Top 8 License Defense Attorneys for Nurses and Physicians (2026)

For nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians and other clinicians. Updated October 2, 2026 · Prepared by Prospyr. Prospyr makes practice software, not legal services, and none of the firms below is a Prospyr product or partner. Each summary reflects what the firm publishes on its own website, checked October 2026. This article is not legal advice. Fees, coverage and the states a firm can appear in change, so confirm everything in writing before you hire anyone.

What does a license defense attorney do?

A license defense attorney represents a nurse, nurse practitioner, physician or other clinician when a state licensing board opens a complaint or investigation against their license. The work starts with the first letter from the board: answering the investigator, gathering charts and supervision records, and deciding whether to talk at all. It can run through informal conferences, formal hearings, consent orders, appeals and, later, reinstatement. For aesthetic clinicians, complaints often turn on scope of practice, delegation and supervision, advertising, or a bad outcome after an injectable or laser treatment. Most of this work is state by state, so the attorney's board experience matters more than the firm's size.

The 8 license defense firms at a glance

How we chose this list

We started with firms whose own websites name license or board defense for nurses and physicians as a core service, then checked four things a clinician can verify before a first call:

1. Board focus. The firm describes board investigations, hearings and consent orders, not just malpractice or business law.
2. State coverage. It says which states and boards it appears before. License defense is local, so a firm without your state is not a fit.
3. Clinician-side work. It represents the licensee, not the hospital or employer that filed the complaint.
4. Aesthetic relevance. Extra weight went to firms that also publish work on med spas, scope of practice or delegation, since that is where many aesthetic complaints start.

Two firms on this list (Frier Levitt and Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman) also appear in our list of healthcare attorneys for med spa ownership; here they are listed for their board defense work. The order is our editorial view, not a measure of results. Your state and license type should decide most of your shortlist.

1. Frier Levitt

Frier Levitt describes itself as a law firm for healthcare, life sciences and pharmacy, with offices in Pine Brook, New Jersey and New York City. Its professional board actions page lists physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses and other licensed clinicians as the people it represents, and states it provides licensure defense across multiple jurisdictions, including multistate and telehealth matters.

What stands out:

• Full board process. It lists early response to investigators, defense through hearings and appeals, negotiating consent orders, National Practitioner Data Bank reporting and reciprocal discipline from other states, and petitions for reinstatement.
• A medical spa practice. A separate page covers scope of practice for PAs, NPs, RNs and estheticians, physician supervision and delegation by state, injectables, lasers, and the use of GLP-1 drugs and peptides.
• Board experience. It cites 25 years of board experience in negotiating sanctions and consent orders.

Right for: an aesthetic NP, nurse injector or medical director whose complaint touches delegation, supervision or GLP-1 prescribing. Ask: which states its attorneys appear in personally, and whether it uses local counsel elsewhere.

2. Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman

Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman is the combined firm formed when Los Angeles healthcare firm Nelson Hardiman joined Leech Tishman. The firm reports more than 140 lawyers in eight major markets, with offices that include Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Sarasota and Washington, D.C. Its healthcare practice lists professional license defense, and the industries it lists include aesthetic medicine and medical spas, plastic surgery, and nurses and allied professionals.

What stands out:

• Aesthetics named directly. Med spas and plastic surgery are listed industries, not an afterthought.
• Named contacts. The healthcare page lists partners Harry J. Nelson and Joshua G. Singer as contacts.

Right for: a California clinician, or a practice group with providers in several states, that wants board defense and practice-level regulatory advice from one firm. Ask: who on the team handles board matters day to day, and how fees compare with a solo license defense lawyer.

3. The Health Law Firm

The Health Law Firm, P.A. is based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, with appointment-only offices in Orlando, Pensacola and New Orleans. It represents physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and psychologists in license investigations, board appearances and administrative hearings. George F. Indest III is the named principal. The firm states it is available in all states for federal matters and in 35+ other states for most matters.

What stands out:

• Nurse-specific pages. It has pages for nurse representation, CRNAs, nurse midwives and Florida's Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN).
• Insurance help. It states that many professional liability insurers will pay the firm to defend a license investigation, and that it will ask an insurer to approve it at rates comparable to the insurer's other firms.

Right for: a Florida nurse or physician, especially one with malpractice coverage that may pay for license defense. Ask: whether it will appear in person before your board if you are outside Florida.

4. Chapman Law Group

Chapman Law Group was founded by Ronald W. Chapman more than 35 years ago, per its site, as a boutique litigation firm for licensed healthcare professionals. It lists offices in Troy, Michigan; Bellflower, California; and Miami and Sarasota, Florida. Its nursing license defense page covers registered nurses and nurse practitioners statewide in Florida and Michigan, and states it represents hundreds of nurses every year.

Right for: nurses, NPs and physicians in Michigan or Florida, especially where a board matter overlaps with a criminal charge, impairment program or drug test. Ask: who will handle your matter, and whether its California office takes board cases there.

5. Leichter Law Firm

Leichter Law Firm has offices in Austin, Houston and McAllen, Texas. Its site describes the practice as devoted to physicians and other medical professionals in administrative licensing matters, including the Texas Medical Board, Texas Board of Nursing, pharmacy board and dental board. Attorneys named on the site include Louis Leichter, Andre D'Souza and Gerry Morris. It states it represents providers, not hospitals, and offers a free initial consultation.

