MILWAUKEE BAR ASSOCIATION'S
LAWYER REFERRAL SERVICE
OPERATIONS MANUAL
Topic / PageINTRODUCTION / 3-5
- Employee Expectations
- Disciplinary Actions
- Phone System
- Incoming Calls
- Referrals
- Other Caller Issues
- LRS Case Types
- LRS Frequently Asked Questions
- Online Referral Requests
- Overnight Calls
- Inmate Letters
- Weekly Active Roster Confirmation
- Attorney Status
- Monthly Client Surveys
- Quarterly LRIS Report
- Attorney Monthly Reports
- Processing Returned Monthly Statements
- Guide Updates
- Mailings
- LRS Committee
- WCBA Partnership
- Modest Means Panel, Pro Bono Hospice Program
- Experience Panels
- Lawyer Hotline, Law Day
- Internship Forms/Waiver
Operations Manual Introduction
This Operations Manual is intended to serve three main purposes. First, the information in this manual is intended to serve as a comprehensive introduction to the LRS for new employees and those interested in how the LRS operates. Secondly, this manual should serve as a periodic refresher for current employees of the LRS. Lastly, this packet exists to clarify the exact role of the Lawyer Referral and Information Service within the Milwaukee Bar Association. Outlined herein are the needs, goals, and responsibilities of the LRS as a department. This information will serve as a framework for the operation of the LRIS, and to establish the parameters under which the department will act with the advisement of the LRS committee.
A Welcome to New Employees
If you have just joined the LRS, welcome to the department! As we are a department of the MBA, from time to time you will find yourself doing side projects or mailings for the Bar Association, as well as filling in for lunch breaks at the front desk, or (very rarely) attending events. However, the majority of your time will be spent on the LRS phone system and on related LRS clerical work.
In short, the Lawyer Referral Service is a division of the Milwaukee Bar Association. We are a non-profit organization, as well as a public service. During business hours ( Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.) LRIS employees take calls from people who are seeking legal assistance. It is our job to decipher exactly what the problem is that the caller has, and to refer them to an appropriate LRS panel attorney or community service organization.
Logic, patience, and creativity are the three things most helpful for an LRS employee. Often you will be faced with situations unlike any described in this manual, and unlike anything you have ever heard before. However, a skilled LRS interviewer will be able to use the resources available to find the proper resource for any problem. Most LRS employees find working here to be legitimately fun and rewarding, and I hope you will as well.
Good luck!
The Milwaukee Bar Association- an Equal Opportunity Employer
Consistent with federal and state law, the Milwaukee Bar Association states its commitment to the concepts of affirmative action and equal opportunity. Neither employment nor programs and activities should be hindered by such prohibited bias factors as race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability. Prohibited bias factors will not be permitted to have an adverse influence upon decisions regarding students, employees, or applicants for employment. The Milwaukee Bar Association will continue in its efforts to maintain an institutional environment free of such bias and restates its policy prohibiting the interference of such bias factors in institutional processes.
I am sure you have been introduced to some of the staff here at the MBA. For future reference, here are their phone extensions and e-mail addresses.
Britt Wegner- LRS Director
414-276-5931
Jim Temmer- MBA Executive Director
414-276-5934
Katy Borowski- Director of Projects
414-276-5933
Yvonne Wittlieff- Office Manager
414-276-5930
Sabrina Nunley- CLE Program Director
414-276-5932
Dorothy Protz- Accountant
414-276-5935
Employee Expectations
A degree of professionalism is expected from all employees of the LRS. Unprofessional attitudes and behaviors reflect poorly on our service and the MBA in general to our member attorneys and to the public. LRS employees should keep in mind:
- The Milwaukee Bar Association has an implied dress code. Mondays through Thursdays, all employees are to take a professional approach to their manner and attire. Business casual is required. Fridays are casual day but appropriate dress is still expected.
- Employees are expected to work during the times that they are scheduled. If something comes up, contact the LRS Director.
- Report hours worked HONESTLY. If you will be working more or less hours than your schedule dictates, it must be cleared with the director. Discrepancies between hours worked and hours reported on time sheets will NOT be taken lightly.
