LRIS Membership Guide

LRIS Membership Guide

LAWYER REFERRAL & INFORMATION SERVICE LRIS is an Approved Intermediary Organization according to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility

This handbook is intended to help answer some of the common questions regarding the daily operation of the LRIS.

Table of Contents Welcome and Purpose ........................................................................................ 1 Becoming a Panel Member .............................................................................. 2 Making the Referral ............................................................................................... 3 Reports and Fees ..................................................................................................... 5 Potential LRIS Sanctions ................................................................................... 7 Client Feedback......................................................................................................... 8 Your Availability and Marketing Opportunities ............................ 9 Professional Changes ....................................................................................... 10 What Else? ................................................................................................................. 11

The goal of the LRIS is first and foremost to serve our members to the best of our ability.

Contact Us: (865) 522-6522 (KBA Main) (865) 522-7501 (LRIS Line) Tracy S. Chain, LRIS Administrator tchain@knoxbar.org

Rebecca Eshbaugh, LRIS Assistant reshbaugh@knoxbar.org

Marsha S. Watson, KBA Executive Director mwatson@knoxbar.org

Welcome As a member of LRIS you have a great opportunity to grow your practice and feel confident in doing so knowing that you are working with an approved Intermediary Organization according to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility.

LRIS is intended to provide the public with access to the legal system and to provide its panel members with fee generating cases. While every referral may not turn out to be a retained case, our members know that they are providing an important public service to those in our community. More often than not, membership as an LRIS panel member is time well spent.

As an LRIS panel member you are also invited to participate in the Speakers Bureau. If you like public speaking then this is a great opportunity for you to become acquainted with local businesses and individuals in our community.

Thank you for your interest in membership and support of LRIS.

Tracy S. Chain LRIS Administrator

Purpose The Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS) was founded in 1958 as a nonprofit public service of the Knoxville Bar Association. The KBA Board of Governors adopted LRIS Policies and Procedures to ensure the Service operates effectively.

The purpose of the LRIS is threefold: • To make legal services readily available to the general public by providing lawyer referrals to KBA members who are participating in the LRIS; • To provide general information regarding consumer, government, and other agencies when appropriate; • To provide high standards of practice and encourage the highest quality of legal services.

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Becoming a Panel Member KBA members interested in becoming a part of the LRIS will submit an application for the appropriate fiscal year, which is available at www.knoxbar.org/joinLRIS. The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

The attorney should complete the application, review and sign the agreement on page 2, and include all supplementary documentation requested as well as payment for the LRIS membership. Upon receipt of the application, the LRIS Administrator will review the application and contact the attorney to set up a brief orientation (approximately 45-60 minutes). The orientation may be completed in person, by Zoom, or by telephone, and is required before the attorney may begin receiving referrals. Specific details and requirements for participation are included in Section IV of the LRIS Policies and Procedures.

The following sections will provide specific overview of various aspects of the service and of receiving and then reporting on referrals. This handbook does not replace or supersede the LRIS Policies and Procedures.

As an overview, participating attorneys are expected to: • Provide the Service with accurate information via the application, and promptly update the Service with any changes to the information provided.

• Promptly return messages from LRIS referral callers (within 48 hours excluding weekends where possible), and attorney or staff should notify the Service of any unavailability to callers so that LRIS may set a temporary hold on referrals.

• Provide the caller with a 10-20 minute telephone OR 30-minute appointment for in-office consultation (if client requests) at no charge to the client. While support staff may gather information to facilitate the consultation, the client must speak with the LRIS attorney to complete the consultation.

• If unable to accept the caller’s case, the client must be referred back to the LRIS. Referring the caller directly to another attorney is not permitted. Any questions that may arise about this policy should be directed to the LRIS Administrator.

• Should the attorney be retained, a written fee agreement is required under LRIS policies. This protects both the client and the LRIS attorney, since the LRIS attorney agrees to permit any dispute concerning fees arising from a referral to be submitted to the KBA Fee Dispute Resolution committee if the client so petitions.

