EXPERT WITNESS & FAMILY LAW CONSULTATION

Attorneys can count on Dr. Sanders to provide scientifically based Expert Witness and Family Law Consultation services that meet Daubert standards. In addition to Parenting Evaluations (including Relocation or Move Away Evaluations), Dr. Sanders is available to assist with a number of different issues affecting children and adolescents such as: parental allegations of alienation, emotional, physical, sexual abuse and other trauma. He performs personal injury evaluations of children and adolescents. He specializes in issues involving hard of hearing and deaf individuals of all ages. Dr. Sanders is one of a select number of clinical psychologists in the United States who is fluent in American Sign Language and experienced in diagnosing and providing treatment to this population in their native language. He has served as the Consulting Clinical Psychologist for the Tennessee School for the Deaf for over 30 years where he has provided both case consultation to their staff and clinical services to their students ranging in ages from 3-21 years-old.

Dr. Sanders is available to provide litigant education and support to parents undergoing a forensic evaluation and litigation. By orienting a parent to the custody evaluation process, reducing their stress and apprehension, and assisting them in providing accurate and well organized information to the evaluator, the Court receives a more accurate assessment and the childʼs best interests are upheld. While “coaching” is not provided, parents often benefit from education on the effects of parental conflict on their children, types of services and referrals that may be beneficial to their family, and the pros and cons of different Parenting Plans. Additional educative and support services are available to meet the specific needs of your client. Dr. Sandersʼ training as a Rule 31 Listed Family Mediator expands his extensive knowledge base as a psychologist, and makes him well-suited to assist attorneys and their clients during the divorce process.

Dr. Sanders also offers work product review and case analysis of other psychologistsʼ assessments. This includes offering an opinion regarding the procedures, instruments, and interpretations made by the evaluator. Careful attention to the detection of bias and adherence to professional standards of the examination is made. A judgement is provided as to whether the conclusions, opinions, and recommendations expressed are supported by the data and if alternative conclusions are applicable. If the report is considered sound, this information can assist attorneys and their clients to make appropriate settlement decisions. Should weaknesses or errors be found, Dr. Sanders would then be available to assist in trial preparation, such as: helping craft litigation
strategies that are consistent with current psychological literature, gathering literature necessary for litigation, making suggestions for cross examination questions, and/or offering testimony regarding the work product review.

Fees for Expert Witness and Family Law Consultation are $300 per hour. Requests for court appearances or depositions are billed at $2,000.00 per half day, which includes preparation and travel to Knoxville courts. Fees should be paid at least one week in advance of the court date.