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Every day, HALT hears from dozens of Americans whose lawyers have inflated their billing rates, charged clients for work not done or failed to properly explain a convoluted fee structure. The sticker shock is astounding, but most clients ultimately throw up their hands and pay the bill because they don't feel they have a choice—no matter how unreasonable the fee might be. Later, the client may try suing the lawyer to get her money back, but often finds that the battle in court would be cost-prohibitive or too time-consuming to pursue.
Enter the fee arbitration system. Forty-two states offer a forum for resolving everyday disputes between lawyers and clients over how much the bill should be. The parties go to the state bar or a county bar association, where the client and lawyer each have a chance to explain their side of the story, present evidence and receive, in most states, a binding ruling that either compels the client to pay the bill or requires the lawyer to return payment to the client. All of this is done outside of court, is initiated by a nominal filing fee and is resolved within a matter of two or three months.
Our 2007 Fee Arbitration Report Card evaluates every state's fee arbitration program to determine its effectiveness, convenience and fairness to consumers. The results are grim. Systems across the country are not living up to their promise.
Read our Fee Arbitration Report Card Summary of Findings.
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