Felicia Brown

Expert Witness & Consultative Services in Massage and Spa Legal Cases

Felicia Brown, LMBT, LMT has been a massage therapist since 1994 and is licensed in North Carolina and Florida. Since 2015, she has served as an expert witness or consultant on more than 100 legal cases related to the practice, business and industry of massage therapy and spas in 27 states and other territories. Available for both Plaintiff and Defense cases, Felicia provides detailed reviews of deposition, case materials and testimony; consultations on standard business practices and standards of care; and conducted research related to the cases. In some cases, reviews have resulted in the production of an Affidavit of Merit, Expert Report, Deposition and/or Trial Testimony.   

Felicia’s expertise, experience and opinions come from over 30 years as a practitioner, owner, coach, consultant, educator and client in the spa and massage industries. An advocate for the massage and spa industries, Felicia will do her best to serve each case fairly by being curious and thorough in her analysis. She strives to provide direct and thoughtful consultation, opinions and/or testimony for each situation and case.

Areas of Specialty

Inappropriate Touch, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Misconduct and Privacy Violations: Since 2015, Felicia has been retained in more than eighty-five (85) cases related to sexual assault, sexual misconduct or other issues involving clients who felt exposed or violated during a massage.  She has developed and taught classes on professional ethics for massage therapists since 1996.

Business Operations, Management and Practices:  Since 1996, Felicia has owned and managed several spas. This experience combined with many years of networking and collaborating with – and consulting for – similar professionals has provided her with direct knowledge of common and accepted business and management practices, policies, operations and procedures in businesses employing massage therapists. As an expert and consultant, Felicia has reviewed the business practices, policies and procedures utilized in numerous types of massage and spa businesses across the US and nearby territories. This includes but is not limited to single owner massage practices; chiropractic clinics; health club and gym spas;  massage franchises and chain spas; resorts and hotels; and casino-based spas. 

Standard of Care/Standards of Practice:  From proper treatment protocols to Massage and Spa Industry standards of care and standards of practice including but not limited to client consultations, informed consent, draping, privacy, client care, comfort and confidentiality, Felicia provides a wealth of information of what should and should not occur within a massage session or other spa service. She also has a broad understanding of regulations and statutes which affect licensed massage therapists and massage business establishments in the US.

Industry Experience

• Spa Owner/President: From start-up and turn-around to inventory control, operations, management and more, Felicia is familiar with the complex inner workings of a spa or massage practice. Her first business, Balance Day Spa, grew from a private practice into a company with fifty employees and annual sales of over $1.6 million. She sold the business in 2005. Her most recent spa, A to Zen Massage, was in operation until 2021 and (pre-COVID) employed thirty-one staff members.
• Massage Therapist: Felicia has been a massage therapist since 1994 and is licensed in North Carolina and Florida. To date, she has personally performed over 20,000 massages.
• Speaker & Educator: Felicia has been creating courses and teaching entry level and continuing education in the massage and spa since 1996. In addition to teaching on numerous business, ethics, marketing and treatment-related topics to conference audiences in the US and abroad, she has also developed and taught classes related to professional communication, ethics, boundaries and sexual situations in the massage and spa workplace. Felicia began teaching professional ethics in 1997, initially as a part of the curriculum for the Guilford Technical Community College – Professional Massage Therapy Program and Natural Touch School of Massage. Several years later, she became an Approved Provider for the National Certification Board for Massage & Bodywork and developed a number of professional ethics classes as continuing education for licensed massage therapists. Though ethics is often thought of a dry and boring topic, Felicia has a talent for teaching difficult subjects with a clear, no-nonsense way while still making the classes memorable, fun and enjoyable.
• Consultant & Coach: During her career, Felicia has mentored, coached and/or consulted with hundreds of students and clients about massage and spa workplace issues including but not limited to dealing with inappropriate clients; harassment/sexual harassment issues, hiring classification and embezzlement. Additionally, she advises clients on issues related to hiring, training and supervision of employees; policies and procedures; business operations; business development; working with renters and/or independent contractors; professionalism and ethics; customer service and care; safety and sanitation; and various spa and massage product liability issues.
• Spa & Massage Client: Even before the start of her career, Felicia has been an avid client of massage therapy and spa services, receiving more than 1000 massage and spa services at her businesses as well as spas around the US and abroad. The variety of differing client experiences have been instrumental in creating Felicia’s well-rounded perspective of the subtleties required for providing comfortable, effective client communication and care.

Counsel, to discuss your needs or case, please contact Felicia here.

CV & Fee Agreement available upon request.