Saturday, October 13, 2007
By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN, Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO — Vermont has one of the worst lawyer-client fee arbitration systems in the country, a national report released this week has found.
Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have an official forum that gives clients the opportunity to go before a panel if they think they have been overcharged by an attorney.
According to the 2007 Fee Arbitration Report Card, which was put together by HALT, a nonpartisan public interest group that works to improve access and reduce costs in the legal system, Vermont scored 41st, behind only New Hampshire and West Virginia.
Vermont uses only lawyers on the panel that hears the complaints, and scored an "F" for providing access to non-lawyers.
The state also does a poor job of publicizing the system, the report found, and has no enforcement method if a lawyer is found to have overcharged a customer.
Vermont was given an overall grade of "F" on its report card.
"We were actually very surprised that Vermont scored so poorly," HALT's senior council, Suzanne Blonder said. "We consider Vermont to be one of the more progressive states and we hope this coverage causes them to reconsider the way they structure their fee arbitration system."
Blonder said that one of Vermont's more troubling problems is its failure to include non lawyers in the arbitration process.
If someone in Vermont has a complaint about a lawyer's bill, they have to make a case before a panel of three attorneys.
"A vast majority of states have at least a token lay person who helps decide the case," Blonder said. "Even if it is done properly, there is a perception by the consumer that the odds are stacked against them and that they will be going before a panel of lawyers. It is alarming that in Vermont there is absolutely no voice from the public."
The Vermont Bar Association administers the Fee Dispute Committee and its chairman, Joseph O'Dea, said the HALT report was inaccurate and unfair.
O'Dea said the three-member lawyer panel always judges the complaint on the merits of the accusations, though he said clients are likely to go into the proceeding with a touch of cynicism knowing that they will be complaining about lawyers to a group of lawyers.
"We see that problem but the lawyers bend over backward to be fair," he said. "It works well and we do a great job. It works well because the lawyers are being judged by their peers."
O'Dea did agree that the Bar Association can do a better job publicizing the service.
The report found that there is almost no information on the organization's Web site and very little advertisement in public places like libraries and town halls.
Some states, such as Massachusetts and Minnesota, advertise in local telephone directories, and California lists information on all 45 local bar associations that offer fee arbitration.
"We should put more on our Web site. I would be in favor of that," O'Dea said.
The Vermont arbitration system is completely voluntary. Lawyers are not required to take part in the hearings and nor are they bound to pay the penalty if a panel finds that they overcharged a client.
The state received an "F" in enforcement on the national report card.
O'Dea said that in the six years he has been chairman, only one lawyer refused to take part, and he stressed that any lawyer in Vermont would abide by a panel's ruling.
He said only about 12 cases a year come before the arbitration panel.
"Some of this report is off base," O'Dea said. "It was a very superficial investigation and it unfairly scores how the bar association handles arbitration."
But Blonder said the report was accurate and said she hoped Vermont would take a closer look at how it advocates for its citizens who feel like they have been ripped off by an attorney.
"The primary complaint people have about lawyers is their skyrocketing fees," she said. "It is alarming to learn that the system that is supposed to resolve these issues is not as strong as it should be. Some states did things better than others but we found that Vermont was lacking in many areas. The system is worthless if no one knows about it."
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 279.
© Brattleboro Reformer, 2007.
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