Almost every fee dispute program in the U.S. is administered by a bar association. According to the 2008 ABA Fee Arbitration Survey, 36 states have some ADR program that include fee dispute arbitration and/or mediation. In almost every bar administered fee dispute program, the neutrals are volunteers and/or non-lawyers. According to the ABA survey, many bar associations place restrictions on their fee dispute program.
NALFA offers a private mediation service specifically designed to resolve attorney-client fee disputes of all types and sizes. Why choose NALFA’s fee dispute program over a bar-administered program? Here’s why:
Process: Our fee dispute program is more flexible and case specific than most bar-administered programs. We have no strict bar rules or rigid administrative procedures that govern our fee dispute mediation process. Also, unlike bar-administered fee dispute programs, NALFA has no time restriction on fee dispute resolution. We will stay with a fee dispute case until it is resolved.
People: Our fee dispute mediators are better trained than bar-administered programs. Many of our fee dispute mediators have earned NALFA’s Certificate in Reasonable Attorney Fees. Our mediators are not volunteers or non-lawyers, they are NALFA members, highly qualified on fee and billing issues and skilled and experienced in dispute resolution.
Results: Since our program began in 2012, NALFA’s Fee Dispute Mediation Program has achieved a 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 is dedicated to providing parties a mediation process that offers flexibility, a level playing field, and time and cost savings. 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 case as long as necessary to bring it to a resolution. For more information, call our fee dispute hotline at 312.907.7275.