Hiring Lawyer Referral Service Coordinator in Louisville

### About the Louisville Bar Association
Founded in 1872, the Louisville Bar Association (LBA) is the leading professional organization for attorneys in the Louisville, Kentucky metro area, representing more than 3,000 legal professionals across all practice areas. For over 70 years, the LBA has operated the Kentucky Lawyer Referral Service (KLRS), a public-facing program that connects thousands of Kentucky residents each year with qualified, vetted attorneys for legal matters ranging from family law and criminal defense to real estate, employment, and estate planning. The KLRS is a cornerstone of the LBA’s mission to improve access to justice for all community members, regardless of income or background.

### Role Overview
We are recruiting a full-time Lawyer Referral Service Coordinator to join our 4-person KLRS team, based at the LBA’s downtown Louisville headquarters. This hybrid role requires 3 days of on-site work per week, with 2 remote workdays, and standard business hours (8am–5pm, Monday–Friday) with occasional optional overtime to cover urgent after-hours requests (compensated with time off in lieu). The ideal candidate is organized, empathetic, and familiar with legal administrative processes, with a commitment to helping members of the public navigate complex legal systems.

### Key Responsibilities
1. Manage end-to-end referral workflows: Receive and qualify incoming requests from individuals and businesses via phone, email, and online form, identifying the relevant legal practice area, urgency level, geographic constraints, and budget requirements for each requester. Match requesters with eligible, available LBA member attorneys within 24 business hours for 95% of all inquiries, and provide requesters with clear next steps and attorney contact information.
2. Maintain the KLRS attorney database: Onboard new eligible attorneys to the referral service, update their practice area specializations, availability, service areas, and fee structures on a weekly basis, and remove attorneys who no longer meet eligibility requirements (e.g., lapsed bar membership, client complaint history) to ensure 100% accuracy of referral data.
3. Conduct post-referral follow-ups: Contact requesters 2 weeks after their attorney match to collect satisfaction feedback, compile monthly satisfaction reports for the LBA board of directors, and identify underrepresented practice areas to recruit new specialized attorneys, with a target 80% response rate for follow-up surveys.
4. Provide public legal resource support: Answer general questions from Kentucky residents about their legal rights, direct requesters to free LBA resources (legal guides, pro bono clinic schedules, self-help centers) when their needs do not require paid attorney referral, and host 2 public information sessions per quarter on common legal topics (e.g., tenant rights, small business compliance).
5. Support service promotion and growth: Collaborate with the LBA communications team to update the KLRS web page, draft social media and newsletter content to promote the service to the public, and represent the KLRS at 4 community and professional events per year, with a target 10% annual increase in referral requests.
6. Manage administrative and financial operations: Process attorney reimbursement requests for referral fees, prepare monthly activity reports for the LBA board, manage the KLRS annual operating budget of $120,000, and ensure all service operations comply with Kentucky Bar Association ethical rules and LBA policies.
7. Train new KLRS attorneys: Onboard new attorneys joining the referral service with a 1-hour training session covering eligibility requirements, referral procedures, and tool usage, and conduct a 3-month probationary check-in to ensure compliance with service standards.
8. Resolve stakeholder complaints: Address concerns from requesters and attorneys regarding mismatched referrals, delayed responses, or billing issues, and resolve 90% of complaints within 5 business days in line with LBA grievance procedures.

### Work Environment & Culture
The LBA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the legal profession and expanding access to justice in the Louisville community. Our team culture is collaborative and low-pressure, with a focus on work-life balance: we offer flexible scheduling for personal appointments, unlimited paid time off after 1 year of tenure, and a hybrid work model that eliminates daily commutes for 2 days per week. Our downtown office is located near major public transit routes, with free on-site parking for employees, and shared workspaces and private meeting rooms for focused work. We prioritize professional development, covering 100% of costs for job-related training, conferences, and continuing legal education (CLE) courses for all staff.

### Candidate Requirements
- 2+ years of professional experience in an administrative, customer service, or legal support role (e.g., legal secretary, paralegal, legal aid intake coordinator, customer service manager)
- Familiarity with Kentucky Bar Association ethical rules, or willingness to complete a 2-hour onboarding training on these rules within the first month of employment
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook), Google Workspace, and experience with customer relationship management (CRM) tools (preferably Salesforce) or legal case management software (e.g., Clio, MyCase)
- Excellent written and verbal English communication skills, with the ability to interact professionally with diverse audiences including low-income community members, experienced attorneys, and LBA board members
- Ability to manage 20+ concurrent referral requests, meet strict deadlines, and demonstrate empathy and professionalism when interacting with requesters who are often experiencing high stress related to legal issues
- Valid U.S. driver’s license for occasional travel to community events across the Louisville metro area
- Eligibility to work in the United States (the LBA is unable to sponsor work visas for this role)

### Technical Skills & Tools
You will use the following tools daily in this role:
- Salesforce CRM for tracking referral requests and attorney data
- Microsoft Excel for budget tracking and performance reporting
- Google Workspace for team collaboration and public communication
- LBA’s custom referral management platform for matching requesters with attorneys
- Calendly for scheduling training sessions and public events

### Compensation & Benefits
The annual base salary for this role ranges from $48,000 to $58,000, depending on your relevant experience and skills, with a guaranteed minimum 3% annual performance-based raise. Benefits include:
- 80% employer-paid health insurance premiums for you and your dependents
- 401(k) retirement plan with 4% employer matching contributions
- 20 days of paid vacation per year, plus 10 paid sick days and 12 paid company holidays
- Hybrid work schedule with 2 remote days per week
- $2,000 annual professional development stipend for training, conferences, or CLE courses
- Free access to all LBA member events and continuing legal education programs

### Career Growth Opportunities
This role offers clear pathways for advancement within the LBA: high-performing coordinators may be promoted to KLRS Manager, Director of Access to Justice Programs, or Operations Manager for the LBA after 2 years of tenure. The LBA also offers internal mobility opportunities across all departments (communications, attorney training, advocacy) for employees seeking to expand their skill sets. We support employees pursuing advanced degrees in legal studies or nonprofit administration with flexible scheduling and partial tuition reimbursement for job-relevant programs.

### Hiring Process & Next Steps
Interested candidates must submit their resume and a 1-page cover letter explaining their interest in the role and relevant experience to [email protected], with the subject line “Application for Lawyer Referral Service Coordinator – [Your Full Name]”. The application deadline is September 30, 2024.
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for a 15-minute phone screening during the week of October 7, 2024. Candidates who pass the screening will be invited to a 45-minute virtual or in-person interview with the KLRS Manager and LBA HR Director, followed by a 30-minute practical assessment where you will process a mock referral request. Final hiring decisions will be shared with all candidates by October 18, 2024, and the preferred start date is November 1, 2024.
For questions about the role or application process, contact the LBA HR team at [email protected] or (502) 555-1234.