The practice of nursing is both art and science. It requires a broad range of skills and capabilities. This book takes complex topics and legal theories, explains them in no-nonsense, understandable language, and makes them relevant to the current world in which nurses practice their profession. The book is organized into twelve chapters. Each chapter begins with a statement of objectives, which will make the reading of the chapter most meaningful. The first chapter presents an overview of law relevant to nurses’ interests, including basic legal principles that underlie and form the framework for the practice of nursing. The second chapter describes the challenges facing advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) in a rapidly changing health care delivery system. It focuses on the practice areas of the APRN and the pivotal roles they play in the delivery of health care. The third chapter is about nursing malpractice and negligence. Chapter four presents the fundamentals and principles of documentation and systems of documentation, including electronic systems, and contains numerous legal cases. The fifth chapter covers patient rights with regard to care, decision making, and privacy issues. Chapter six talks about risk management and continuing quality improvement. Chapter seven outlines the major laws governing disaster and emergency events. Chapter eight covers the law of corporations and provides information on the types of business structures that can be used for health care business and facility operations. Chapter nine addresses the developing area of corporate compliance and the nurse’s role in regard to it. The tenth chapter provides comprehensive information on employment and employment-related law. Chapter eleven focuses on both civil and criminal trials. The final chapter discusses alternate methods of dispute resolution: arbitration, mediation, and negotiation.