Bar Counsel of the Alaska Bar Association

(a) Powers and Duties. The Board of Governors will appoint an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Alaska to be the Bar Counsel for the Alaska Bar Association (hereinafter “Bar Counsel”) who will serve at the pleasure of the board. Bar Counsel will: (1) with the approval of the board, employ and supervise attorneys and other administrative support staff as needed for the performance of his or her duties; (2) supervise the maintenance of any records; (3) aid members of the public in filing petitions for the arbitration of fee disputes (hereinafter “petitions”); (4) deny a petition if it appears that the matter: (i) is not subject to arbitration under these rules; (ii) does not involve an attorney subject to the jurisdiction of these rules; or (ii) litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the (iii) was not timely filed, in accordance with the recovery; and provisions of Rules 34(c)(4) and 40; 37 ALASKA COURT RULES (5) accept petitions in accordance with the procedures set forth in Rule 40; (6) process all petitions procedures set forth in Rule 40; in accordance with the (7) select an arbitrator or arbitration panel to arbitrate and determine a fee dispute; (8) rule upon challenges for cause pursuant to Rule 37 (g); (9) accept for filing documents submitted by parties for consideration by Bar Counsel, an arbitrator, or arbitration panel pursuant to these rules; and (10) perform other duties as set forth in these rules or as assigned by the board or the executive committee of the fee dispute “executive committee”). (hereinafter resolution program (b) Arbitration Forms. Bar Counsel will furnish forms which may be used by any person to petition the Bar for the arbitration of his or her fee dispute. The forms will be available to the public through the office of the Bar. (c) Denial of Arbitration. Any petition fee arbitration denied by Bar Counsel will be the subject of a summary prepared by council and submitted to the executive committee. The names of the parties involved will not be the summary. Bar Counsel will promptly provided communicate disposition of the matter to the client and the attorney. for in (d) Record Keeping. The Bar Counsel will maintain records of all petitions processed and maintain statistical data reflecting: (1) the amount of the fee in dispute; (2) the status and ultimate disposition of each arbitration, including any amount by which the fee is reduced; (3) whether the matter resulted in a referral by the arbitrator or arbitration panel to discipline counsel of the Bar for possible discipline action against the attorney; and (4) the number of times each attorney is the subject of a petition for fee arbitration, including the amount and ultimate disposition of each dispute. the board, and (e) Quarterly Report to the Board and Executive Committee. Bar Counsel will provide a quarterly report to the Alaska Supreme Court, the executive committee, which will include information about the number of petitions filed and arbitrations concluded during the quarter, the status of pending petitions, the dispositions of concluded arbitrations, and the amount of the disputes involved. The names of the parties involved will not be provided in the report. (f) Delegation of Responsibility. Bar Counsel, with the approval of the board, may delegate such tasks as (s)he deems 38 appropriate to other staff of the Alaska Bar Association and/or to the staff of any organization or entity outside the association retained or employed by the board to assume or assist in the administration of the Bar’s Fee Dispute Resolution Program. Any reference in these rules to Bar Counsel will be deemed to include any persons, organizations or entities delegated the responsibility, whether administration of the program. in whole or in part, for (g) Disposal of Files. Bar Counsel will destroy files of arbitrations five years after they are closed. (Old Rule 36 [SCO 176] deleted and new Rule 36 added by SCO 780 effective March 15, 1987; amended by SCO 962 effective July 15, 1989; by SCO 1044 effective January 15, 1991; and by SCO 1756 effective October 14, 2011)