Trauma & Emotional Distress Expert | Capital & Criminal Defense Mitigation Specialist | Forensic Social Worker | Immigration Hardship Evaluator

For nearly three decades, Shreya Mandal, JD, LCSW, has been one of the nation’s most trusted and effective trauma-focused forensic experts—bringing unparalleled depth, precision, and credibility to complex litigation. She is retained by leading law firms and public defense organizations for high-stakes plaintiff-side civil litigation, capital defense, criminal defense mitigation, and immigration matters involving trauma, torture, and extreme hardship.
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One of the Few Experts Working at the Intersection of Law, Trauma, and Forensics

Ms. Mandal is uniquely dual-trained, holding a Juris Doctor (JD) and a license as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Her rare interdisciplinary background allows her to bridge clinical insight with legal strategy, providing attorneys with powerful, litigation-ready evaluations, reports, and testimony that withstand the highest levels of scrutiny.

From 2020 to 2024, she served as a trauma-focused capital mitigation specialist with the Military Commissions Defense Organization (MCDO), where she held a TS/SCI Clearance and worked with a 22+ member team defending a high-value detainee in Guantanamo Bay. During this period, she became a Certified Veterans and Military Mental Health Counselor, further strengthening her expertise with military, combat-related, and complex trauma.
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Court-Tested Expert Witness Since 2005

Ms. Mandal routinely provides expert testimony in federal and state courts (NY, NJ, FL) and has been designated an expert in:

PTSD & Trauma

Emotional Distress Damages (Employment/Civil Rights/Personal Injury)

Forensic Social Work

Capital & Criminal Defense Mitigation

Her testimony is known for being straightforward, compelling, and highly persuasive to judges and juries.
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Capital & Criminal Defense Mitigation Leader:

With foundational training in capital mitigation, Ms. Mandal has contributed to the defense of 18 death penalty cases, bringing trauma-focused investigation, life-history development, and mitigation strategy to some of the most complex cases in the U.S. defense landscape.

She also applies trauma-informed mitigation to the full range of non-capital criminal cases, collaborating with both private attorneys and public defense teams.
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High-Impact Work in Immigration Cases:

Ms. Mandal has completed thousands of cross-cultural trauma and hardship evaluations, contributing to successful outcomes, including:

Cancellation of removal

Asylum

Extreme hardship waivers

CAT (Convention Against Torture) claims

Her reports integrate clinical expertise, cultural competency, and in-depth psychosocial analysis—often determining whether a family can remain safely in the United States.
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Appointments, Credentials & Recognitions:
Expert Witness Appointment, NYC Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice under Mayor Bill de Blasio (2019 to Present) – designated for criminal and family courts across all five NYC boroughs

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, NY State

TS/SCI Security Clearance, MCDO (2020–2024)

Certified EMDR Therapist

Clinical Fellow, National Board of Certified Clinical Hypnotherapists

Part 146 Mediator, NY Unified Court System

Fluent in Bengali
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Training & Education:
JD, Rutgers Law School

MSW, Smith College School for Social Work

Graduate of Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma / Global Mental Health (Harvard Medical School)

Graduate of Spence Trial Lawyers College – Death Penalty Seminar

Extensive interdisciplinary postgraduate training in trauma, forensics, and global mental health
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Academic Leadership & Publications

Ms. Mandal is a respected educator and scholar. She is:

A Judith S. Kaye Visiting Professor in Humanities and the Law, Historical Society of the New York Courts

Adjunct Assistant Professor at CUNY (graduate and undergraduate levels)

Chapter author, Forensic Social Work: Psychosocial and Legal Issues Across Diverse Populations and Settings (2nd ed.), Chapter 23: Expert Witness Testimony in Forensic Practice and Justice Systems

Clinical Partner to Barnard College of Columbia University
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Producer & Advocate:

Ms. Mandal is an Executive Producer of The People v. The Death Penalty Film Series, created in partnership with Death Penalty Action, Amnesty International, and the David D. Dodge Foundation.
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Clinical Practice:

She maintains a robust state-wide psychotherapy practice in New York City, specializing in trauma, global mental health, and cross-cultural issues that frequently intersect with legal systems.
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Why Attorneys Retain Shreya Mandal

Lawyers turn to Ms. Mandal when they need an expert who can:

Deliver credible, compelling expert testimony.

Produce thorough, litigation-ready trauma and mitigation evaluations.

Integrate clinical science with legal strategy.

Handle ultra-sensitive, high-profile, or security-cleared cases.

Translate complex trauma into powerful, fact-based narratives that move decision-makers.

Bring 28 years of forensic and clinical experience to challenging cases with human complexity at their core. Her extensive experience with a high volume of forensic and clinical cases has opened doors for her within diverse communities, enabling her to bring nuanced expertise into the courtroom. She is consistently prepared to engage with high-caliber attorneys, trauma-informed judges, and the clients who rely on her support.