LRIS Membership Guide 2022-23

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.

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

ContactUs: (865)522-6522(KBAMain) (865)522-7501(LRISLine)

Tracy S. Chain, LRIS Administrator tchain@knoxbar.org

Jason Galvas, LRIS Assistant jgalvas@knoxbar.org

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

Welcome

AsamemberofLRISyouhaveagreatopportunitytogrowyourpracticeandfeelconfidentin doingsoknowingthatyouareworkingwithanapprovedIntermediaryOrganizationaccording totheTennesseeBoardofProfessionalResponsibility.

LRISisintendedtoprovidethepublicwithaccesstothelegalsystemandtoprovideitspanel memberswithfeegeneratingcases. Whileeveryreferralmaynotturnouttobearetainedcase, ourmembersknowthattheyareprovidinganimportantpublicservicetothoseinour community. Moreoftenthannot,membershipasanLRISpanelmemberistimewellspent.

AsanLRISpanelmemberyouarealsoinvitedtoparticipateintheSpeakersBureau. Ifyoulike publicspeakingthenthisisagreatopportunityforyoutobecomeacquaintedwithlocal businessesandindividualsinourcommunity.

ThankyouforyourinterestinmembershipandsupportofLRIS.

TracyS.Chain LRISAdministrator

PurposeTheLawyerReferral&InformationService(LRIS)wasfoundedin1958asanonprofitpublic serviceoftheKnoxvilleBarAssociation. TheKBABoardofGovernorsadoptedLRISPoliciesand ProcedurestoensuretheServiceoperateseffectively.

ThepurposeoftheLRISisthreefold:

• Tomakelegalservicesreadilyavailabletothegeneralpublicbyprovidinglawyer referralstoKBAmemberswhoareparticipatingintheLRIS;

• Toprovidegeneralinformationregardingconsumer,government,andotheragencies whenappropriate;

• Toprovidehighstandardsofpracticeandencouragethehighestqualityoflegalservices.

BecomingaPanelMember

KBAmembersinterestedinbecomingapartoftheLRISwillsubmitanapplicationfortheappropriate fiscalyear,whichisavailableatwww.knoxbar.org/joinLRIS. ThefiscalyearrunsfromJuly1toJune30. Theattorneyshouldcompletetheapplication,reviewandsigntheagreementonpage2,andincludeall supplementarydocumentationrequestedaswellaspaymentfortheLRISmembership. Uponreceipt oftheapplication,theLRISAdministratorwillreviewtheapplicationandcontacttheattorneytosetup abrieforientation(approximately45-60minutes). Theorientationmaybecompletedinperson,by Zoom,orbytelephone,andisrequiredbeforetheattorneymaybeginreceivingreferrals. Specific detailsandrequirementsforparticipationareincludedinSectionIVoftheLRISPoliciesand Procedures.

Thefollowingsectionswillprovidespecificoverviewofvariousaspectsoftheserviceandofreceiving andthenreportingonreferrals. ThishandbookdoesnotreplaceorsupersedetheLRISPoliciesand Procedures.

Asanoverview,participatingattorneysareexpectedto:

• ProvidetheServicewithaccurateinformationviatheapplication,andpromptlyupdatethe Servicewithanychangestotheinformationprovided.

• PromptlyreturnmessagesfromLRISreferralcallers(within48hoursexcludingweekends wherepossible),andattorneyorstaffshouldnotifytheServiceofanyunavailabilitytocallersso thatLRISmaysetatemporaryholdonreferrals.

• Providethecallerwitha10-20minutetelephoneOR30-minuteappointmentforin-office consultation(ifclientrequests)atnochargetotheclient. Whilesupportstaffmaygather informationtofacilitatetheconsultation,theclientmustspeakwiththeLRISattorneyto completetheconsultation.

• Ifunabletoacceptthecaller’scase,theclientmustbereferredbacktotheLRIS. Referring the caller directly to another attorney is not permitted. Anyquestionsthatmayariseaboutthis policyshouldbedirectedtotheLRISAdministrator.

• Should the attorney be retained, a written fee agreement is required under LRIS policies. This protectsboththeclientandtheLRISattorney,sincetheLRISattorneyagreestopermitany disputeconcerningfeesarisingfromareferraltobesubmittedtotheKBAFeeDispute Resolutioncommitteeiftheclientsopetitions.

• Respondtimelytoreportingrequestsasoutlinedinthereportingsection. RefertoSection7.4of theLRISPoliciesandProceduresformoreinformationaboutdelinquentreporting.

• Remitfeepercentagepaymentswithin20workingdaysofreceipt. RefertoSection5.9ofthe LRISPoliciesandProceduresformoreinformationaboutdelinquentfeepayments.

