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2. Participation.Interest by the public and the profession continued during the Program’sthirty-third year. Fourteen Hundred and Sixty Eight (1,468) parties requested andwere mailed information regarding the Fee Arbitration Program during the year.Referrals by the Consumer Assistance Program accounted for 70% of the inquiries,while 29% of the inquiries were direct calls to the Fee Arbitration staff from theparties involved in the dispute. Referrals from the Office of General Counselaccounted for 1% of the inquiries. Many more telephone calls were received, anda number of fee disputes were resolved informally by the Fee Arbitration staffwithout the filing of a Petition. Copies of the Program’s Rules and a Petition formwere sent to all persons who requested further information. An informationalbrochure was also provided to aid them in understanding this service of the StateBar. In addition, the parties were encouraged to initiate settlement communicationsprior to returning the Petition form. The staff furnished consultation time in eachcase to explain the Fee Arbitration process. Under the Rules, the State Baradministers the Program in a neutral, rather than representative, capacity.Therefore, no advice was rendered on the merits of the matter in issue.3. Current Activity.Today 688 cases are in process. Approximately 122 new disputes overattorney fees are reported to the Fee Arbitration Program each month. TheCommittee, its staff, and the parties are able to resolve a majority of these withoutthe necessity of the full arbitration process. However, hearings and awards to103