Does the phrase "any other aspect of our attorney-client relationship" in the arbitration clause of the retainer agreement compel arbitration of a claim of malpractice?

Defendants contend that inclusion of the phrase "any other aspect of our attorney-client relationship" in the arbitration clause of the retainer agreement compels arbitration of "[a]ny dispute arising out of the attorney-client relationship," including a claim of legal malpractice. (Emphasis in [207 Cal.App.3d 1506] original.) If this phrase is considered standing alone, defendants' argument would be compelling. (Cf. Izzi v.

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"The rule of construction which governs us is the doctrine of ejusdem generis (also known as Lord Tenterden's rule) which states that where general words follow the enumeration of particular classes of persons or things, the general words will be construed as applicable only to persons or things of the same general nature or class as those enumerated. The rule is based on the obvious reason that if the [writer] had intended the general words to be used in their unrestricted sense, [he or she] would not have mentioned the particular things or classes of things which would in that event become mere surplusage. The words 'other' or 'any other' following an enumeration of particular classes should be read therefore as other such like and to include only others of like kind or character. [Citations.]" (Scally v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (1972) 23 Cal.App.3d 806, 819, 100 Cal.Rptr. 501, emphasis in original; Fiske v. Niagara Fire Ins. Co. (1929) 207 Cal. 355, 357, 278 P. 861.) In the present case, the broad interpretation of the phrase "any other aspect of our attorney-client relationship" advanced by defendants would include the examples which precede it of disputes regarding fees and costs and render these examples mere surplusage. Instead, the above rule mandates that we interpret the phrase "any other aspect of our attorney-client relationship" to apply only to financial matters similar to disputes regarding fees and costs.