Ms. Nessel's practice has focused on tort defense, with emphasis on hospital, skilled nursing facility and nursing malpractice, as well as health care and general liability litigation. She has served as a consultant to hospital risk management throughout the Southern California area and regularly provides in-service training to hospital staff.

She has also had the unique opportunity to have been on-campus, General Counsel to Olympia Medical Center, serving on various bioethics and quality related committees, as well as advising senior management, overseeing and interfacing with outside litigation and other counsel, assisting in the development of the hospital's electronic medical records system, in-servicing nursing staff on elder abuse and other medical/legal issues, creating proactive measures to improve patient care and clinical documentation, and comprehensive drafting and preparation of hospital contracts and documentation.