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NALFA’s Fee Dispute Mediation Program Achieves 86% Success Rate

July 19, 2017 | Posted in : Ethics & Professional Responsibility, Fee Agreement, Fee Dispute, Fee Dispute Litigation / ADR, Legal Bills / Legal Costs, NALFA News, Unpaid Fees

NALFA’s Fee Dispute Mediation Program is the nation’s only program devoted exclusively to resolving attorney-client fee disputes.  NALFA’s Fee Dispute Mediation Program recently reached an achievement:  Since the program began, NALFA’s Fee Dispute Mediation Program has achieved an 86% success rate—parties who mediate in a session are resolved six out of every seven times.  This rate is significantly higher than most bar-administered fee dispute programs.  NALFA has settled over $5 million in disputed attorney fees between parties in over 40 cases.  The cases were brought by corporate clients and law firms ranging from fee disputes of $32,000 to $975,000 from across the U.S.  One fee dispute case was from the UK.

Attorney fee disputes are the result of a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.  This breakdown may be a misunderstanding in the fee agreement or confusion over the law firm billing records.  Whatever the cause, mediation is the quickest, simplest, and most cost-effective way to resolve these attorney fee disputes.  NALFA fee dispute program is a private mediation service specifically designed to resolve attorney fee disputes of all types and sizes.

NALFA's fee dispute mediators are uniquely qualified to resolve fee disputes between parties in a cost effective and confidential manner.  These fee dispute mediators are trained neutrals who understand the underlying issues in fee and billing dispute matters.  Our fee dispute mediators are highly knowledgeable on reasonable attorney fees and proper legal billing practices.  They understand the array of issues in fee dispute cases such as fee agreements, hourly rates, billing practices and attorney fee ethics.

Unburden by bar association rules, NALFA provides parties with a mediation process that is flexibility, responsive and cost-effective.  Parties control when and where the mediation will occur, who will serve as the mediator, and whether they will accept a settlement offer.  Unlike most bar-administered programs, NALFA stays with the fee dispute case as long as necessary to bring it to a resolution.

"Our 86% success rate belongs to the outstanding work of our members, some of the nation's top rated fee dispute mediators," said Terry Jesse, Executive Director of NALFA.  "Their understanding of fee issues and their mediation skills are the reason we're celebrating this achievement," Jesse concluded.