- Employees are expected to be courteous on the phone. If you are bothered by a particularly frustrating caller, place your phone on DND and take a minute to collect yourself, or transfer the call to another LRS interviewer. Yelling at or mocking a caller is never acceptable. When one is no longer able to deal with difficult callers, transfer the call to another interviewer.
- Employees are expected to be courteous to each other. Any problems should be reported to the LRS Director.
- Failure to adhere to these expectations will result in disciplinary actions.
Disciplinary Actions
Disciplinary actions are up to the discretion of the LRS Director and MBA Executive Director. Generally, offenses requiring disciplinary actions will be handled on a case-by-case basis, usually starting with a verbal warning. More serious offenses or habitual offenses may result in written warnings and/or termination.
Keel-hauling will be reserved for only the most heinous of offenses.
Phone System
Before making any referrals, you must be familiar with the LRS phone system. Your desk should be equipped with a NEC system phone and a headset.
The first thing you must do is log in. When our office is closed, LRS callers are given a pre-recorded message stating that we are closed, and are transferred to the LRS Director's voicemail. At 8:30 AM, you must make sure that you are logged in. You can tell when you are logged in because it will say so on your screen and there will be an arrow pointing down. If your name appears with an arrow pointing down at 8:30, that means you are logged out.
You must log in to the LRS phone system to take calls. To log in, press “log” then the number eleven (11). Your phone will now say “login,” and you will now be able to receive LRS calls. In order to log off, press “log” then hit the number one (1).
When you receive an LRS call, the phone will ring and the light in the upper right corner will flash red. When you receive a call directly to your phone, there will be a shorter ring sequence. You can pick up a call with the regular receiver, or with the headset. To use the headset, don't touch the receiver; just press the 'Headset' button on the top row of your phone. The same button hangs up the headset.
Lastly, you can transfer calls by pressing 'Transfer' and the four digit extension you wish to transfer to within the office (the last 4 digits of our 276 numbers). Another way to transfer calls is by pressing Park Set and a digit. Anyone can pick this call up by pressing Park Retrieve and that same digit.
Incoming Calls
Taking incoming phone calls is what an LRS employee does the most. When we get phone calls can be unpredictable, but we do have regular busy and slow times in the week:
- Monday is our busiest day of the week—many people have problems arise over the weekend, so they will all call on Monday
- Mornings are usually quite busy
- Over lunch (11:00 AM-1:00 PM) is our busiest time frame—it is also our most successful time, as the majority of the callers at this time are employed.
- Afternoons are usually very quiet in the LRS, except for 4:30-5:00, when some get out of work.
When taking an incoming call, there are a few things to remember.
- Sometimes, the caller isn't even looking for a referral. We regularly have callers that simply want us to look up a number for them. Be accommodating.
- Always be courteous. Even if someone sounds irrational, they could still have a good case. Also, even if someone has no case, that doesn't mean they won't have one some time in the future, and we want to make sure they call us again.
- Patience and understanding are key. Many of the cases we hear about are quite personal, and callers sometimes get emotional. Be supportive and try to keep the caller calm.
- DON'T GIVE LEGAL ADVICE. Unless you are an attorney, don't practice law over the phone. Both you and the Milwaukee Bar Association could be sued for practicing law without a license. Legal information is factual, where as legal advice is an opinion or recommendations as a guide to action or conduct.
- Within reason, we are NOT allowed to judge the merit of a case. Just because you think someone has a bad case doesn't mean you shouldn't refer them to an attorney. However, if they are calling because they want to sue their neighbor's dog because it won't stop telling them to burn things, there are probably more appropriate resources available.
- Try to get to the root of the problem. Callers often declare what they need at the beginning of the call. However, almost half of the time they are looking for the wrong thing. This is why you need to keep asking questions, and ultimately find out what is at the root of their problem.
Referrals
So, you've taken the call, interviewed the caller, and now it's time to give them what they're looking for—a referral.
The Money Issue- We at the LRS has to keep a balance between the two big factors when it comes to money:
- We are a public service. We are not in the business of turning people away because they are broke. There is almost always SOMEONE they can call that will at least offer them some guidance. Use your head, and when necessary, be creative.