Right for: Texas physicians, NPs and nurses, including medical directors whose delegation to nurse injectors is under review. Ask: how many Texas Medical Board informal settlement conferences it handles a year, and who attends with you.

6. Texas Nurse Lawyers

Texas Nurse Lawyers is the practice of Yong J. An, who reports more than 20 years of experience and representation of 800+ nurses before the Texas Board of Nursing since 2006. It lists Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio, and represents LVNs, RNs, APRNs and nurse practitioners in disciplinary defense, reinstatement and renewal. The site is unusually clear about scope: the practice handles only matters related to Texas nurse licenses. It offers a free consultation.

Right for: a Texas nurse or NP who wants a lawyer who does nothing but nursing board work. Ask: how fees are structured for a letter response versus a formal hearing.

7. Graff & McGovern

Graff & McGovern, LPA is in downtown Columbus, Ohio, near the state agencies it appears before. It reports more than 25 years defending professionals in Ohio and lists the State Medical Board, Board of Nursing and Board of Pharmacy among 20+ boards. Its site names a Director of Professional Licensing (Levi Tkach) and an assistant director (Brandon Smith), with James McGovern as managing partner.

Right for: an Ohio physician, NP or nurse who wants a firm built around Ohio boards. Ask: how much of its licensing work is healthcare versus other professions.

8. The Nurse Attorney

The Nurse Attorney is the practice of Marjorie Chalfant, RN, JD, who reports more than 30 years of courtroom experience. It lists offices in Lakewood Ranch, Florida and Federal Way, Washington, and handles nursing board defense and healthcare licensing matters alongside patient-side malpractice cases.

Right for: a Florida or Washington nurse who wants an attorney with nursing training. Ask: whether it has ever handled a complaint involving aesthetic injections, and whether its malpractice work for patients creates any conflict for your matter.

Questions to ask any license defense attorney

1. Do you appear before my board yourself? License defense is state law. Ask how many matters the attorney has handled before your specific board in the past two years.
2. What happens before I answer the investigator? Several firms on this list advise against speaking to a board investigator or sending records before counsel reviews the complaint. Ask what the first two weeks look like.
3. How do you charge? Ask for the fee for a written response, an informal conference and a formal hearing separately, and what retainer is required.
4. Will my malpractice insurance pay? Some professional liability policies include license defense coverage. Ask the firm to check your policy and whether it will work at the insurer's rates.
5. How will this affect my other licenses? If you hold licenses in more than one state, or a DEA registration, ask how a consent order in one place would be reported elsewhere.
6. What records will you need from the practice? Charts, consents, standing orders, supervision logs and delegation agreements often decide aesthetic cases. Ask who requests them and how fast.
7. Have you handled aesthetic cases? Injectables, lasers, IV therapy and GLP-1 prescribing raise scope and supervision questions a general health lawyer may not see often.

Where Prospyr fits

When a board opens a complaint, the first thing it usually asks for is the record: the chart, the signed consent, who treated the patient and under whose supervision. A practice that keeps charting and consents in one system can hand counsel a complete file in a day instead of a week. Prospyr is practice software, not legal help, but see how it handles aesthetic charting and digital intake and consent, or book a practice demo.

Two related lists may help you prevent the next complaint: medical chart audit services and medical advertising compliance reviewers. If your practice prescribes GLP-1 drugs, see our list of GLP-1 compliance consultants, and our guide to medical spa telehealth supervision.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a lawyer to respond to a nursing or medical board complaint?

You are not required to have one, but Frier Levitt and The Health Law Firm both advise against answering a board investigator before talking to counsel. What you say and send in the first response becomes part of the record. A short consultation before you reply costs far less than trying to undo a consent order later.

How much does a license defense attorney cost?

None of the eight firms publishes a fee schedule. Costs depend on whether the matter ends with a written response, an informal conference or a formal hearing, so ask for each stage separately. Two firms on this list (Leichter Law Firm and Texas Nurse Lawyers) advertise a free first consultation.

Does malpractice insurance cover license defense?

Sometimes. Some professional liability policies include a separate limit for license defense, and The Health Law Firm states that many insurers will pay it to defend a license investigation. Read your policy's license protection section and call the insurer before you hire counsel, because some require approval first.

Can an attorney in another state defend my license?

Usually only if they are licensed in your state or work with local counsel there. Several firms on this list cover one state (Texas, Ohio) or a few (Florida, Michigan, Washington). Larger firms such as Frier Levitt and Leech Tishman Nelson Hardiman describe multi-state work, but ask who will actually appear before your board.

What do aesthetic board complaints usually involve?

The firms that publish med spa work point to scope of practice, physician supervision and delegation, unlicensed practice, injectables and lasers, and prescribing, including GLP-1 drugs. Your state's rules on who may inject, and under whose order, are the place to start. Our med spa licensing guide links to state requirements.

Want your company considered?

We review this list quarterly. Firms that defend nurses, NPs, physicians and other clinicians before licensing boards can send their website and the states and boards they appear before to info@prospyrmed.com. Inclusion is editorial and not paid.

Editorial scope

This list is based on each firm's public website, checked October 2026 with AI-assisted research. Firms did not review this article before publication. It is not legal advice, not a guarantee of results, and not a substitute for checking references, bar status and board experience in your state. Read our methodology or report a correction.