Washington, DC— Today the nation's first comprehensive study of the out-of-court programs that resolve lawyer-client fee disputes ranked Missouri's fee arbitration system 16th 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. "Missouri 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."

HALT also criticized Missouri for failing to publicize its fee dispute resolution programs. According to the American Bar Association's latest study, the programs are not advertised in public forums, such as local courthouses. "Even the best fee arbitration system is the country is worthless if clients are not aware that it exists," stated 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 Missouri 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.