Attorney Disputes

In a response to your July 16 article “When the Lawyer’s Bill is Out of Bounds,” a reader wrote (letters, Aug. 1) about a fee dispute with his attorneys, and what he considered to be the less-than-satisfactory resolution of that dispute through the Attorney Client Fee Arbitration Program of the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. While I may sympathize with some of his feelings, I must correct some of his assertions about the program.

The County Bar’s Fee Arbitration Program is a public service offered to clients and lawyers, operating under contract with the State Bar of California (the state agency that licenses and disciplines attorneys). The rules governing the program have been rigorously designed to ensure fairness. That is why the attorney must notify the client of the client’s right to arbitrate the issue of any disputed fees before the attorney files a lawsuit to collect those fees, and that is why any lawsuit that has been filed will be stayed (postponed) until after the arbitration. Furthermore, the arbitration is mandatory if the client requests it, but the attorney may not force an unwilling client into arbitration, short of an enforceable written agreement to arbitrate. Unless both attorney and client agree to be bound by the arbitration award, either is free to reject the decision and later file a lawsuit.

Depending on the amount involved, a fee dispute may be heard by a single neutral arbitrator or a panel of three neutral arbitrators. If a panel of three arbitrators hears a dispute, the law requires that at least one be a non-attorney. Both attorney and non-attorney arbitrators are trained in specialized dispute resolution techniques. All arbitrators, attorneys and non-attorneys alike, volunteer their time, and receive no compensation for the use of their staff, facilities, etc. (For hearings that last more than two days, however, each arbitrator receives $200 for each half day of additional hearing.)

The fee for the service is currently 5% of the amount in dispute, up to a maximum charge of $3,500. The charge may be waived or reduced if the client is not able to pay. Also, the arbitrator has the power to order one party to reimburse the other party for all or part of any fee paid.

For the fiscal year 1992-1993, 782 petitions for fee arbitrations were filed. Of these, 282 awards were made. In 67% of these cases, the arbitration award reduced the amount of fees claimed due by the attorneys, in 12 cases to zero.

JOHN S. CHANG, Chair

Fee Arbitration Committee

Los Angeles County Bar Assn.