MakingtheReferral

Client Contacts LRIS

ClientsreceivereferralsfromLRISbycallingtheintakelineat(865)522-7501orbysubmittingarequest atwww.knoxbar.org. Ourstaffinterviewseachcalleranddecideswhetherareferralisappropriate. Our staffarenotattorneysandcannotjudgethemeritsofacase. Aslongasthecircumstanceshavearational appearanceofapotentialfee-generatingcase,wemakethereferral. Wealsorefercallerstomany communityresourcesincludingagenciessuchasLegalAidofEastTennesseeandwww.justiceforallTN.org

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

Mostclientsrequest,andprefer,thefreetelephoneconsultation. However,somemayprefertobeseenin theoffice.

• Phoneconsultations: Theclientisinformedthatphoneconsultationswilllastapproximately10-15 minutes. Theyareadvisedtobereadywithanyquestionswhentheyphoneyouroffice. Ifyouare unavailableatthetimeoftheclient’scallandtheyleaveamessage,weaskthatyoureturnthecall within48hours. LRISgenerallyprovidesonereferralforphoneconsultationswiththeclient instructedtocontactLRISshouldheorsheneedasecondreferral.

• In-Officeconsultations: Clientsareinstructedtoaskforanofficeappointmentatthetimeoftheircall. Clientswillbeaskedtobringanyimportantdocumentsandtobepreparedwithquestionstheywish tocover. Theclientsareadvisedthattheconsultationwilllastamaximumof30minutes. Oncethis consultationiscompleted,theclientmaycontactLRISforanadditionalreferralifdesired.

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.

• ReferralsaremadeonarotatingbasistoLRISpanelmembersbasedonthespecificcasetypes.

• YouwillreceiveareferralformfromtheLRISofficebyemaileachtimeareferralismadetoyou. Youwillhave10daysfromthedateofthereferraltoreturntheformtotheLRISofficewitha statusupdatefortheconsultationheldwiththeclient,ortoupdatetheconsultationstatusonline.

• NooneotherthantheLRISpanelmember,oranotherLRISpanelmemberwithinthefirm,canhold aconsultationwiththeclient. Onlythepanelmembercansignreportswhicharesubmittedto LRIS. Staff are not permitted to sign documents on behalf of the panel member.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ASSIST THE CLIENT

Iftheclientseemstohaveameritoriouscase,butyoucannotassistthatclientbecauseoftime pressures,conflictorotherreasons,pleasereferthecallerbacktoLRISforanotherreferral. However,iftheclientdoesnothaveameritoriouscase,pleaseinformtheclientofthereasonsyoudo notthinkthecasehaslegalmerit. ItisalsohelpfultoinformLRISstaffofthesereasonstoassistour futurescreening. Pleaseavoidsimplytellingtheclientthatyouare“toobusytoacceptcases”orthat thisis“notthetypeofcaseIaccept,”asthisisdetrimentaltothecredibilityofbothyourpracticeand ourservice.

Ifthelawyertowhomtheclienthasbeenreferredisunavailableforconsultation,anotherLRISpanel memberwithinthefirmmayconsult;otherwise,thecallershouldbereferredbacktoLRISfor additionalhelp

ReportsandFees

Referral Form

AreferralformisgeneratedatthetimetheclientcontactstheLRIS. Theformisemailedtoyou immediatelyafterthereferralhasbeenprocessed. Theformwillprovidetheclient’sname,address, contactnumberandabriefdescriptionofthelegalissue. Youmustreturntheformorupdatethe statusonline(retained,monitoring,consultationonly,nocontact)within10daysofthereferral.

Monthly Status Report

TheMonthlyStatusReportisautomaticallysentonthe15thofeachmonthandreflectsanycasesfor whichwehavenotreceivedastatusupdate(i.e.Pending)throughtheendofthepreviousmonth,and allcasespreviouslyreportedasOpenRetainedorOpenContinuetoMonitor.

Quarterly Referral Log

ThequarterlyreferralreportissentonFebruary1,May1,August1andNovember1. Panelmembers areaskedtocarefullyreviewthequarterlyreportandnoteiftherehasbeenachangeinstatusinany ofthereferralssentwithintheprior3months. Thisreportwillbedueback4weeksfromthedateof thereport. Thisreportwillhaveanabsoluteduedateincludedandwillbesubjecttothereporting requirementsofsections5.9and7.4oftheLRISPoliciesandProcedures.

Retained Case Report

ARetainedCaseReportissentonFebruary1,May1,August1,andNovember1andprovides informationaboutallreferralspriortothepreviousquarterwhichwerepreviouslyreportedas retainedormonitoring. Itisourremindertoyoutosendinthepercentagefeeasyoureceiveclient’s payments,andtoletusknowofcasedevelopmentsaswellaswhencasesareclosed. Thisreportwill haveanabsoluteduedateincludedandwillbesubjecttothereportingrequirementsofsections5.9 and7.4oftheLRISPoliciesandProcedures.

