Serving the Mental Healthcare Community for

35 years

With his specific expertise and experience in mental healthcare law, Bruce has worked with clients throughout New York State often exclusively using electronic and telephonic means of communication.

Bruce has been a leader and innovator in mental healthcare law, representing mental healthcare professionals, practices, agencies and institutes in New York State since 1988. He now offers consulting and advisory legal services. If you would like to consult with him, then you may schedule an appointment by first reading the How to Schedule a Consultation and Fees page and then scheduling on the Calendar page of this website.  Links to the two pages are at the top right of this page.  All appointments for consultations are scheduled on this website. There is a fee for consultations.

Bruce was trained as a psychologist-psychoanalyst and attorney, affording him a background of knowledge, experience and skills in the interaction of mental healthcare and law, especially in psychotherapy practice. Essential to the practice of mental healthcare law are knowledge of general healthcare law, corporate and non-profit law, employment law, malpractice law, education law, administrative law and insurance law. Many clients consider him to be their outside general counsel, some consulting regularly and frequently, others once or twice a year. He does not generally represent consumers of mental healthcare because of conflicts that may arise.

Bruce’s law practice has included both transactional and litigation matters, including:

● business formation, PLLC’s and PC’s, and operations for mental health professionals in individual and group practices,

● regulatory and compliance issues,

● employment,

● risk management consultation including regarding the treatment of at-risk patients,

● mandatory reporting obligations,

● private malpractice settlements,

● responding to subpoenas, and

● professional disciplinary defense. Bruce has defended hundreds of mental healthcare professionals in these proceedings before New York State licensing boards.

In September 2024, Bruce affiliated as Senior Counsel with the law firm of Schaupp McDermott LLP whose practice also emphasizes mental healthcare law. The firm’s founders and partners, Lissa Schaupp JD LCSW and Mary Lynn McDermott JD LCSW are both experienced attorneys and psychotherapist-psychoanalysts. Bruce advises the firm on matters that he refers and on which they and he collaborate. For more information about the firm and its partners, see the Attorneys' Backgounds page of this website.

Bruce also provides continuing education courses for licensed psychotherapists, especially in the areas of legal and ethical issues for psychotherapists, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and child abuse reporting. He is an approved provider of CE credits for psychologists and social workers in New York State.

Bruce publishes  a NY Mental Healthcare Law Newsletter at this site informing clients and ofthers of developments in the State in mental healthcare law.

Bruce has been awarded Martindale-Hubbell's® highest and most coveted rating of "AV," indicating that his legal ability has been rated as "Very High to Preeminent" and his general ethics as "High." Martindale- Hubbell® is the nation's foremost attorney rating service, and bases its objective ratings on carefully conducted investigations and peer review by practicing attorneys and judges. Bruce is also listed in Martindale-Hubbell's "Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers®. He has been selected for inclusion in the New York Superlawyers - Metro Edition under the practice area of Healthcare Law. Only 5% of lawyers in the New York metro area are named to the list. The selection is based on peer nominations, panel review and independent research by Thomson Reuters®.  Recipients are featured in a special supplement to The New York Times Magazine. He has also received a rating of "Excellent" by AVVO.com. An Avvo rating is calculated using a mathematical model that considers a variety of elements including a lawyer’s years of experience, board certification, education, disciplinary history, professional achievements, and industry recognition.