Washington, DC— Today the nation's first comprehensive study of the out-of-court programs that resolve lawyer-client fee disputes ranked Louisiana's fee arbitration system 19th in the nation and issued the state's system a C-Minus 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. "Louisiana 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, which can be time-consuming and costly."

Unlike fee arbitration programs in most states, Louisiana only permits non-lawyer arbitrators to serve on the panels that decide fee disputes when the amount in dispute is over $25,000, by far the highest dollar minimum in the country. "The Louisiana bar's heavy reliance on lawyers to resolve fee disputes adds to the public's perception that the fee arbitration system is of the lawyers, by the lawyers and for the lawyers," explained Blonder.

HALT's Report Card graded states in six categories: (1) whether lawyers must participate in arbitration at a client's request; (2) the ease of initiating arbitration; (3) the amount of publicity of the state's fee arbitration system; (4) the program's reliance on non-lawyer arbitrators; (5) whether non-binding mediation is offered as an alternative to arbitration; and (6) how the system enforces arbitration awards.

The top five states - D.C., Maine, New Jersey, New York and California - scored no higher than a B average. 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 Louisiana officials will reform the state's fee arbitration program so that more residents will take advantage of this critical program," stated Blonder.