Can an attorney refuse to arbitrate a disputed fee?

If you choose to arbitrate, the attorney must do so in most cases. Exceptions include these situations:

• Fees set by law or the courts, such as the ordinary charges for probating a will, or attorney’s fees that a judge orders one spouse to pay the other in a divorce.
• Fees charged by an attorney who is not a member of the State Bar of California, who does not have offices in California, and who did the majority of the work for you out of state.
• Fee disputes in which you or the attorney filed a suit, and the attorney notified you of your right to arbitrate, using the required State Bar form, but you filed a suit or answered a suit in court before requesting arbitration.
• Fee disputes in which you are not the attorney’s client, unless you paid fees to the attorney for a client.