Annual Referral Log

Similartothequarterlyreport,butspanningtheentirepreviousfiscalyear,theannual referralreportissentonSeptember1andcontainsallreferralsfromthepreviousfiscalyear (July-June). Panelmembersareaskedtocarefullyreviewforanychangesinstatus. This reportwillhaveanabsoluteduedateincludedandwillbesubjecttothereporting requirementsofsections5.9and7.4oftheLRISPoliciesandProcedures.

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

Forthepurposeofoperatingexpenses,LRISreceives15%ofanyfeeswhichtheattorney generates,lessthefirst$200.

Example: $1000attorneyfees-$200=$800x15%=$120dueLRIS

YoumaychoosetoenterfeesonlineatmyKBAProfileandgenerateaninvoiceifdesiredfor bookkeepingpurposes. Thesoftwarewillautomaticallydeductthefirst$200offeesentered whencalculating.

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

Youarerequiredtoprovidetheclientacontractforserviceswhenyouareretained. Ifyou makeaseparateagreementwithanotherattorneytoassistyouinacase,youarestillbound bythefull15%feeagreement.

Failure to Comply with Reporting Deadlines – Next Steps

Asnotedabove,reportswithdeadlineswillbesubjecttothereportingrequirementsof sections5.9and7.4oftheLRISPoliciesandProcedures. Shouldanattorneynotreturna requestedreportbythedeadlinedate,theprocedureisasfollows:

• TheattorneywillbemailedaletterfromtheKBAExecutiveDirectornotifyingthe attorneyofthemissedduedate,thesuspensionfromreferralsifapplicable,and notificationthatreportsandfeesareduebackfourweeksfromthedateofletter.

• Shouldresponsestillnotbereceived,theattorneywillbemailedaletterfromoneoftheLRIS CommitteeCo-Chairswithaninvoiceforthe$300delinquencyassessmentassetforthin Section7.4oftheLRISPoliciesandProceduresandnoticethatallreportsaredueandallfees aresubjecttotheinterestasnotedinthePoliciesandProcedures,section5.9.

• Shouldtheattorneynotrespondbythedatedue,thematterwillbereferredtotheLRIS CommitteetomakearecommendationtotheBoardofGovernorsforfurtheraction.

PotentialLRISsanctions

LRISstaffareempoweredtosuspendanyattorneypanelmemberforgoodcauseincludingbutnot limitedto:

• Delinquent/incompletereports;

• Expiredproofofinsurance;

• FailuretopayafeedueLRIS;

• Consistentunavailabilitytoreferralclients;and

• Repeatedfeedisputeswithreferralclientsorconsistentorexcessivecomplaintsfromreferral clients.

TheLawyerReferral&InformationServiceCommitteemaydisqualifyalawyerfromthepanelfor unprofessionalconduct. Disqualificationshallbeaccomplishedbytheaffirmativevoteofthe majorityoftheLRISCommittee. Anylawyerwhohasbeendisqualifiedmayhavereviewofsuch actionbytheExecutiveCommitteeoftheKnoxvilleBarAssociationuponmakingwrittenrequest within30daysofthedateofdisqualification.

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

Anattorneywhofailstoremitfeesorrequiredreportswillbecontactedbydemandletter. Failure torespondwithin30dayswillresultinanadministrativeassessmentand/orfeeasoutlinedin Rule5.9andrule7.4oftheLRISPoliciesandProcedures.

Client Feedback

WecontactLRISclientstofollowuponhowourservicehasworkedforthem. Thisenablesusto monitorcasestatus,clientsatisfaction,andclientfeespaidtodate. Wedocumentandcrossreferenceinformationgainedinthesurveys,whichhaveassistedLRISinreconcilingoccasional discrepanciesinclientreportingcomparedtoattorneyreportingduetosimpleoversights.

Ifyoueverhavequestionsconcerningwhetheraclientwasreferredtoyou,orwhatyouhavepaid inthepasttowardsanLRIScase,pleasegiveusacallatanytime.

Client Complaints

IftheLRISreceivesaclientcomplaintthrougheitherresponsetoclientsurvey,phonecallor letter,theLRISAdministratorwillfirstattempttodeterminewhethertheLRISreferredclient retainedtheLRISpanelmembertowhomtheywerereferred.

ItisthegoaloftheLRIStosupportitspanelmembersintheirpracticewhilealsoensuringthatthe LRISisprovidingaqualitypublicservice. Inthislight,wedonotseektobecomeinvolvedinthe attorney-clientrelationship,butratherholdtothegoalofensuringweprovideconsistentand qualityreferralsandthatpanelmembersareawareofandadheretothePoliciesandProcedures oftheService.