• Respond timely to reporting requests as outlined in the reporting section. Refer to Section 7.4 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures for more information about delinquent reporting.

• Remit fee percentage payments within 20 working days of receipt. Refer to Section 5.9 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures for more information about delinquent fee payments.

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Making the Referral Client Contacts LRIS Clients receive referrals from LRIS by calling the intake line at (865) 522-7501 or by submitting a request at www.knoxbar.org. Our staff interviews each caller and decides whether a referral is appropriate. Our staff are not attorneys and cannot judge the merits of a case. As long as the circumstances have a rational appearance of a potential fee-generating case, we make the referral. We also refer callers to many community resources including agencies such as Legal Aid of East Tennessee and www.justiceforallTN.org

LRIS is not pro bono; callers not suited for referral are referred to agencies as appropriate.

Most clients request, and prefer, the free telephone consultation. However, some may prefer to be seen in the office. • Phone consultations: The client is informed that phone consultations will last approximately 10-15 minutes. They are advised to be ready with any questions when they phone your office. If you are unavailable at the time of the client’s call and they leave a message, we ask that you return the call within 48 hours. LRIS generally provides one referral for phone consultations with the client instructed to contact LRIS should he or she need a second referral. •

In-Office consultations: Clients are instructed to ask for an office appointment at the time of their call.

Clients will be asked to bring any important documents and to be prepared with questions they wish to cover. The clients are advised that the consultation will last a maximum of 30 minutes. Once this consultation is completed, the client may contact LRIS for an additional referral if desired.

As part of our public service, please remember that we do not charge the client a fee for the referral or for the consultation time with our members. You will, however, charge your standard fees for any services past the initial consultation.

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• Referrals are made on a rotating basis to LRIS panel members based on the specific case types.

• You will receive a referral form from the LRIS office by email each time a referral is made to you.

You will have 10 days from the date of the referral to return the form to the LRIS office with a status update for the consultation held with the client, or to update the consultation status online.

• No one other than the LRIS panel member, or another LRIS panel member within the firm, can hold a consultation with the client. Only the panel member can sign reports which are submitted to LRIS. Staff are not permitted to sign documents on behalf of the panel member.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ASSIST THE CLIENT If the client seems to have a meritorious case, but you cannot assist that client because of time pressures, conflict or other reasons, please refer the caller back to LRIS for another referral.

However, if the client does not have a meritorious case, please inform the client of the reasons you do not think the case has legal merit. It is also helpful to inform LRIS staff of these reasons to assist our future screening. Please avoid simply telling the client that you are “too busy to accept cases” or that this is “not the type of case I accept,” as this is detrimental to the credibility of both your practice and our service.

If the lawyer to whom the client has been referred is unavailable for consultation, another LRIS panel member within the firm may consult; otherwise, the caller should be referred back to LRIS for additional help.

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Reports and Fees Referral Form A referral form is generated at the time the client contacts the LRIS. The form is emailed to you immediately after the referral has been processed. The form will provide the client’s name, address, contact number and a brief description of the legal issue. You must return the form or update the status online (retained, monitoring, consultation only, no contact) within 10 days of the referral.

Monthly Status Report The Monthly Status Report is automatically sent on the 15th of each month and reflects any cases for which we have not received a status update (i.e. Pending) through the end of the previous month, and all cases previously reported as Open Retained or Open Continue to Monitor.

Quarterly Referral Log The quarterly referral report is sent on February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1. Panel members are asked to carefully review the quarterly report and note if there has been a change in status in any of the referrals sent within the prior 3 months. This report will be due back 4 weeks from the date of the report. This report will have an absolute due date included and will be subject to the reporting requirements of sections 5.9 and 7.4 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures.

