Supreme court seeks volunteers to study fee arbitration
July 11, 2001
The Wisconsin Supreme Court seeks six volunteer lawyers and
nonlawyers to sit on a new committee that will study and review existing
programs for resolving lawyer-client fee disputes in Wisconsin.
The Fee Arbitration Committee will review existing fee-dispute
committees in Wisconsin and in other states and propose a model for
Wisconsin. Among other things, the committee will study the pros and
cons of mandatory and voluntary fee arbitration programs. The State Bar
of Wisconsin currently runs a voluntary program, which received 67
requests for help resolving fee disputes in fiscal year 2000. In 31 of
those cases, the lawyer who submitted the disputed bill opted not to
participate in the arbitration. The Milwaukee Bar Association runs a
similar program, and handled 30 fee disputes last fiscal year.
The study committee also will include a representative from the State
Bar and the Milwaukee County Bar, and their respective committees that
handle fee disputes. It will also include a representative of the Office
of Lawyer Regulation, the agency of the supreme court that handles
discipline of lawyers licensed to practice in Wisconsin.
The supreme court's Appointment Selection Committee will accept
letters of interest and resumes through August and will recommend
members to the court in early September. Interested applicants should
send letters of interest and resumes to Cornelia Clark, Clerk of the
Supreme Court, P.O. Box 1688, Madison, WI 53701-1688, fax to Clark's
attention at (608) 267-0640, or email cornelia.clark@courts.state.wi.us.
Positions are filled on a continual basis and resumes will be kept on
file for consideration for future opportunities.
