Practice Areas
The law office of Adam Alban, Ph.D., J.D., is a legal practice specializing in the provision of legal services to mental health professionals. Clientele are varied, and in the past have included private parties, individual and group practices, postsecondary institutions, professional associations, state and municipal agencies, and public interest groups.
Those who work and study within the mental health field regularly face difficult legal and ethical questions. Professionals often have a good understanding of the basics of this legal and ethical framework. However, there are many times when practitioners require additional guidance from specialized expertise. This practice assists practitioners by providing that expertise in several different areas, examples of which are:
Compliance with laws and regulations:
This practice frequently helps clinicians to understand the impact of the law on clinical practice. This may involve a straightforward assessment of specific statutes, regulations, and case law. More often this requires a more nuanced approach, combining related areas of research to address a question that has not yet been specifically addressed. In these situations, this practice provides an attorney who understands both the legal framework as well as the fundamentals of clinical practice.
Risk Management:
Clientele are frequently interested in knowing how to minimize their exposure to liability, and to that end this practice frequently provides assistance. This often involves applying the law to real-world practice. The result is that clients are informed of a range of possible options and can choose the best fit. As is the case in clinical practice, education and prevention can go a long way toward the minimization of problems.
Federal Privacy Regulations:
Health care providers often have questions about the impact of federal privacy regulations, such as Part 2, HIPPA, and state law. This office can help providers to understand how these laws apply to different specialties, such as clinical practice with adults and/or children, forensic practices, substance abuse treatment practices, and the coordination of care between health care providers.
Affiliation Agreements:
In this era of coordinated care, health care organizations sometimes prefer to work together, and to accomplish that this office provides support. Assistance can be provided in any number of ways, such as affiliation agreements, memoranda of understanding, training for clinical staff, advice about record keeping, information sharing, and other
Discovery / Litigation:
Mental health professionals are often not used to dealing with attorneys, and a subpoena for records, appearance at a deposition, receipt of a demanding letter, phone call, or other communication can be an intimidating experience. This office provides clinicians with guidance and representation concerning the sometimes conflicting demands of legal proceedings, duties of confidentiality, and privileges.
General Consultation:
While there are a number of matters that require extended attention, many clients have relatively straightforward questions that can be answered in a short period of time, sometimes with a short phone conversation. This may include questions about informed consent, duty to warn, releases of information, and other common issues. This office also provides referrals to other attorneys where appropriate.