Services: Legal Services

For Attorneys and The Courts

I am fully bilingual (English/Spanish) and have expertise in multicultural issues. I am often consulted on cases in which cultural and language issues present a particular challenge in understanding the dynamics of the case.

Forensic Evaluation Services - Criminal Cases

I have provided criminal evaluation services for adults and juveniles for the past seven years. Cases referred by attorneys and judges in Massachusetts and Virginia involve a range of offenses, including capital murder, homicide, malicious wounding, kidnapping, robbery, and sexual assault. The majority of evaluations are conducted on an outpatient basis, with some evaluations conducted at state psychiatric hospitals or detention centers.

Referral issues include the following:

	Competence to stand trial
	Competence to make decisions and waive rights
	Sanity at the time of the offense (criminal responsibility)
	Sentencing issues in capital and non-capital cases
	Risk assessment
	Sex offender evaluations
	Diminished capacity
	Aid to disposition
	Transfer to adult court

[I have a contract as a court psychologist for the Essex County Juvenile Court (Lynn, Salem and Lawrence, Massachusetts). I am available to provide private services for juvenile cases in other counties.]

Forensic Evaluation Services - Civil Cases

Available services for civil matters include the following:

	Tort claims involving emotional distress or psychic trauma
	Assessment of the effects of trauma on victims and their families
	Worker's compensation claims involving psychiatric disability
	Social Security disability claims based primarily on mental disability
	Need for commitment due to mental health or substance abuse issues

Probate and Family Court

	Guardian Ad Litem Evaluation (currently on the G.A.L. list Category E)
	Guardian Ad Litem Investigation (currently on the G.A.L. list Category F)
	Custody and visitation
	Substance abuse
	Domestic violence
	Guardianship or conservatorship
	Alternative dispute resolution
	Divorce mediation

Forensic Evaluation Services - Immigration Cases

I am a volunteer evaluator with the Asylum Network of the Physicians for Human Rights in Boston and was affiliated with the Center for Applied Legal Studies at the Georgetown University Law School. I provide consultation to attorneys representing refugees seeking political asylum in the United States.

These services include the following:

	Assessment of traumatic events
	Assessment of malingering
	Assistance in interviewing severely traumatized clients

Consultation Services - Workplace and School Issues

	Alternative dispute resolution (mediation)
	Risk assessment
	Hiring, suspension, and termination issues
	Staff training and supervision
	Sexual misconduct/harassment issues

Expert Witness Services

I have been admitted as an expert witness (in clinical and forensic psychology) in the following courts:

Massachusetts:

	Malden District Court
	Lynn District Court
	Gloucester District Court

Virginia:

	Arlington County Circuit Court
	Fairfax County Circuit Court
	Prince William County Circuit Court
	Arlington County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court
	Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court

Federal:

U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Court in Arlington, Virginia

For a copy of the Forensic Services Contract, please go to Documents.