[RealiRN]

First of all, let me say that I am brand new to this website. What a great resource! After researching many different programs, I have decided to take the AALNC online course. Thanks, for all the helpful advise offered on this forum.

I hope this is not an inappropriate question, but I'm wondering if the $100-$150 an hour salary seen in the advertisements for various LNC programs is realistic, or if this is mostly marketing hype to solicit new students.

Thanks

[sirI]

Hello and welcome to allnurses.com

Glad that you joined.

Yes, those salaries are common. Of course not all LNCs have their fee schedules within these ranges.

Good luck with your LNC goals and we hope you enjoy the site.

[RN1989]

Ask around for a schedule of fees for attorneys in your area to get an idea of things. I know of attorneys that pay law students anywhere from $50-125/hr depending on which year of law school the student is in. These students sometimes don't do anything more than research - digging through law books looking for precedent setting cases and secretarial stuff. An LNC will actually be analyzing data, not just playing secretary.

[RealiRN]

Thanks for the advice. Do you have any tips on how to go about asking for a schedule of fees? I don't personally know any attorneys, or anyone who works in a law office.

[RN1989]

The attorneys that I know send out a schedule of fees to current clients when they change their fees. If you call and just say that you would like to know what the hourly fees are they would probably give them to you over the phone. I actually have gotten cards in the mail with the schedule of fees for each attorney, then they separate the paralegals, law students, assistants, etc. You could always go online and see if any attorneys have "get more info" buttons on their website and ask for a fee schedule.

[lcc1080]

Hi RN1989 - Wondered if you would clarify your response above. - I've really only subcontracted as an lnc in the past, and would like to try obtaining some work on my own in the future. Are you talking about a fee schedule that would be mailed out to the atty's clients? If so, wouldn't that be much higher than the law firm would actually be paying the lnc for performing those lnc services? - Thanks.

[RN1989]

Most attorneys have a fee schedule that shows the hourly rate of each attorney, paralegal, legal assistant (law student), secretary in the firm. By obtaining a schedule of the fees that they charge, you can get a feel for what the attorneys are charging for each type of service so you know where your fee would fit in. Obviously if the majority of attorneys where you live are only charging $150/hr for THEIR services (rural area) then they would be unwilling to pay you that much as an LNC. Most nurses are not comfortable discussing money and asking for fees commensurate with experience and position (hence overall low wages for nurses). Once you see the fees that an attorney will charge per hour for a secretary or law student to work on a case, it is much easier to see where you should set your fees as a highly trained professional nurse consultant. This also can give you the confidence to stay firm on your prices because you are performing a service more complex than what a law student or paralegal might perform.

Your clients are the attorneys, not the people that hire the attorneys. The attorney may or may not provide a bill to their client that shows LNC services itemized with a markup in price (like an agency marks up the cost of a PRN nurse to a client hospital). This is why you set the fee you feel is reasonable and the $ comes from the attorney's office, not from the attorney's client. How the attorney chooses to bill the client for your services is their business. Unless they have an inhouse LNC it is doubtful that they would be adding LNC services onto the regular schedule of fees for their clients to see. Of course if I found out that an attorney was itemizing my services on his client's bill and was doubling or tripling what he paid me and was actually collecting that much, I might reconsider my fees.

[vpmedical]

DO NOT EXPECT to make this kind of money! I have been working in this field for six years. While this fee per hour might be realistic in California, the rest of the world doesn't receive this kind of pay very often. That said, you can charge $100-150 per hour, but remember you might only work on one case for awhile and then have no cases for several months. It beats working in the hosptial, but it isn't guaranteed money.

[RealiRN]

Would you mind if I asked what the more realistic LNC fees are for your area?

[sirI]

Just a caution here: We do not discuss specific LNC fees for a specific locale. Please just discuss generics, not specific state/city locations.

Thank you.