Knowledge. Experience. Expertise. Key qualities Dr. Zervopoulos draws on, as your Consulting Partner, to critique mental health materials and testimony and translate the findings into a legal framework to guide your case preparation, focus your examinations of experts, and sharpen your court arguments.
Knowledge
- J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Licensed to practice law by the State Bar of Texas. - Ph.D. in Counseling-Clinical Psychology from the University of North Texas.
Licensed to practice psychology in Texas. - Board Certified in Forensic Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP).
- Training in the Advanced Mediation Workshop in the Program of Instruction for Lawyers, Harvard Law School.
- B.A. in Psychology from Wheaton College (IL).
Experience
- Conducted psychological evaluations, counseling, and mediation in more than 400 court-appointed forensic cases. Qualified as an expert witness in more than 100 cases.
- Evaluated a broad range of challenging psychology-related concerns in family law cases, including posttraumatic stress disorder; abuse-related issues; domestic violence allegations; alienation accusations; parent relocation cases; and parent-child access schedules.
- Consulted with lawyers in civil law cases involving emotional damages allegations that included discrimination accusations, sexual harassment allegations, and posttraumatic stress disorder claims.
- Written several hundred forensic evaluation reports that have been admitted into evidence or used by lawyers for settlement purposes.
- 2022 Serjeant of the Inn honoree of the Annette Stewart American Inn of Court, Dallas, TX.
- Member, American Psychological Assn. Committees: Committee on Legal Issues (2014–2016); Committee on Professional Practice and Standards (2009–2011).
Expertise
- Developed the PLAN Model, a practical four-step caselaw-based tool that enables lawyers to organize mental health information, structure their direct- and cross-examinations, and provide the court a roadmap for Daubert or Frye evidence challenges.
- Authored Confronting Mental Health Evidence: A Practical PLAN to Examine Reliability and Experts in Family Law (2d ed. 2015), and How to Examine Mental Health Experts: A Family Lawyer’s Handbook of Issues and Strategies (2d ed. 2020), published by the American Bar Assn.
- Published numerous articles, papers, and columns for lawyers on a broad range of issues addressing psychological evidence, expert testimony, and forensic psychology practice.
- Adjunct faculty in the Dept. of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.
- Frequent speaker and conference presenter to lawyers and mental health professionals on psychological evidence issues, expert testimony, forensic psychology assessment, and mental health licensing board concerns.