Lawline.com

According to New York’s Chief Judge Judith Kaye, the purpose of the Fee Dispute Resolution Program (“FDRP”) was to “stop the further erosion of the legal profession” by creating a non-litigious platform to fairly and expeditiously address good faith fee disputes between attorneys and their clients. The FDRP, however, has created its own host of challenges that threaten the fair adjudication of matters and have the potential to easily violate due process rights for both practitioners and clients. In this Ethics program, New York attorney Susan Settenbrino provides an in-depth presentation of the FDRP and its drawbacks. She begins her presentation by describing the common situations where fee disputes occur as well as the “reasonable fee” standard that is at issue. Ms. Settenbrino then turns her attention to the role of the Board of Governors, Neutral Evaluators, and Arbitrators (their duties, qualifications, and the ethical standards that must be met). She also gives an explanation on how arbitration hearings are conducted and the situations that merit an arbitration award to be vacated.  This course is a must see for all New York attorneys who want to avoid fee disputes with clients and would like to learn about New York’s FDRP.

Agenda: 
I.     Introduction to the Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program
II.    Definition of “Reasonable Fees”
III.   Rules & Protocols of The Board of Governors
IV.   Arbitration Hearing Rules and Regulations
V.    Ethical Standards & Guidelines of Neutral Evaluators and Arbitrators
VI.   Public Policy – Due Process