As a medical-legal consultant to attorneys and other professionals, I specialize in assessing adults for the following:
- Legal mental capacity—e.g., capacity to make a will or a trust
- Susceptibility to undue influence
- Need for conservatorship
As a medical-legal consultant to attorneys and other professionals, I specialize in assessing adults for the following:
- Legal mental capacity—e.g., capacity to make a will or a trust
- Susceptibility to undue influence
- Need for conservatorship
Services
- In-person interview
- Record review
- Discussion of the
case with attorney - Written report
- Expert witness testimony
Goals
- Careful and thorough review of evidence
- Fair-minded analysis of evidence
- Well-reasoned, evidence-based opinion
- Clear explanation of my opinion and the basis for it
Qualifications
Education
- M.D., Northwestern University
Medical School, Chicago, IL, 1981 - Residency in psychiatry, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL, 1981-1985
Board certification
- Psychiatry, American Board of
Psychiatry and Neurology, 1986 - Geriatric psychiatry, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 1992
Academic appointments
- Assistant clinical professor of psychiatry,
University of Illinois School of Medicine,
Chicago, IL, 1985-1990 - Clinical assistant professor of psychiatry,
Stanford University School of Medicine,
2000-2006
Work experience
- Attending physician, Department of Psychiatry,
Cook County Hospital, Chicago, IL, 1985-1990 - Private practice, 1985-present
Good Samaritan Hospital (San Jose, CA)
- Member, medical staff, 1991-present
- Past chair, Department of Behavioral Health
- Past chair, Quality Review Committee,
Department of Behavioral Health - Past member, Bioethics Committee
- Past member, Professional Standards Committee
Professional society memberships
- Fellow, American Psychiatric Association
- Past president, Santa Clara County Society of Psychiatric Physicians
- Past member, Professional Education Committee,
Northern California Psychiatric Society - Member, Santa Clara County Medical Association, 1991-present
Publications (selected)
- “Capacity and Undue Influence: Assessing, Challenging, and Defending” (co-authored with Camp, P; Clayton, V; Epstein, B; Horton, N; Kosloff, R) in California Continuing Education of the Bar Action Guide, April, 2018
- “Dementia and Decision-Making Capacity in Older Adults, Part I,” California Estates and Trusts Quarterly, Winter, 1997
- “Dementia and Decision-Making Capacity in Older Adults, Part II,” California Estates and Trusts Quarterly, Spring, 1998
- “Legal Mental Capacity: A Psychiatrist’s Perspective,” San Francisco Attorney, the magazine of the Bar Association of San Francisco, December, 2009
Presentations (selected)
- “Legal Mental Capacity: A Psychiatrist’s Perspective”
- “Susceptibility to Undue Influence: A Psychiatrist’s Perspective”
- “Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias: Assessment and Treatment”
Note: I am available to give these talks to interested groups,
such as bar associations, professional fiduciaries, and government entities.
Note: A curriculum vitae is available upon request.