- We are a service formed by attorneys, for attorneys. While it's true that some cases we refer do end up being taken on contingency, it's not THAT many. Make sure the caller is clear on paying private attorney fees, unless it is a personal injury of any sort, malpractice or worker’s comp. Sometimes people misinterpret what we tell them on the phone, and the last thing we want an attorney to hear is “The LRS said you would take my case for free.” We have had attorneys quit the LRS for things like this.
Also, you CAN NOT ask questions like, “How much money do you make?” Instead, ask, “You were looking to HIRE an attorney?”, or “Are you able to pay private attorney fees?”
Attorney Referrals- So, you've decided that the caller needs an attorney. This brings us to The Associate, the software we use for generating referrals.
Under the 'Referral' tab of the main Associate menu, you will find the 'Referral Maintenance' section, where referrals are generated. Fill in the client's name and address. Pressing tab will move you from box to box. Notice that when you move from address to city/state/zip, zip code is selected first. This is because Associate can determine city and state of most Wisconsin zip codes by itself. Note the ‘Dear:’ box after the first name. This is how the client’s name will appear on a client survey. Obtaining the ‘Client E-mail’ is important, however, not necessary. We follow up with callers through e-mail to verify the information provided by our attorneys regarding case status.
After you enter a last name, you will notice that the gray box below this information will now be filled by a section called 'Previous Referrals.'
Always check to see if we already have a caller’s information
If the individual has called already, click twice on a previous record and contact information will be displayed. Be sure to verify that the situation you are speaking to the caller about matches the record you select. By following this process you will save time in getting the callers contact information and in selecting the appropriate case types.
Following this process can also reveal warnings about the person you are speaking to. Take these notes seriously; do not refer individuals who are abusing the referral service or who have caused problems in the past.
Also, ask how they heard about our service, using the 'source' drop-down box.
Now it comes time to select the case type. Make sure Referral Type is set to ‘Attorneys.’
In the box next to 'Type:', find the appropriate case type in the drop-down menu, or just type in the letter code that corresponds with the case type. In the example above we are referring someone as a Personal Injury Plaintiff or PIP.
A complete listing of the case types and their codes follows this section.
You can also search based on the languages an attorney speaks,as well as the states in which the attorney can practice. Be warned, however, there are few multi-lingual and multi-licensedattorneys on our panel.
This is also where you can select a geographic location for our attorneys (i.e. Brookfield, Downtown, and Menomonee Falls).
Once you have selected all of the search criteria, hit. This will generate a list of all the attorneys within the scope of your criteria, in reverse order of when they were last referred.
The 'Previous Referrals' box will now turn into a box called 'Referral Choices,' with all pertinent attorneys listed. Try to refer the first attorney on the list to the caller. Tell them the name and phone number, and if requested, the address. If asked for their credentials, simply tell them that they are in good standing with the Wisconsin and Milwaukee Bar Associations, and are up to date with their liability insurance.
Along the bottom of the Referral screen is a row of buttons. Once an attorney is selected, the 'Additional Individual' button allows you to select multiple attorneys for referral purposes. However, it is recommended that you use this option sparingly. If we give everyone two or three referrals, the attorney(s) that the clients do not pick still move to the bottom of the rotation. To keep things fair, try to limit most people to one referral at a time. If someone has a problem with this, simply tell them “if for any reason it doesn't work out with this attorney, feel free to give us a call back and we can refer you to someone else.”
The leftmost button, ‘Add new record,’works the same as pressing enter when selecting an attorney from the ‘Referral Choices’ box, as well as clearing the information when the referral is complete.
The 'Clear Form' button on the left right side of the screen will clear any entered information before a referral is given, including callers contact information – be careful.
Lastly is the 'Close' button. When exiting the Associate Program you must press this close button first, then “Exit Software” on the main Associate page.
Once you have mastered these steps, you know all there is to know about the Associate's Referral system.
Referring Callers to a Community Resource
For many situations, a community resource is the most appropriate referral. You should become very familiar with the “Community Referral Resources” list (a copy is attached to this paperwork), as you will refer to it regularly.
You do not have to get contact information when referring callers to a LRS Community Resource.
Areas of focus for organizations are separated into the following categories:
BusinessIntellectual Property
ConsumerLow Income Legal Services
CriminalLow Income- SOCIAL SECURITY
EmploymentLL/Tenant
FamilyMediation
Healthcare/Elder LawOther
Referral Services
Notice how the categories in Associate correspond with the categories of the community resource list.
