Assistance With Fee Disputes

Dauphin County Bar Association

The Dauphin County Bar Association has a Fee Dispute Committee whose purpose is to assist clients, former clients, and members of the Bar Association who have a dispute over legal fees and charges. Clients who feel that they have been improperly charged by members of the Bar Association may request the assistance of the committee. After obtaining a written statement of the facts, a member of the committee will contact the lawyer, outlining the client's dispute and attempting to obtain the lawyer's explanation of the facts. The committee will then attempt to mediate the dispute by assigning a member of the committee to act as an intermediary between the client and lawyer. Neither lawyers nor clients are required to participate in the resolution process, but the Bar Association does strongly encourage its members to cooperate with the process if requested by the client. There is no charge for this service. For information on bringing a dispute before the Committee, please contact Patrice Merzanis, Executive Director of the Bar Association, at (717) 232-7536.

If you believe you have a fee dispute, please write a letter to our Fee Dispute Committee, 213 North Front Street, Harrisburg, PA  17101.  In the letter, please indicate why you are disputing the fees and send along any documentation that you have (fee agreements, copies of bills, etc.).  We will then send it out to our member of the committee who will try to mediate a resolution.