Forensic Consultation, Evaluation, and Expert Testimony...

Issues regarding mental health frequently arise in legal proceedings. I offer several levels of consultation to clarify mental health issues. These include:

• Telephone Consultation - In this type of consultation, I agree to provide telephone consultation to the attorney/court as a case develops. This may include identifying mental health issues to be explored further, such as competency to stand trial. At this level, I do not offer professional opinions about the defendant as I have no direct clinical contact upon which to base any opinion.
• Record & Transcript Review - As the name implies, this type of consultation involves a review of all documents presented to me for analysis. Once I have reviewed the material, I provide a summary of findings and recommendations to the referring party. The summary will initially be presented orally and if a written summary is requested one will be prepared. A record and transcript review does not involve direct contact with the subject in question and as such my opinions will be confined to questions that do not require such contact. Questions that may be answered at this stage include standards of care (e.g., inappropriate use or application of psychological tests), areas for further investigation (e.g., competency to stand trial), and potentially relevant research not raised earlier.
• In-Court Consultation - This type of consultation involves my presence in the court room to assist the retaining attorney in the development of questions for direct or cross-examination (e.g., regarding the testimony and qualifications of the opposing witness, etc.) and to advise the retaining attorney of areas of potential interest.
• Forensic Evaluation - A forensic evaluation is a comprehensive psychological evaluation involving direct contact with the individual referred, collateral interview(s), and a review of records (e.g., court transcript, employment, etc.). The comprehensive nature of this assessment allows for the most conclusive opinion of the subject and considers malingering and other issues relevant to forensic assessment. Results of the evaluation are not contingency based.

My fee for Forensic Consultation is $400 per hour. This fee is prorated to the quarter hour. My fee for deposition and in-court testimony is $600 per hour. This is billed in half day increments. A retainer fee of $4000 is required for a comprehensive forensic evaluation. The retainer is due one week prior to any work activity. If the time required to perform the evaluation is less than 10 hours, the unused portion of the retainer will be returned to the referring attorney. If additional time is required, the referring attorney will be billed. In all cases, the attorney is billed directly and is responsible for the fee.

If you are a interested in forensic consultation or forensic evaluation, please contact me for additional information.