If one were to peruse the legal press, headlines seem limited to merger, layoffs and legal fee disputes.  There is a definite tie-in to legal malpractice litigation.  Lesson one by legal malpractice insurers to attorneys is that legal fee cases engender legal malpractice defenses.

Here, from Legal Profession Blog is yet another example:  attorney who has the benefit of an arbitration clause in its retainer agreement sues for fees.  Client defends with malpractice claim.  Outcome?  Attorney gets no fees, client recovers fees. 

"A Maryland lawyer retained to handle a custody suit filed suit against the client for unpaid fees. The client counterclaimed alleging that the lawyer had breached the retainer contract by failing to properly represent him and sought the return of fees that had been paid. Counsel for the lawyer then sought but did not get arbitration of the dispute, as contemplated by the retainer agreement. The jury gave the lawyer nothing; the client won the return of almost $25,000 in previously paid fees."

"The lawyer appealed, claiming that the arbitration provision should have been applied and that the breach of contract counterclaim was a veiled claim of legal malpractice. The Maryland Court of Special Appeals rejected these contentions, "