Information for Attorneys: Expert Engagement Pathways

At Dr. Long & Associates, we understand that navigating complex legal matters requires more than just psychological data; it demands strategic insight and unwavering procedural integrity. Our services are structured into three distinct engagement pathways, each designed with clear boundaries and objectives to provide the precise support your case requires while protecting legal strategy and ensuring admissibility.

This framework allows our partners to select the exact role they need—a confidential strategist, an independent witness, or a court-appointed neutral—with full confidence in the process that will follow.

Pathway 1: The Strategic Consultant

(Attorney Work-Product) 👉Pathway One Referral Form 

This pathway is designed for counsel seeking a confidential, behind-the-scenes expert to serve as a strategic member of the legal team. The work performed under this pathway is intended to be permanently shielded by the attorney work-product doctrine and will not lead to testimony.

Best Suited For:

• Early case assessment and viability analysis.

• Developing psychologically-informed case theory and legal strategy.

• Critiquing an opposing expert’s work to prepare for deposition or cross-examination.

• Assessing a client's presentation and credibility in a privileged context.

Core Function: To serve as a confidential thought partner to the legal team, providing candid, unvarnished psychological insights to strengthen the case from within.

Key Characteristics:

• Strictly Confidential: All communications and work product are protected and intended for the legal team’s internal use only.

• Strategy-Focused: The primary goal is to assist in legal strategy, not to produce a discoverable expert opinion.

• Flexible & Responsive: Engagements can range from a single case analysis report to ongoing consultation on trial preparation.

Pathway 2: The Independent Expert Witness

(Protected, Arm's-Length Engagement) 👉Pathway Two Referral Form 

This pathway is for any engagement where expert testimony is, or may become, a possibility. It is structured to protect the integrity and objectivity of the expert opinion by maintaining a clear boundary from the legal team's strategy. This track is ideal for producing robust, defensible expert work.

Best Suited For:

• Independent Forensic Evaluations (IFEs) of a client.

• Rebuttal Reports critiquing the methodology and conclusions of an opposing expert.

• Specialized Research Reviews to form an expert opinion on scientific literature relevant to the case.

Core Function: To develop an objective, independent, and defensible expert opinion based on a defined set of materials, with the full anticipation that the work may be presented and scrutinized in court.

Key Characteristics:

• Two-Stage Process:

• Stage 1 (Protected Analysis): We conduct the evaluation, rebuttal, or research and deliver our findings verbally to counsel. No written report is produced, preserving privilege while you assess the findings.

• Stage 2 (Designation & Report): Triggered only if you elect to designate Dr. Long as a testifying expert. A comprehensive written report is produced, at which point the report and its underlying data become discoverable.

• Information Quarantine: To ensure objectivity, we work only with the materials designated for expert review and ask that counsel refrain from sharing privileged legal strategy with us in this track.

Pathway 3: The Court-Appointed & Neutral Evaluator

(Court-Ordered or Stipulated Agreement) 👉Pathway Three Referral Form 

This is our most straightforward pathway, used when Dr. Long is appointed directly by the court or retained as a single, neutral expert by agreement of all parties (stipulation).

Best Suited For:

• Court-ordered mental health or competency evaluations.

• Custody or parental fitness evaluations where the court requires a single, neutral expert.

• Any scenario where the expert's primary duty is to the court or to provide objective findings to all parties simultaneously.

Core Function: To serve as an agent of the court, conducting an objective evaluation and providing findings to the trier of fact or all parties as directed by court order.

Key Characteristics:

• No Confidentiality: There is no attorney-client or work-product privilege with any single party. Communications are transparent and the final report is typically provided to the court and all litigants.

• Unwavering Neutrality: The engagement is defined by complete objectivity and adherence to the scope of the court's order.

Direct Process: The process follows a clear path: receipt of the court order, collection of records, evaluation of the subject, and submission of the final report.

Pathways at a Glance: A Comparison Table