In both family law and criminal cases, it is often advantageous to have a psychological expert work with the legal team to help determine whether mental health issues play a role in what caused the legal situation to arise, and how best to resolve it. While such experts can be a great help to counsel, it is very important to make sure that their work, and the necessary communications between the expert, client, and legal teams, is protected by privilege. It is also important to determine whether, and when, to allow opposing counsel to review the expert’s work. This presentation will cover common situations involving family law and criminal defense cases in which mental health experts are often used. The panelists are family law attorney Amy Gehm, criminal defense attorney Dan Dworin, and forensic and clinical psychologist Dr. Stephen Thorne. The attorneys will discuss when a mental health expert may be useful, how to maintain confidentiality in their work-product, and how to most effectively use such experts in litigation. Dr. Thorne will discuss the common types of reports he is asked to produce, and the psychological testing protocols that are commonly used by mental health experts who consult and work with lawyers.