The Hennepin County Bar Association offers a legal fee arbitration program to parties disputing legal fees for legal services. 

Participation: 
To use this fee arbitration program, both parties must first agree in writing to submit their dispute to the HCBA program for binding arbitration.  This may be done either in the legal fee/retainer agreement or on a separate form available here:  

Arbitration Agreement:    View/Print PDF version        View/Print Word version

Information and Forms:
A detailed description of the process ("Legal Fee Arbitration Rules”) and the necessary form ("Petition/Response Form") to begin the arbitration process are available here: 

HCBA Legal Fee Arbitration Rules:    View/Print PDF version        View/Print Word version

HCBA Petition/Response Form:    View/Print PDF version        View/Print Word version.

Because much of the arbitration process relies on electronic communication, your contact information must be completed in its entirety on the petition/response form.  

American Bar Association's formal opinion "Retainer Agreement Requiring the Arbitration of Fee Disputes and Malpractice Claims":  View/Print PDF version

Fees:

• For disputes of $7,500 or less, each party pays $50.
   

• For disputes over $7,500, each party pays $100. 

Check payable to the Hennepin County Bar Association must be included with your submitted forms.

Contact: 
Direct any questions on the fee arbitration process to
Sharada Lakhan, Fee Arbitration Administrator
(612) 752-6662     sharada@hcba.org