New York State Uniform Court System ADR Office

Commissions New York County Lawyers Association CLE Institute

to Deliver Statewide Virtual Part 137 Fee Dispute Arbitration Training

Registration for the 1st Statewide Training Open to the Public

January 13, 2022, New York, New York – New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) announced today that they have been commissioned to create and deliver the Statewide Virtual Part 137 Fee Dispute Arbitration Trainings to attorneys and non-attorneys interested in volunteering to become an arbitrator in Part 137 fee disputes between attorneys and their clients. The first statewide training will take place on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, with registration open to the public on January 12.

The Part 137 Fee Dispute Resolution Program provides for the informal and expeditious resolution of fee disputes between attorneys and clients through arbitration and mediation. In accordance with the procedures for arbitration, arbitrators shall determine the reasonableness of fees for professional services, including costs, considering all relevant facts and circumstances. Mediation of fee disputes, where available, is strongly encouraged by the Office of Court Administration.

NYCLA’s CLE Institute has assembled a faculty of industry leaders including Simeon H. Baum of Resolve Mediation Services, Inc., Jeffrey T. Zaino and Mansi Karol from American Arbitration Association, Martha E. Gifford and Amy Pontillo from Board of Governors of NYS Attorney-Client Fee Dispute Resolution Program, and Lewis Tesser and Randall Tesser from Tesser, Ryan & Rochman LLP. Additionally, this program taps the expertise of NYCLA’s dynamic ADR Committee Co-Chairs Elan Weinreb and Christopher Fladgate and Vice Chair Nelson Timken. This series of trainings will provide an orientation to the program, the tasks, expectations and characteristics required of an arbitrator including:

Issues frequently raised in Fee Dispute Arbitrations
Component parts of an arbitration hearing: beginning the process, gathering evidence, the decision-making process and tips and observations for responding to ethical issues.
Emphasis will also be placed on how to conduct arbitrations in a virtual world and how to recognize implicit bias and incorporate inclusivity and diversity in the decision-making process.

“We are honored by this grant from the court and the court’s confidence in our expertise in ADR and ADR Training. NYCLA has been conducting full day training programs bi-annually, including a live training on October 3, 2018, and a Virtual Fee Dispute Arbitration Training program on December 9, 2020. NYCLA currently runs the Office of Court Administration Fee Dispute Arbitration and Mediation program for New York County and the Bronx, and we are also collaborating with our colleagues at NYSBA and ABCNY and many other bars to launch the New York Diversity Equity & Inclusion Neutral Directory. NYCLA’s many years’ experience with ADR and ADR trainings positions us to expertly fulfill the courts’ training requirements in this new role” said Vincent T. Chang, NYCLA President.

For more information about volunteering to become an arbitrator and registering for the program click here.

About the New York County Lawyers Association

The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence. For more information on NYCLA please visit nycla.org.