The Legal Fee Arbitration Committee of the Cba

• Publication year: 1987
• Pages: 2151
• Citation: Vol. 15 No. 9 Pg. 2151

15 Colo.Law. 1673 Colorado Lawyer 1987.

1987, December, Pg. 2151. The Legal Fee Arbitration Committee of the CBA

---

2151

Vol. 15, No. 9, Pg. 1673

The Legal Fee Arbitration Committee of the CBA

by Fotios M. Burtzos and Lawrence F. Peek

One of the most useful, yet under-utilized committees of the Colorado Bar Association ("CBA") is the Legal Fee Arbitration Committee ("Committee"). The intent of the rules and procedures of the Committee is to provide a binding arbitration procedure to resolve attorney/client fee disputes, pursuant to the Uniform Arbitration Act of 1975 (Act).(fn1) As an extention of the CBA, the services of the Committee are provided to attorneys and clients without charge.

Enacted by the legislature in 1975, the Act recognizes a policy encouraging the settlement of disputes through use of the arbitration process.(fn2) The Act's purpose is to validate voluntary written arbitration agreements(fn3) and provide ground rules and procedures for enforcement of awards through the courts.(fn4) Under the Act, the arbitrator (or in the situation at bar, the Committee) substitutes his or her judgment for that of public officials.(fn5)

BACKGROUND

Committee Membership: Committee members are appointed by the president of the CBA. Each member is appointed to serve a term of one year, and members may be appointed for an unlimited number of successive terms. At the present time, the Committee consists of 65 members, with at least one member from each state Judicial District.

The president of the CBA appoints the Committee chairperson each year, and the chairperson must be chosen, from among the members of the Committee.

Meetings: The Committee meets at such times and at such places as it determines, or upon the call of the Committee chairperson. Historically, the Committee has attempted to meet on a quarterly basis. The Committee often meets at the offices of the CBA and at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs during the annual convention of the CBA.

Objects and Purposes: The objects and purposes of the Committee shall be to determine and resolve disputes involving attorney's fees. The services of the Committee are available to all individuals, partnerships, joint ventures, corporations, or other entities who have become obligated to pay an attorney's fee to any attorney practicing in the state of Colorado, whether or not such attorney is a member of the CBA.(fn6)

PROCEDURES

All complaints concerning fee disputes, which either the attorney or the client desire to be placed before the Committee, shall be submitted to the CBA. A sample submission form is printed as Appendix A to this article. No matter can be arbitrated by the Committee unless an arbitration agreement is excecuted in writing by both the attorney and the client and, if either the attorney or the client refuses to execute an arbitration agreement, the Committee can take no further action in the matter.

Any request for arbitration is submitted to the Executive Director of the CBA who notifies the attorney and client of the receipt of the request for arbitration. The Executive Director's notification provides that the matter shall be held in abeyance for a period of thirty days in order to allow the attorney and client to have the opportunity of resolving their dispute without action by the Committee. In the event no settlement is reached between the attorney and client, the matter is then submitted to the Committee for resolution.

Hearing Panels: Upon receipt of a submission for arbitration, the Committee chairperson assigns a hearing panel to hold hearings to determine the facts in each controversy and to recommend a decision to the Committee. Hearing panels usually consist of one attorney who resides in the judicial district in which the controversy arose. In matters which involve a substantial amount of fees, or which are unusually complex, the Committee chairperson may appoint a three-person hearing panel. If a multiple person hearing panel is appointed, the Committee chairperson will appoint a panel chairperson to preside at the hearing.

Hearings: As previously stated, panels usually consist of one hearing officer. Once a hearing officer has been appointed to a particular dispute, the hearing officer will contact the attorney and client involved and attempt to schedule a mutually convenient time for a hearing. The hearing officer will attempt to determine from the attorney and client approximately how long will be required for a hearing. Hearing officers will schedule...