Retained Case Report A Retained Case Report is sent on February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1 and provides information about all referrals prior to the previous quarter which were previously reported as retained or monitoring. It is our reminder to you to send in the percentage fee as you receive client’s payments, and to let us know of case developments as well as when cases are closed. This report will have an absolute due date included and will be subject to the reporting requirements of sections 5.9 and 7.4 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures.

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Annual Referral Log Similar to the quarterly report, but spanning the entire previous fiscal year, the annual referral report is sent on September 1 and contains all referrals from the previous fiscal year (July-June). Panel members are asked to carefully review for any changes in status. This report will have an absolute due date included and will be subject to the reporting requirements of sections 5.9 and 7.4 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures.

It is very important that these reports be accurate and returned on time. Due dates are provided on the Quarterly, Annual and Retained Case Reports.

Fees For the purpose of operating expenses, LRIS receives 15% of any fees which the attorney generates, less the first $200.

Example: $1000 attorney fees - $200 = $800 x 15% = $120 due LRIS You may choose to enter fees online at myKBA Profile and generate an invoice if desired for bookkeeping purposes. The software will automatically deduct the first $200 of fees entered when calculating.

LRIS Fees are due as earned, within 20 working days of receipt of client fees.

You are required to provide the client a contract for services when you are retained. If you make a separate agreement with another attorney to assist you in a case, you are still bound by the full 15% fee agreement.

Failure to Comply with Reporting Deadlines – Next Steps As noted above, reports with deadlines will be subject to the reporting requirements of sections 5.9 and 7.4 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures. Should an attorney not return a requested report by the deadline date, the procedure is as follows: • The attorney will be mailed a letter from the KBA Executive Director notifying the attorney of the missed due date, the suspension from referrals if applicable, and notification that reports and fees are due back four weeks from the date of letter.

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• Should response still not be received, the attorney will be mailed a letter from one of the LRIS Committee Co-Chairs with an invoice for the $300 delinquency assessment as set forth in Section 7.4 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures and notice that all reports are due and all fees are subject to the interest as noted in the Policies and Procedures, section 5.9.

• Should the attorney not respond by the date due, the matter will be referred to the LRIS Committee to make a recommendation to the Board of Governors for further action.

Potential LRIS sanctions LRIS staff are empowered to suspend any attorney panel member for good cause including but not limited to: • Delinquent/incomplete reports; • Expired proof of insurance; • Failure to pay a fee due LRIS; • Consistent unavailability to referral clients; and • Repeated fee disputes with referral clients or consistent or excessive complaints from referral clients.

The Lawyer Referral & Information Service Committee may disqualify a lawyer from the panel for unprofessional conduct. Disqualification shall be accomplished by the affirmative vote of the majority of the LRIS Committee. Any lawyer who has been disqualified may have review of such action by the Executive Committee of the Knoxville Bar Association upon making written request within 30 days of the date of disqualification.

Good communication is key – call LRIS staff promptly with any questions, concerns or changes to your practice which arise from time to time.

An attorney who fails to remit fees or required reports will be contacted by demand letter. Failure to respond within 30 days will result in an administrative assessment and/or fee as outlined in Rule 5.9 and rule 7.4 of the LRIS Policies and Procedures.

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Client Feedback We contact LRIS clients to follow up on how our service has worked for them. This enables us to monitor case status, client satisfaction, and client fees paid to date. We document and crossreference information gained in the surveys, which have assisted LRIS in reconciling occasional discrepancies in client reporting compared to attorney reporting due to simple oversights.

If you ever have questions concerning whether a client was referred to you, or what you have paid in the past towards an LRIS case, please give us a call at any time.

Client Complaints If the LRIS receives a client complaint through either response to client survey, phone call or letter, the LRIS Administrator will first attempt to determine whether the LRIS referred client retained the LRIS panel member to whom they were referred.

It is the goal of the LRIS to support its panel members in their practice while also ensuring that the LRIS is providing a quality public service. In this light, we do not seek to become involved in the attorney-client relationship, but rather hold to the goal of ensuring we provide consistent and quality referrals and that panel members are aware of and adhere to the Policies and Procedures of the Service.

