An attorney who included a provision in a retainer agreement providing that any future fee disputes with his client would be subject to “binding” arbitration may nonetheless pursue litigation to reverse an arbitration award that cut his claim for fees by $25,000, a Manhattan judge has ruled.
Supreme Court Justice Carol Robinson Edmead ruled attorney Richard L. Gold was not bound by the award because the retainer agreement did not contain a prescribed waiver of both his and his client’s right to litigate anew the issues resolved in the arbitration.
