Norman Zoller

My experience with the State Bar of Georgia’s fee arbitration process was an absolute disgrace. I spent nearly two years participating in what was presented to me as a legitimate dispute-resolution process over a $5,000 attorney retainer. I followed the procedures, provided documentation, responded when required, and allowed the process to drag on for an extraordinary amount of time because I believed there would eventually be an enforceable resolution. Instead, I learned that an attorney can apparently participate in this process and then simply decide they no longer wish to continue—effectively ending the consumer’s path to meaningful relief. Think about how absurd that is. What is the purpose of an attorney-fee arbitration system if the attorney can simply opt out when accountability becomes inconvenient? What exactly has the client been waiting nearly two years for? In my case, the underlying dispute had already been reviewed through the State Bar process, and the circumstances surrounding the retainer were serious enough that I continued pursuing the matter through their own established procedures. Yet after investing nearly two years of my time, I was left with a system that could not actually require the attorney to complete the process or return money that I maintain was improperly retained. That is not meaningful consumer protection. It is procedural theater. A legitimate accountability system should not depend on the voluntary cooperation of the very attorney whose conduct is being challenged. Due process cannot mean, “Follow all of our procedures for two years, unless the other party eventually decides they are finished participating.” The State Bar of Georgia promotes mechanisms that supposedly allow members of the public to address attorney-fee disputes, but a process without enforceability is little more than window dressing. It creates the appearance that clients have somewhere to turn while leaving attorneys with an escape hatch when the process becomes uncomfortable. If an attorney can collect thousands of dollars, become the subject of a fee dispute, participate in arbitration, and then walk away from the process without an enforceable resolution, who exactly is this system designed to protect? Because from my experience, it certainly was not the client. Nearly two years of paperwork, waiting, participation, and supposed “due process” resulted in no meaningful accountability and no meaningful remedy. The State Bar of Georgia should be embarrassed to call that consumer protection.

Great amenities and resources for members

Very unpleasant experience and I got absolutely no assistance and they don’t listen I even got hung up on and they are now ignoring calls

I called looking to get a referral for an attorney and was told that no one in Atlanta practices that type of law. I was also told that it's the Atlanta Bar Association.

Used the conference center and courtroom there for events before, and it’s very nice. Parking is convenient too.