St. Francis School of Law is pleased to announce that Dean Carole J. Buckner has been appointed by the California State Bar Board of Trustees to the State Bar Committee on Mandatory Fee Arbitration.
The MFA Committee oversees the mandatory attorney-client fee arbitration program established by California Business & Professions Code Sections 6200 – 6206. The program provides an informal, confidential and lower cost forum for resolving fee disputes between lawyer and client, often working through local bar associations.
The Committee reviews and comments upon proposed legislation, recommends amendments to fee arbitration statutes and procedures to the Board of Trustees, and oversees the State Bar’s Mandatory Fee Arbitration Department. The Committee also drafts sample fee agreements and arbitration advisories.
Dean Buckner said, “I am honored to be selected for membership on the California State Bar’s Committee on Mandatory Fee Arbitration. On this important committee, I will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of guidance to the legal community on billing for legal fees in furtherance of successful business relationships between lawyers and their clients.”
Dean Buckner has taught legal ethics and professional responsibility, and speaks and writes widely on many ethics-related topics, including attorneys’ fees. She previously served on the California State Bar’s Committee of Professional Responsibility and Conduct (COPRAC) which she chaired, and also is the co-chair of the Orange County Bar Association’s Professionalism and Ethics Committee, and a member and past chair of the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee.