Help Settling a Dispute Over Your Attorney's Fees in Reading
The Berks County Bar Association runs a Legal Fee Dispute Resolution Committee that tries to settle a disagreement between a client and his or her attorney over fees.
The committee handles disputes with attorneys who are members of the Berks County Bar Association. You have a dispute when you disagree with your attorney or former attorney about the fees you have already paid, or about the amount the attorney claims is due. Generally, only fee disputes are considered. Issues involving ethics, or the quality of representation, cannot be decided by the committee. Some disputes may not qualify, such as those that are already in Court.
There are no filing or other fees. The committee members are Berks County Bar Association attorneys who volunteered to serve without compensation, and there is no requirement to hire an attorney to use the process.
To start, fill out the online Legal Fee Dispute Resolution Committee Questionnaire at berksbar.org/?pg=feeresolutionquestionnaire, or call the bar association office at (610) 375-4591 to obtain a questionnaire. Complete the questionnaire and return it to the Berks County Bar Association office at 544 Court Street, Reading, Pennsylvania, or by email to kwalter@berksbar.org.
After the questionnaire is submitted, it will be determined whether the dispute qualifies for consideration by the committee. If it does not qualify, you will be notified. If it does qualify, a committee attorney appointed to your dispute will contact you, then contact the attorney involved separately, and discuss a fair resolution with each. If the dispute cannot be resolved amicably, the dispute may be submitted to binding arbitration, if both you and the attorney agree.
The process is voluntary for both the client and the attorney, and it is not the only option. You and the attorney may try to reach an agreement between yourselves, and each of you has the further option of using the court system. During the mediation stage you do not give up any rights to have the dispute resolved in Court, but if you agree to binding arbitration, you and the lawyer give up the right to have your case heard in the civil court system.
Two things to know before you submit. By submitting to the process, you are waiving all confidentiality arising from the attorney-client privilege that existed between you and the lawyer you are complaining about, though a Mediator Privilege covers what you confidentially disclose to the mediating committee member and has not already been shared with the other disputing parties. And the committee member has no power to decide issues involving ethical questions; decisions and sanctions regarding professional conduct are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, District II, (610) 650-8210.
The bar association office is at 544 Court Street, P.O. Box 1058, Reading, PA 19603, open Monday thru Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The general phone number is 610-375-4591 and the general email is info@berksbar.org. The page does not say how long the process takes.
Source: berksbar.org, read September 18, 2026.
The details
In Berks County Bar Association’s words
If a client disputes a fee being charged by his or her attorney, the Berks County Bar Association's Legal Fee Dispute Resolution Committee will attempt to resolve the dispute.
Organization
Berks County Bar Association
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