audiences in a way they can understand. These legal nurse consultants are now being invited to act as expert witnesses, so their salaries have increased significantly. Teaching other legal nurse consultants has become another way for legal nurse consultants to increase their salaries. Nurses with master’s degrees or PhDs can pursue teaching positions at colleges or universities. Other opportunities are offered to nurses looking to teach specialty courses in legal nurse consulting-either at seminars or in LNC training programs. Editing, writing and researching should not be overlooked as possible career advancements for legal nurse consultants. As above, there are numerous avenues open to those with additional training, such as course work or experience. Other opportunities include work as book editors and foreign language translators. Depending on the role, these positions can be lucrative. Finally, work from other areas of the nursing profession may also generate increased wages; these are also significant. Beyond the usual salary increases found in every profession, legal nurse consulting offers many unique opportunities for career advancement and salary increases.

How to Increase Your Salary as an LNC

Continuing Education: One of the best ways to increase your salary as a legal nurse is to take continuing education courses related to the field. Not only will this keep you updated on new advancements and current trends, many of these courses will lead to certification. The increased credibility that certifications provide will allow consultants to charge higher fees.
Certifications: Some of the most prevalent certification programs for legal nurse consultants include the LNCC (Legal Nurse Consultant Certified) , CLNC® (Certified Legal Nurse Consultant) and LNC® (Legal Nurse Consultant). Each of these programs prepares legal nurse consultants with the medical knowledge and practical experience to help attorneys at all stages of litigation. All legal nurse consultants should strongly consider becoming certified.
Networking: As with any type of consultant, it is imperative that legal nurse consultants network. Attend as many professional conferences as possible, introduce yourself to other professionals and build relationships with those throughout the medical and legal communities. Networking allows you to develop a loyal base of clients, which makes it much easier to maintain clients over the long haul.