Dr. Mark Levy’s unwavering dedication to forensic psychiatry and the law is truly inspiring. After over 40 years in the field, his passion remains as strong as ever. What keeps him so engaged? It’s the intricate nuances of complex civil and criminal cases and building credibility through his unique team approach in the field.

This podcast conversation is relevant for every business owner. Since 1992, every business owner I’ve worked with has faced legal issues such as lease disputes, employee problems, partnership transitions, property damages, copyright infringements, embezzlement, economic downturns, natural disasters, and more. Business comes with its share of challenges, and the law is there to help us find solutions. The longer you’re in business, the more you realize that unexpected events can occur, and having the legal system to protect our interests and resolve disputes becomes essential.

Dr. Mark Levy provides relevant examples and answers each of the five questions below with prudent eloquence.

1. Dr. Mark Levy gave us a working definition of forensic psychiatry. When we think of forensics, Dr. Levy mentioned we think of dead bodies and autopsies, but forensics means the law and forensic psychiatry is the interface of law and psychiatry. This means you understand legal terminology and medical terms. He can prescribe medication, monitor its effects on the brain and body, and track and test human behavior and how one thinks.

What would you like to add to this definition? Dr. Levy says, “Like the Forensic Pathologist or coroner whose task is to determine the cause of death, time of death, and sometimes information about the perpetrator, we are Psychopathologists trying to make evidence-based, accurate diagnoses, addressing in civil matters issues of “causation” and “damages.” In criminal matters, we mostly address issues of “capacity,” e.g., competency to stand trial, or to be sentenced, or NGRI (not guilty by reason of insanity – which is a legal, not a medical term).”

2. Can someone be both a treating psychiatrist and an independent forensic psychiatric expert for the same person, like someone who is a patient and a plaintiff or criminal defendant in a legal matter? If not, why not?

3. What kinds of questions are forensic psychiatrists asked to address by the attorneys who retain you and your team to help them educate and persuade the trier of fact both in Civil and Criminal litigation?

4. What is “mass torts” or “multi-plaintiff” litigation? How do forensic psychiatrists assist litigators who are trying or defending civil cases involving numbers of plaintiffs with similar complaints of emotional damages, for example, in sexual abuse cases like former USA Gymnastics team medical doctor Larry Nassar and journalist, author, and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll?

5. You also work in employment law as a forensic psychiatric consultant. Please tell us how you address wrongful termination and discrimination based on age, race, gender, ethnicity, retaliation, and failure to accommodate.

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1. Take this risk or do this adventurous task: What is your ethical duty in your lifework? A forensic psychiatric expert has a duty to the jury or judge, not to the attorney retaining the expert. A discrepancy arises when they don’t know their role.

2. Apply Self-Compassion: Vulnerability and resiliency are factored in when assessing emotional damages in criminal cases. Dr. Mark Levy described how our upbringing plays a part in our ability to be resilient. If you grew up in an unconditionally loving home with strong emotional support, you may heal more quickly when you are harmed than others. You can measure your resiliency by clicking on this link.  How to Measure Resilience With These 8 Scales (+PDF)

3. Welcome Appreciation: “I appreciate Dr. Mark Levy’s artful flair for psychotherapy and forensic psychiatry. It truly has shone through in his explanations and profound insights, making each of our four podcast conversations feel both validating and enlightening. Each time I listen, I learn a bit more. Thank you, Mark, for taking the time to help us understand the connections between forensic psychiatry, our behavior, and the law.” 

It’s your turn. Start with, “I appreciate what I heard from today’s Guest Mentor, Dr. Mark Levy…” “I appreciate this week’s adventurous task because….”

 “Most of the problems in our lives and world are caused by relational dysfunction, a dysfunction in how we relate: as social groups, as individuals, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. Therefore, developing relational literacy—the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating—is essential for personal, social, and ecological transformation.” —Melanie Joy, psychologist, author, theorist, educator

When WeMentor… your life becomes more meaningful!!! Redefine how you lead while redesigning your business. Dual Innovation Leadership WORKS. 

Dr. Mark Levy attended Durham University, U.K. (1965-66), and is a graduate of Columbia College (A.B. 1967), the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (M.D. 1971) in New York, and the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute (1984) in San Francisco. He currently practices clinical and forensic psychiatry and has been licensed as a Physician and Surgeon since 1972 by the State of California and since 2004 by the State of Hawaii.

He was certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry (1981) and Forensic Psychiatry (1999, recertified in 2009, 2019). In addition, he was certified by the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons in both Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry (2019).

He is currently an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, where he has been on the faculty since 1977 and has taught in the Law and Psychiatry Fellowship since 2000. He is also on the Faculty of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. He is the Founder, former Chairman, and President of the San Francisco Foundation for Psychoanalysis, a community service outreach organization. He is now also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Since 1975, Dr. Levy has been in full-time private practice, originally in psychiatry and beginning in the 1980s in psychoanalysis and forensic psychiatry as well. He has been retained as a forensic psychiatric expert in more than 500 civil lawsuits and related matters. He has testified in State and Federal Court on 64 occasions. He has never been disqualified from testifying as an expert by any Court in any jurisdiction where he was retained.

As a result of his service and contribution to the profession, Dr. Levy was designated a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (“DLFAPA”) and has been an active member of numerous local, national, and international medical, psychoanalytic, psychiatric, and forensic psychiatric organizations, including The American Academy for Psychiatry and the Law. He has published numerous articles and presented countless talks, both in person and via webinars, to attorneys, physicians, and the general public on a wide range of forensic psychiatric topics. He has also been interviewed regularly as an expert by the print and broadcast media, discussing psychiatric and forensic psychiatric topics of general interest.

In January 2006, Dr. Levy established Forensic Psychiatric Associates Medical Corporation, of which he continues to serve as its medical director. In January 2020, together with his colleague, forensic psychiatrist Charles Saldanha, MD, Dr. Levy also established and serves as the medical director of Forensic Psychiatric Associates, L.P. (www.fpamed.com), a growing group of forensic psychiatrists and forensic psychologists that develop expert opinions for attorneys and Courts on behavioral issues within a broad range of civil and criminal matters. In addition, fpamed as a team specializes in assessing psychological injury claims from populations of litigants in mass tort and multi-plaintiff litigation. We have previously been retained in more than two dozen such cases.

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