Washington, DC— Today the nation's first comprehensive study of the out-of-court programs that resolve lawyer-client fee disputes ranked Kentucky's fee arbitration system 34th in the nation and issued the state's system a D grade. To spur reform of these important but under-utilized forums, legal consumer watchdog group HALT - An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform released its 2007 Fee Arbitration Report Card, analyzing programs in all 50 states and D.C.

"The most pervasive complaint about lawyers is that their fees are too high for the work done," stated HALT Senior Counsel Suzanne M. Blonder. "Kentucky has a program that's meant to help clients and lawyers resolve everyday fee disputes, but unfortunately the state's rules allow lawyers to reject a client's request to settle the conflict through arbitration - forcing many consumers to take their cases to court."

Kentucky received low marks on the Report Card for its failure to make its fee arbitration program known to the public. The bar's online resources about lawyer-client fee disputes are difficult to find and Kentucky was one of the only states in the country to tell the American Bar Association that it does not publicize its fee arbitration program. "The best system in the nation is worthless if no one knows it exists," explained Blonder. "To make this a program that clients and attorneys can meaningfully utilize, the Kentucky Bar needs to start posting information about its fee arbitration system in local courthouses and public libraries."

The top five states - D.C., Maine, New Jersey, New York and California - scored no higher than a B average on the Report Card. Three states - New Hampshire, Vermont and West Virginia - flunked. Another eight received Incompletes because they do not offer statewide systems to settle lawyer-client fee disputes.

"In an era of skyrocketing lawyer fees, we hope Kentucky officials will reform the state's fee arbitration program because all Americans should be able to challenge a lawyer's bill in a low-cost, efficient forum," stated Blonder.