Washington, DC— Today the nation's first comprehensive study of the out-of-court programs that resolve lawyer-client fee disputes ranked South Carolina's fee arbitration system 9th in the nation and issued the state's system a C+ 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. "The South Carolina Bar has a valuable program to help clients and lawyers resolve everyday fee disputes."

The bar's fee dispute resolution program received high marks for requiring attorneys to participate in arbitration at a client's request. "By compelling lawyers to submit to fee arbitration when a client challenges their bill, and disciplining lawyers for failing to return inflated fees, the South Carolina bar places a much-needed check on skyrocketing lawyer fees," explained Blonder.

While the Report Card found much to applaud in South Carolina's system, it also noted areas for reform. South Carolina is one of the few states that prohibits non-lawyers from serving on panels that decide fee disputes, relying on lawyer arbitrators.

HALT also chided the South Carolina Fee Dispute Program for being all but invisible to consumers. A recent American Bar Association study found that South Carolina fails to advertise its system in public venues, such as courthouses and local libraries. "The best fee dispute system in the country is worthless if consumers don't know it exists," stated Blonder.

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 state officials will reform the bar's fee arbitration system so that more South Carolinans will take advantage of this critical program," stated Blonder.