You Called CAMFT. You Got a Starting Point — Not an Answer.

CAMFT’s legal and ethics line does what it can, in the time it has. When your situation needs more — a real analysis, applied to your actual facts, in writing — that’s where THERAPY.LAW comes in.

The Problem:

CAMFT Can Only Take You So Far

If you’re a CA-licensed therapist, CAMFT is probably the first place you go with a hard question — a subpoena, a boundary situation, a Tarasoff concern, a client threatening to file a board complaint. And CAMFT’s Legal & Ethics staff genuinely try to help.

But their guidance has real limits:

• It’s verbal, general, and brief — not written analysis of your specific situation
• It’s not legal representation — and it’s not meant to be
• Complex or high-stakes situations are often met with the same advice: “You should consult a private attorney.”

If that’s where you landed, you’re not doing anything wrong by needing more. You’re just past the point where a phone call can cover it.

How We Are Different

An Attorney Who Also Practices as a Therapist

Mike Lubofsky holds both a JD and an LMFT license, and has spent his career at the intersection you’re standing in right now. He is not a generalist attorney who took a CE course on therapy law. He has sat in the therapist chair. He understand consent forms, clinical documentation, mandated reporting, and the realities of practice from the inside — and brings that understanding into every legal opinion he provides.

When CAMFT tells you to see a private attorney, this is the kind of attorney they mean.

Three things that make THERAPY.LAW different from a bar-referral attorney or a general practice firm:

• Dual license, one perspective. You’re not translating “legal” into “clinical” for me — I already speak both.
• Written work product. You get an actual document: a consultation letter or memo you can keep in your file, reference later, or show your malpractice carrier if needed — not just notes from a phone call.
• Built for therapists, not adapted for them. Every service on this site — subpoena response, board complaint prep, ethics opinions, records requests — exists because therapists actually run into these situations, often more than once.

Where Clinicians Usually Land After CAMFT:

Specific guidance and services to help clinicians properly set up their private practices, including all necessary filings at the state and federal levels, preparation of corporate documentation, and creation of compliant clinical documents.

Written Legal & Ethics Consultation A specific question, answered in writing, applied to your facts — not a generic summary of the code of ethics. Ideal for the situations CAMFT flags as “beyond what we can advise on.”

Subpoena & Records Requests Received a deposition subpoena or a records request for a current or former client? Get a clear read on what you’re required to produce, what’s privileged, and how to respond without waiving protections you didn’t mean to waive.

Board Complaint & BBS Investigation Support If a complaint has been filed — or you’re worried one might be — the first 72 hours matter. Get guidance before you respond to the Board, not after.

Tarasoff / Duty-to-Protect Situations Time-sensitive clinical-legal guidance where you need someone who understands both the statute and the clinical reality in the room.

Formal Ethics Opinions A documented, code-referenced opinion you can point to if a decision you made is ever questioned — by a board, an attorney, or your own conscience six months later.

How it Works:

• Submit your situation. A short, confidential intake — no charge to describe what’s going on.
• Get a scoped proposal. You’ll know the cost and turnaround before anything begins. Most Written Consultations are a flat fee.
• Receive a written answer. Not a call-back with verbal advice — an actual document you can keep, reference, and act on.

• California State Bar Licensed Attorney
• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist (LMFT), California
• JD, Boston University School of Law, with Honors
• Serving CA-licensed therapists, counselors, social workers and psychologists since 2019

FAQs

(1) Is this a replacement for CAMFT? No — and it’s not meant to be. CAMFT is a great first stop for general questions. This is for when you need a written, case-specific legal opinion, or representation, that CAMFT itself will tell you they can’t provide.

(2) How is this different from calling a random attorney off a referral list? Most attorneys who take these calls aren’t also clinicians. You’ll spend the first twenty minutes explaining what a mandated reporter is, or what “scope of practice” means in a clinical context. Here, you won’t have to.

(3) What does a Written Consultation cost? $200.00 flat-fee.

(4) How fast can I get an answer? Response is guaranteed within 1-3 business days.

(5) Is this confidential? Yes. Communications with an attorney are protected by attorney-client privilege from the moment you engage.

You Already Took the First Step. This Is the Next One.

Reaching out to CAMFT was the right move. If they pointed you toward a private attorney, you’ve found one who already understands where you’re coming from.