Shouldtheclient’sconcernsbeseriousandpersistent,theLRISAdministratorwillsendtheclient aletterexplainingtheformalLRIScomplaintprocess. Onceformalcomplaintisreceived,theLRIS staffwillsendacknowledgmentlettertotheclientandforwardacopyofthecomplainttotheLRIS panelattorneyforresponse.

Whenreceived,theattorney’sresponsewillbereviewedalongwiththeoriginalclientcomplaint bytheLRIScommitteeco-chair(s). Thechair(s)maydecidetoinvolveotherLRIScommittee membersindiscussionandmayfollowupasindividualsorabodywithanyadditionalquestions.

TheLRIScommitteeco-chairsandmemberswillbasedecisionsbasedontheLRISPoliciesand Procedures,commonsense,experience,andtheBy-Laws,rulesandregulationsoftheKnoxville BarAssociationandtheRulesoftheTennesseeSupremeCourt,includingtheRulesofProfessional Conduct.

TheLRISco-chair(s)willinformtheLRISAdministratorandKBAExecutiveDirectoroftheir decisionandrecommendationrelativetothecomplaint,whichshouldbebasedonSectionsVIII,XI andXoftheLRISPoliciesandProcedures.

Your Availability

WhenyouareactiveinLRISrotation,weexpectthatyouaregenerallyavailablefornewclients. Ifyou expecttobeoutoftheofficeduetotrialorforvacation,youareaskedtonotifytheLRISoffice.

Referralswillbetemporarilysuspendedforthedaterangeyourequestoruntilyounotifyusofyour return. Bydoingso,youdonotloseyourplaceinthereferralrotation.

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

WhenyoujoinLRIS,yourpracticebenefitsfromLRISmarketingprograms,includingcommunity eventsandpublications,socialmedia,andpublicserviceannouncements. Worth-of-mouthand attorneyreferralsareourmosteffectiveformofadvertising. Wewanttoprovideappropriateand profitablereferrals;ifyouarebeingreferredcasesoutsideofyourselectedpanels/practicearea,please letusknow. ThegoaloftheLRISisfirstandforemosttoserveourmemberstothebestofourability.

ProfessionalChanges

When Life Happens

Weunderstandthatsomechangesareinevitable;however,LRISmembersdohaveanobligationto keepusinformedshouldyouchangefirms,leavetoestablishyourownpractice,moveaway,orleave thepracticeoflaw.

• NotifyLRISofyourplansincludingtheeffectivedateofthechangeandwhetheryouplanto continueLRISmembership.

• IfyouplantowithdrawfromLRIS,wewillprovideyouwithadetailedlistofallclientreferrals andaLRISMembershipClosurepacket,whichwillincludeachecklistofitemstocompletethe deactivationofLRISmembership.

• AClientTransferForm(includedinthepacket)shouldbecompletedforeachactivecasethatis tobegiventoanotherattorney.

• AllcasesinPendingstatusshouldbeupdatedwithin10daysofreceiptoftheclosurepacket.

• Ifyouarenottransferringyourcases,regularRetainedCasereportswillcontinuetobesentto you,aswellasfinalQuarterlyandAnnualReportLogs. Youmayalsocontinuetoprovideonline updatesthroughyourmyKBAprofile.

PleasereviewtheLRISPolicies&ProceduresDocument,Sections5and7,formoreinformation regardingtheobligationtoforwardfeesandprovidetimelyreports.

We’ll call when we have questions, and ask that you please do the same

Letusknowaboutabsencesdueto trial,vacationandillness. Wewill temporarilysuspendyourreferrals untilasetdate,orwhenyounotifyus ofyourreturn. Pleaseletyourstaff knowtocallusanytimewith questionsregardingtheService.

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

WhatElse?

Make sure we know how to contact you

Weaskthatyounotifyusinwritingabout anychangestoyourcontactinformation, includingaddress,phonenumber,email addressorstaffcontactpersonnel.

Changes in your selected panels

Youmaymakechangestothepanels youselectedonyourapplicationat anytimeduringthefiscalyear. Pleasesubmityourrequesttothe LRISofficeinwriting.

LRIS: Your Other Front Office Person

TheLawyerReferralServiceoftheKnoxvilleBarAssociationhastheuniqueopportunitytohelp elevatetheprofessionoflawbyprovidingafriendly,professionalstafftoassistthepublicinfindingthe rightkindofattorneyfortheirneeds.

• MembershipinLRISprovidesyouwithonemoreopportunitytopresentaprofessionalimageto potentialclients.

• AsapartoftheKnoxvilleBarAssociation,wearealignedwithitsmissiontooffertangiblebenefits tohelpyouexcelinyourpracticeandfurtheryourprofession.

Contact Us

P.O.Box2027

Knoxville,TN 37901-2027

Phone:(865)522-7501 Email:tchain@knoxbar.org Web:www.knoxbar.org