Should the client’s concerns be serious and persistent, the LRIS Administrator will send the client a letter explaining the formal LRIS complaint process. Once formal complaint is received, the LRIS staff will send acknowledgment letter to the client and forward a copy of the complaint to the LRIS panel attorney for response.

When received, the attorney’s response will be reviewed along with the original client complaint by the LRIS committee co-chair(s). The chair(s) may decide to involve other LRIS committee members in discussion and may follow up as individuals or a body with any additional questions.

The LRIS committee co-chairs and members will base decisions based on the LRIS Policies and Procedures, common sense, experience, and the By-Laws, rules and regulations of the Knoxville Bar Association and the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court, including the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The LRIS co-chair(s) will inform the LRIS Administrator and KBA Executive Director of their decision and recommendation relative to the complaint, which should be based on Sections VIII, XI and X of the LRIS Policies and Procedures.

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Your Availability When you are active in LRIS rotation, we expect that you are generally available for new clients. If you expect to be out of the office due to trial or for vacation, you are asked to notify the LRIS office.

Referrals will be temporarily suspended for the date range you request or until you notify us of your return. By doing so, you do not lose your place in the referral rotation.

Keeping LRIS informed of your availability ensures fewer surprises for referral clients. Callers who feel assured and confident throughout the referral process are more likely to engage the services of the referred attorney.

Marketing When you join LRIS, your practice benefits from LRIS marketing programs, including community events and publications, social media, and public service announcements. Worth-of-mouth and attorney referrals are our most effective form of advertising. We want to provide appropriate and profitable referrals; if you are being referred cases outside of your selected panels/practice area, please let us know. The goal of the LRIS is first and foremost to serve our members to the best of our ability.

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Professional Changes When Life Happens We understand that some changes are inevitable; however, LRIS members do have an obligation to keep us informed should you change firms, leave to establish your own practice, move away, or leave the practice of law.

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Notify LRIS of your plans including the effective date of the change and whether you plan to continue LRIS membership.

If you plan to withdraw from LRIS, we will provide you with a detailed list of all client referrals and a LRIS Membership Closure packet, which will include a checklist of items to complete the deactivation of LRIS membership.

A Client Transfer Form (included in the packet) should be completed for each active case that is to be given to another attorney.

All cases in Pending status should be updated within 10 days of receipt of the closure packet.

If you are not transferring your cases, regular Retained Case reports will continue to be sent to you, as well as final Quarterly and Annual Report Logs. You may also continue to provide online updates through your myKBA profile.

Please review the LRIS Policies & Procedures Document, Sections 5 and 7, for more information regarding the obligation to forward fees and provide timely reports.

Updating cases online is easy – visit your myKBA profile – the referral area is the lower right-hand square.

We’ll call when we have questions, and ask that you please do the same Let us know about absences due to trial, vacation and illness. We will temporarily suspend your referrals until a set date, or when you notify us of your return. Please let your staff know to call us anytime with questions regarding the Service.

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What Else?

Make sure we know how to contact you

We ask that you notify us in writing about any changes to your contact information, including address, phone number, email address or staff contact personnel.

Changes in your selected panels You may make changes to the panels you selected on your application at any time during the fiscal year.

Please submit your request to the LRIS office in writing.

LRIS: Your Other Front Office Person The Lawyer Referral Service of the Knoxville Bar Association has the unique opportunity to help elevate the profession of law by providing a friendly, professional staff to assist the public in finding the right kind of attorney for their needs. • Membership in LRIS provides you with one more opportunity to present a professional image to potential clients. • As a part of the Knoxville Bar Association, we are aligned with its mission to offer tangible benefits to help you excel in your practice and further your profession.

Contact Us P.O. Box 2027 Knoxville, TN 37901-2027 Phone: (865)522-7501 Email: tchain@knoxbar.org Web: www.knoxbar.org

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