June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral & Information Service (LRIS)

part of a pyoud nationaL bay association tyadition.!

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

It alJ started in the '605 with the American Bar Association 5 idea ...

~~to rehabilitate the image of the Jegal profession. "

In an age of no attorney advertising or internet, the idea was to direct people to an attorney appropriate to their needs, and to minimize the cost of the initial consultation, in an effort to facilitate access to legal services - and help attorneys build clientele.

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

In 1972, the Maine Lawyer Referral & Infonnation Service

became the 12th bar association lawyer referral service in the nation.

Now the Maine LRIS is one of the United States':

~ 266 Bar association referral services ~ 73 ABA-approved referral services

~ 3 ABA-approved services that are the single service for an entire state

/8\ MEETS ABA STANDARDS FOR L AWYER REFERRAL '----------'

AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

Lawver Referral &

Information Service

June 25, 2009 ." ..... ~ .. ""!

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Pro-Practice, NOT Pro-Bono The Necessary Evolution of LRIS:

From quasi-pIo-bono to "The Business of Public Service"

~ First pivotal change - Spin-ofT of Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP)

~Terrain change - From nothing, to yellow pages, to ads, to the internet

~ Image change - ABA approval introduces standards and quality expectations

~ Mission change - Shifting "public service" and "business" in the LRIS partnership

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

LRIS Membership Standards

~ In good standing with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar

~ Minimum of 24 months of active practice

~ Minimum of $100K of professional liability insurance

~ Experience in chosen panels

June 25, 2009

~ Additional criteria for Experience Panels:

y ADR

y Employment

y Family

y MedMal

y Civil Rights

y SSDI

Lawyer Referral & Information

Serv:ice

LRIS Member Agreements Re: Referred Callers

~ Return call or set up appointment within three business days of contact

~ Member attorney personally conducts initial consultation

~ No charge for the first half-hour of consultation ~ Charge LRIS callers normal rates after initial

half-hour ~Can't help? Refer callers back to LRIS!

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

LRIS Member Agreements Re: Reporting and Remitting

y Report on disposition of every call referred y Let LRIS staff know how referral was

misdirected, if applicable y Respond to all LRIS Report Requirements y Remit percentage payments as fee payments

are received or drawn y LRIS cases remain subject to LRIS agreements,

no matter what happens y Members must inform LRIS office of moves,

transfers, etc.

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

June 25, 2009

Discipline & Feedback

Y Delinquencies

Y Client Surveys

Y Incidental Notes

Y Follow-up

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

June 25, 2009

How We Make Referrals

~Intake

~ Data search ~ What we tell every caller ~ What we send every caller ~ What we send your attorney ~ Special circumstances

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

Mechanics .. . from the LRIS Side

MAKING IT SIMPLE & KEEPING IT CLEAR

y Fax AND mail of Confirm page (or any form) is not necessary. Y A cover letter is not necessary with Confirm page. Y Insurance declarations pages are IMPORTANT. Y Remittals - We never see the check, so make sure to identify

that the money is for LRIS. Y Feel free to add any explanations to reports: THE MORE

INFO, THE BETTER. Y Please let us know about contact info changes ASAP: Address,

Phone, Fax, Email. Y If your attorney is not going to be available for three or more

days, please give us advance notice.

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

La\'\.1Tt RcfCJ'1'a i & Infol'l'n.aLinn S l2:r ~·it:e

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Please enter a I"e$ponse for each fe-ferral. Each referrOiI appears on every Quarterly Remittal until you indicate you have paid a fina l r9mittal.

Amour1t Foal Amount fll\~1

R ... f .. rr.1 Cst!.- To O<lW Ellctt?8ed payrl'\ .. nL'~

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EXAMPLE QUARTERLY RP&RR:

CRYPTIC DOESN'T WORK

~MONEY WAS SENT (SEE TOTAL ENCLOSED) BUT

THERE'S NO WAY TO TELL WHO THE MONEY IS FOR, OR

IF IT'S A FINAL PAYMENT.

~ONE CASE IS MARKED AS "DONE" BUT WE RECEIVED

NO MONEY AND NO EXPLANATION AS TO WHY NO MONEY WAS RECEIVED.

~ BLANK SPACES - WE DISLIKE THEM: THE MORE INFO, THE

BETTER.

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EXAMPLE BI-MONTHLY PSS REPORT:

~THIS ONE IS FILLED OUT THE WAY WE HOPE TO

RECEIVE IT.

Mechanics ... from the Member Side

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

l didn't sQ.y y"'u W!:f't c.ral~', Slr.

r sold va: ha ... e.",o attorneys 3jgn~d up w.th to fa.kt. PI coses ft;1" a/l&"\ cbtj·Jdiot\.

r can iitld fhe ""miler 70 NO, ... ;, ,,,,,

No, (~I~h) we 00 "Oi t'Y'CIkc. free ref~r-r(ll:!i, "Vr. chergl! $25. O'1d fne altorney will '10t 10 -chorg~ for t he f,rst i hDur of 0 consultation. After that, :stllooard f~ ttS apply.

