Ready to use your benefit?
Please log in first. Lifetime and Professional members can then access the form at:
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Legal Advice
For CALPCC Professional & Lifetime members
Exclusive Member Benefit!
We're pleased to provide this much-sought-after service: Attorney David Jensen, JD, is partnering with CALPCC to offer legal advice services to CALPCC Lifetime and Professional members on issues related to counseling.
As the newest benefit for CALPCC Members, this service functions as a means of understanding the law specifically as it pertains to you as a clinician--so you can make sure that you are checking all of the appropriate boxes as you proceed into a potential legal issue.
Benefits includes:
Members will be entitled to up to 3 consultations* with the attorney, specifically for issues related to:
► Suicidality
► Child abuse/reporting
► Tarasoff-related issues
► Confidentiality
► Consent, record requests & subpoenas
► Lawsuits/BBS complaints or misconduct
*Most consults are 15 minutes. At this time, this is a non-renewing benefit. If you need more help past your CALPCC Member Benefit allowance, we will help you work with your liability insurance.
As always, CALPCC will continue to have its Ethics Team Consultation benefit available to all members.
Ready to use your benefit?
Please log in first. Lifetime and Professional members can then access the form at:
Plan Ahead:
This service is not intended to be used on an emergency basis. It may take up to 2 business days to hear back from our attorney after you have submitted your request form.
It is always our goal to provide prompt responses, but it is also important to consider time limitations when seeking consultation.
How do I access my legal benefit?
First log in and then click below to request an appointment.
About the Attorney
David Jensen, JD, is an attorney with Callahan, Thompson, Sherman & Caudill. He has 20 years of experience in the area of mental health law and worked for CAMFT for 16 years. He admires psychotherapists and the work they do, and feels that it's a privilege to get to support them in their endeavors.
► Who qualifies for this benefit?
Only current Professional and Lifetime members have access to this benefit. It allows for up to 3 legal consultations. (At this time, this is a non-renewing benefit.)
► I am a student/associate member. Why can’t I access the attorney?
Good question. As a student or associate CALPCC member, you have access to supervisors and other resources from your learning institutions and can direct your legal issues there. You and all CALPCC members do have access to ask questions of our Ethics Team, available from your Member Dashboard.
► How much does this cost?
Your first 3 consultations (15 minutes each) with the attorney are included with your Clinical, Affiliate, or Lifetime membership at no additional cost to you.
Should your issue exceed the bounds of your member benefit, there may be some cost to you as charged directly by the attorney. Attorney David Jensen has reassured us that 15 minutes is usually plenty of time for most of his calls to be resolved. Any fees for additional services will be discussed and approved in advance and may involve your liability insurance company.
► What does my liability insurance have to do with my benefit?
Sometimes you have a legal issue that exceeds the scope of your CALPCC benefit. The attorney will work with you and your liability insurance to determine coverage should extra time be necessary to help with your issue. It is always recommended that as a licensed professional you have full coverage liability insurance.
► What if I have an ethical concern? Do I consult with the attorney?
Sometimes ethics issues differ greatly from legal issues. CALPCC is working to help screen these issues so you don't "waste" one of your 3 covered consultations on an issue that would be better handled by the Ethics Team or our team of CALPCC associates. While the attorney is able to handle these ethics concerns, you may want to utilize other avenues first.
► My client is suing me/has reported me to the BBS. What happens then?
This is a great time to reach out to CALPCC to see what to do. First, you would visit your member page and click to Ask a Question. This will route you to the proper channel.
We also advise you to call your liability insurance at any time to learn how they recommend dealing with this issue so can start a claim, if need be.
► I have a question about my BBS application. Who can I reach out to?
Those applications can get tough! It is recommended that you do not talk to an attorney about this, as it is not a legal issue. We have a great team at CALPCC that can help you through any questions that you may have preparing your application.
However, CALPCC is not the BBS and can only give advise based on the current BBS rules and regulations. CALPCC is also not able to give status updates on BBS applications.
► When should I expect to hear back after submitting my request for a legal consultation?
Members can expect to hear back within 2 business days. (If you submit your request on a Friday, you should hear back by Tuesday.) This service is not for emergencies, though our attorney will make his best effort to get back to requests as soon as possible.
