Lorie Brown

Nurse Attorney & Founder of Empowered Nurses

Attorney · Attorney

Ever since childhood, Lorie Brown aspired to become a nurse. After graduating from Indiana University in 1982, she fulfilled her dream of joining the noble nursing profession, and she was ecstatic. Lorie felt that she could finally live her life’s purpose—helping people heal by providing the best care her training allowed. From the very beginning, there were many aspects of nursing that Lorie loved. She went on to earn a master’s degree in nursing and worked in various fields, including medical-surgical nursing, management, and administration. However, Lorie eventually found herself frustrated by certain limitations. She felt constrained by outdated rules, nursing culture, and the status quo on individual units—challenges she hadn’t anticipated as an eager nursing student. This frustration prompted Lorie to make a career shift and attend law school. She studied law at Indiana University and earned her J.D. in 1990. For the past 32 years, Lorie has worked as an attorney, still finding ways to help people, though in a different capacity than she had initially envisioned. The saying, “Once a nurse, always a nurse,” rings true for Lorie. She naturally gravitated toward representing nurses and other healthcare professionals, focusing on malpractice cases and license defense. With her nursing background, she easily empathizes with what these professionals experience when their ability to practice is at risk. Licensed to practice law in both Indiana and Illinois, Lorie partners with other nurse attorneys and legal professionals to assist nurses nationwide in getting the legal support they need. In 2012, Lorie founded Empowered Nurses (ENO), an organization dedicated to helping nurses protect their licenses, allowing them to work with confidence, focus on patient care, and rediscover the joy in their profession. ENO provides resources, tips, and strategies for protecting nursing licenses, as well as tools for empowerment.