Rosenson

A retainer agreement between a client and a law firm provided for binding arbitration of fee disputes. The parties initially participated in nonbinding arbitration pursuant to the Mandatory Fee Arbitration Act (MFAA; Bus. & Prof. Code, § 6200 et seq.). 1 Within 30 days of a nonbinding MFAA arbitration award in favor of the client, the law firm filed a demand for binding arbitration under the retainer agreement. Rather than participate in binding arbitration, the client filed a petition to confirm the arbitration award. Agreeing with the client, the trial court ruled the law firm’s demand for binding arbitration was ineffective in the absence of filing a superior court action to compel arbitration. The court granted the client’s petition to confirm the arbitration award under the MFAA. We hold the law firm’s arbitration demand was effective to invoke the arbitration clause without filing a superior court action to compel arbitration, and therefore reverse.

BACKGROUND

Bernard Rosenson signed a retainer agreement in 2003 with the law firm of Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP (Greenberg Glusker). The agreement provided for arbitration of fee disputes before a…