Kallen's Note to Member Attorneys

LRIS referred caJJers have been told they can expect the following: y Guaranteed attorney call-back within 3 business days y Half-hour consultation with no charge from the attorney or firm y Referred back to LRIS if attorney or firm cannot take the matter - NEVER

refer the client to another law firm

Please help me maintain our good relatIonship with LRIS by also: y Letting me know as soon as possible whether you talk to potential client in

person or by phone Y If you take the matter, alerting me that the new client is an LRIS referral so I

can set up the required billing/payment procedures

Thank you for your help!

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

."''"'!'<><'~'!

Kallen's LRIS Tracking Spreadsheet Tool

L.i.I!)It") ~cl~rlll ~ IlIrtltTlla~lt~ :se"~i~ R41r.n-.I1 TI''!C'' I0!l9h •• t

Use Ihis <locumen! '" Inek ",te".,ls Ir()m LRIS

'Illhen re-J.'ti'IF~d :lISr.;U. ), ty fa:.!; enter the inforrnali:::w .n the 1st 4 :':':)It.m.''1 S or lhe T RAC.KI'JG s;l'"eet Net.; lh" Rosponse Cue Caee 011 the Referral Ml.aAt:.a W~i' rorthe attorrcy notQO on tt"!.:! Referr.sl. and KC(;J~Hhe on·~irsl ir t1t: LKIS PE.,dinS F::.lc'e: R In a cCllflir.t c .~eck in "CLa'''' and or:n: thF.' .~cpa,!

Se.ne a Sor.fu ~ Chcck c""T1ii I to AI I STArr nali.,g all the hf:: and pnr' l ~htll ~e'1t coPy G,,,,, :0"'/ ,f h" HQfI)""1 sh.e! ANt: THE 1\ HORNEY INf;TRUCT'ON SHEET In the auzrne'\' (cop", or jnstrt~::1 · ol) sh~ kl:!pt ;, tne LRIS f.'F.."H1i flG Fu[t;ijI: ana '3sveCi or. me.at T'-TMF Office-t.OI- H(;E ',La'N)'er R p.(p.·~t .& kforY"13ticr Se ''1i;;;.u\AiIo·nst In5trllC'tioo3 KaE-:' pr nro ... t Of ~lIa ;; , Conf oCt CnecK Rcco1, and R~fe(fill Shcc: in Orange LRIS ruld~r . , Pendin9 Cubby t.m:il ~i('lll get n~trudions to np~ ... mattfir ur ;tod ~ c- th~ MJltCfS Not T 3ken me. KG'JI9W :h~ Pend ing r oldt.·r on Go 'I(~ekl, or r~:Jrtf'Jly oas..s ,;:Jr ss-t L,P CUflOOk rerr indet s for eoc" (QtGrral) p .J II a~::Iropr.at-e sheers, and requp.st follcw up rnfotmali::mfromthe:atlornEyfer~nyreferralsd .. l:::-wiihin8.NP.-ek tn:e' '."pon ", ON Till HE.FERRAL FORM AND on !"E TR.o,(;KING SliEET usir-; the pull-:Jovm menL' H,,,,, It. a1lerne'\' Sign L'", compl"'~. 'emn'lll r~'fTI (or . ign3ture starr p i!l", It'e".., e"lo ~A.,~ to 2a7-ii?~-OO33 C'R m"il ta LR!S PO 80x 738, A)g,Jsta_ M[ O"332-07~r. SG/\N the competec fOIrJ: CJlong· ..... ith pT.(lr of ::Jeli ... ·!..!: )' (fax r~port or 00'0'&( 1~1~E'r) and ~;"1\'(; as.a PDF to T:\TMF Qf(jce·'DFFICF\L.<.1'''/9( R~fl:! l ral & rnfolWa~ron ServiCE IJnde' ti'\t:! Chenfs last ''''~ ,'ne . 'I~l r,,,,ne ,F THf MATT[R IS TAKEN HV I HE ATTORNEY NOTI/-" OFFICE MANAGCH t;y email .nilG3n be opencj a,d tmda:c: for pa)menf thresl'hohJ~ I:m~rk 1AIifh green nlGhhgh~ cr tm:! tr.:cklng sl)e~t;.

----- ------

No! Y6t Conl"c1ej Na Shooi.· to t\PFx'I!r'ltn1ent . Referre<l baok afle, ?tr~r'i) Consult Rldfc-rrCd IlXI<" .'1fter O:fice OJr~u l - ' Phone C:msult. . Nc Ch'e'noe Oftk:e Ccnsl.. 't - No chmge_ ~r"':ces UndE! ' $200 Tllr(lGhhOh1 Ms.y be retain2C for ·Scr\,j~.EJ..~ the- F~.:..t :H"e RETAI'lFO , _ ___ _ _ ~()N~ lIC I Mono- N,t Taken DEADOCAT MI SC - Pennf :il itan Codt; T.:.kenor Ccrtn er::------ ----'

LRIS FYI

Where do referrals come from? During May 1, 2008 - May 1, 2009, we identified 37 different sources of referrals.

The top four sources are: y Attorneys - 28% y Internet - 17% Y Legal Assistance Programs, combined - 14% y Courts - 7%

In-state vs Out-of-state sources: y 82% £i'om within Maine y 18% from out-of-state, including 42 states plus Canada y MA, NH, NY, FL, N], CA, PA, CT, NC all double digits

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service

QUESTIONS?

Thanle you!

June 25, 2009

Lawyer Referral &

Information Service