Vol. 9, No. 1, Pg. 32. Please Remit. . .Collecting Client Fees Without Disputes.

• Author: By Richard L. Pearce

South Carolina Lawyer

1997.

Vol. 9, No. 1, Pg. 32.

Please Remit. . .Collecting Client Fees Without Disputes

32PLEASE REMIT...COLLECTING CLIENT FEES WITHOUT DISPUTESBy Richard L. PearceCourt convenes at 10 a.m. Monday. Those discovery responses are due Monday as well. Two clients are in your reception area, unannounced, with "just a quick question" to be answered. A couple of important calls have to be returned right now. And, in your mail is an envelope marked "Personal and Confidential." You open the envelope to find that an unhappy client you worked so hard for in that hotly contested case has filed an application for resolution of disputed fee. Does anything good happen after 4 p.m. on Friday?

Welcome to the world of fee dispute resolution, administered by the South Carolina Bar's Resolution of Fee Disputes Board. Volunteer members confidentially handle fee disputes filed with the board. What are the mechanics of fee dispute resolution? What rights do the parties to these disputes enjoy? How can lawyers best avoid potential fee disputes, or, at least, facilitate their timely resolution? This article will answer these questionsand suggest methods for avoiding the need for a claim to be filed.

South Carolina Appellate Court Rule 416 established the Bar's Resolution of Fee Disputes Board. The board hears fee disputes of less than $50,000 that do not involve the dissolution of a law practice, partnership or any other business relationship between lawyers; are less than three years old; and are not disputes over which a court, commission, judge or other tribunal has priority jurisdiction to set the fee. Fees are defined as legal fees, costs of litigation and disbursements associated with a legal cause, claim or matter.

BOARD COMPOSITION AND RULES OF PROCEDURE

Board members from each judicial circuit are appointed to three year terms by the Bar's president. Members receive no compensation for their work. The board also has an executive council comprised of members from South Carolina's four judicial regions, plus

34 an additional member appointed by the Bar president. The Council oversees board operations in each of the 16 judicial circuits and reviews suggested rule changes. Any changes must be approved by the House of Delegates prior to approval by the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Each judicial circuit chair appoints investigators, known as assigned members, who research...