(COMMUNITY RESOURCE LIST)
Other Caller Issues
Occasionally, you will receive a call that doesn't fall into the category of 'needing a referral.' Here are the basic arch-types of 'other' calls:
- Collect calls- On many occasions, usually from prisoners, we receive collect call requests. The Milwaukee Bar Association does not accept collect calls.
- Relay calls- Every so often, the LRS will receive calls from someone using a relay call service. If you have never taken a relay call, the relay operator can give you directions when you receive these type of calls. Always remember, be patient and courteous. These calls can take some time, and the means of communication may be frustrating, but these callers are hearing impaired and need legal assistance.
- Directory/forgetful callers- Sometimes, callers just need a phone number to go along with a name they already have. You can look up in-state attorneys at the Wisconsin Bar website ( using the 'Lawyer Directory' in the upper-right corner. Many callers will have incomplete information, so use the city, county, or organization (law firm) to limit your results.
- Callers asking for your name- Many times, callers will ask for your name. Usually, saying 'This is the Lawyer Referral Service of the Milwaukee Bar Association' is enough for people, but sometimes they will want your name. Usually this is just for comfort's sake, as it tends to put callers more at ease. However, never feel obligated to give out your name. Also, except for attorneys, do not give out the MBA address over the phone. If there are any problems, refer to the LRS Director.
- Angry callers- However nice you may be on the phone, there is always the occasional caller who just wants to pick a fight. These callers can be frustrating, but do try to be understanding, as they are probably acting like they are because they are stuck in a difficult situation. Try your best to diffuse the situation, but do not fight with callers. If they will not relent, it is better to say “I am very sorry, but I will not be able to help you any further. Goodbye.” and hang up, then it would be to egg them on. Refer any problems to the LRS Director.
- Privacy aficionados- These callers generally fall into two categories, identifiable by their distinctive battle cries:
- “Are you an attorney? (no...) I only want to talk to an attorney!” Some callers don't want to explain anything to you, they would 'rather just explain it to the attorney.' Try to get them to realize that everything they say is confidential, and the only information we record about them is the generic case type. Also, we need a brief summary of the legal situation they are in, so that we can refer them to exactly the right type of attorney.
- “I'm not going to give you my address!” Many people think that we are going to sell their name and address if they give it to us, as some companies do. Inform them that it will only be kept in our private files for tracking purposes and for the attorney that we refer them to. All information is confidential, and only the small handful of people in the office would ever have access to it. If clients ever seem hesitant to give us their address, be sure to click 'exclude' when referring them, because sending them a client survey will probably make them angry.
- Attorneys- The attorneys on our LRS panel call us quite frequently. Remember, they are why we are here. They are the ones who are paying for us to be here, and we must do everything possible to appease LRS attorneys. Their calls usually fit into the following categories:
- Monthly Report questions- Attorneys seem to frequently be unclear about filling out a monthly report, remitting fees, or where they are to mail the report(of course, give THEM our address or fax number...). Be as helpful as possible, but if you do not know the answer, refer them to the LRS director.
- Sub-letting referrals- One of the most common questions for attorneys to have is “where do I send referred callers that I can't help?” Usually they want to know if they can refer these callers to someone in their office that handles those types of cases. The LRS Committee has determined that sending LRS referrals to someone else in-house is acceptable if reported to the LRS, but the initial attorney would be responsible for tracking any fees generated from the case. If this is not an option, they MUST refer the case back to LRS.
- New attorneys- From time to time, attorneys will call us because they are interested in joining our service. We can fax, e-mail, or postal mail these applications to attorneys. Fee amounts are different if the attorney is a member of the Milwaukee Bar Association ($150 Non-Member/$100 Member), so ask the director if you are unsure.
- “I haven't had any referral calls lately...”- This is the hardest call to take from attorneys, because we can't do much about it. Basically, if someone is lacking in referrals, it comes from either location or practice area. Attorneys that have an office in some of the more distant suburbs can go long stretches of time without receiving referrals, and it's simply because not many people call from those areas. Many attorneys also only practice in a limited area of law, and we might not get many callers for those areas. Always refer these calls to the LRS Director.
LRS CASE TYPES