Lehigh University's College of Education

Spring 2009

LAWRENCE D. DODDS, J.D., Ph.D. is an attorney in the Education Law Group and Family Law Group of Wisler Pearlstine in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. His practice focuses primarily on representing public school districts and charter schools in the area of special education law combined with experience in child custody and mental health law. He received his law degree from the Villanova University School of Law, where he served as managing editor of the Law Review. Mr. Dodds received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a concentration in the treatment of child and adolescent disorders and forensic assessment from Hahnemann University and an A.B., with honors, in psychology from Hamilton College. Prior to entering the practice of law, Mr. Dodds provided therapy and assessment services in residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed children, Head Start preschool programs and an adult addictions clinic. Before joining Wisler Pearlstine, Mr. Dodds was an associate in the family law practice group of a large Philadelphia firm and gained experience in all phases of complex child custody, divorce, property distribution, support and adoption matters. Mr. Dodds has published articles on domestic relations issues and served as an editor for the supplement to a nationally recognized treatise on psychiatric and psychological testimony. He has also presented at national and local seminars and workshops on a variety of topics. Mr. Dodds is an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Drexel University Medical School and serves as Chair for the Boards of Directors of the Methodist Services for Children and Families and the Methodist Family Services of Philadelphia.