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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