Illinois' highest court rejected a novel effort to subject attorneys to liability tinder the state's consumer-pro-tection act when they allegedly overbill their clients.

The Illinois Supreme Court held the charging of attorneys' fees is part of the practice of law, which is already extensi-vely regulated by the court system. The court said it didn't believe the state legisla-ture, when it passed the consumer-protec-tion law, intended it to cover attorneys' conduct. The case, which has made its way through the state court system since it was filed in October 1994, arose from allegations that an attorney charged excessive fees in handling a family-trust matter.

Traditionally, state consumer-protec-tion laws have been used in commercial disputes against the likes of unscrupulous used-car dealers or home-improvement contractors. Lawyers have been excluded on the theory that as professionals in a industry with self-regulating bodies, they are already subject to discipline by bar authorities as well as malpractice suits.

But public-interest groups nationwide say the current system for regulating lawyers is weak. They contend that prohib-iting suits against lawyers under plaintiff -friendly consumer laws amounts to special treatment, especially when it comes to disputes arising from the business aspects of law, such as billing.

The Illinois decision gives lawyers "a privilege that no other profession enjoys,'' said Jim Turner, executive director of HALT, a Washington consumer-law group, which had filed papers urging the state's high court to expand the law.