If you are still dissatisfied, you have the right to discharge the attorney and obtain another. Even though you have discharged the attorney, you are still obligated to pay any fees owed for the attorney's services. If there is a fee dispute, it may have resulted from a lack of understanding of the basis for the charge and of what goes into the charges for an attorney's services. The attorney may be at fault because of a failure to make you aware of what is involved. This sometimes occurs when no retainer agreement has been used.
Clients are often reluctant or embarrassed to discuss fees with their attorney.
They should not be. When a client and an attorney are unable to reach an understanding and there is a controversy over fees, The Florida Bar's statewide fee arbitration program is available and authorized by the Supreme Court of Florida to settle fee matters. The arbitration process was designed as an alternative to the court system for the resolution of fee disputes. The sole purpose of a fee arbitration hearing is to decide the fair and reasonable value of the legal services performed for a client by an attorney. As the arbitration program is voluntary for both the client and the attorney, the process cannot be put into effect unless both parties agree to arbitrate.