BARBRI MPRE M/C UPDATED ACTUAL
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
A full time judge lives in state A. Her father lives in a retirement home in State b. the judge's
father told her that several of his friends in the retirement home had emplyoed an attorney to
write will for them, and that in each will the attorney had incldued a bequest to himself. Each
bequest was approximately 50% of the estimated value of the persons probable estate. The
friends told the judge's father that they did not really want to give the attorney anything but they
had assumed it was merely a matter of routine, a part of the attorney's compensation for drafting
the will. The attorney is admitted to practice in State B but not in State A. The judge did not talk
personally with any of her fathers friends but she belives that her father is telling the truth.
Would it be proper for the judge to communicate directly with teh attorney about the matter and
if that does not satisfy her, to communicate with teh disc - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Yes,
because she has received infomration indicating a substantial likelihood that the attorney has
violated a legal ethics rule.
A yong lawyer three years out of law school had never set foot in a courtroom. The lawyer was
on the board for a non for profit for a preschool. One of the preschools teachers was charged
with felony child abuse for molesting three kids. AFter conducing its own investigation the board
of directors concldue that the criminal charge was unfoundedand the board resolved to provide
defense counsel for the teacher. The young lawyer volunteered to do the work without a fee. a
few days before the trial was to begin the lawyer became convinced that he was not competent to
serve as teh teachers counsel. He asked the judge to withdraw. AFter questionig the lawyer about
preparation for the trial the judge said that while he understoodf the lawyers anxiet, he believed
that the lawyer was competent to handle hte case. The judge denied the motion to withdraw but
postponed the trail for 7 days to allow him to complete preparation. - CORRECT ANSWER -
A. Yes, becuase he abandoned his client in direct violation of the trial judge's order. 1.16(c)
An attorney represented a defendent in a criminal trial. After the jury returned a guilty verdict,
the defendant was taken to jail and the jury was dishcarged. While walking to hisncar, the lawyer
spotted one of the courtroom spectators in the parking lot. The attorney recalled that the spectator
had been a member of the jury pool but he had exercised a preemptory challenge against her
because he instincitively felt that she would vote against the defendant. Despite not being
selected as a juror, the spectator developed an interest in the case and attedned the entire trial.
,In an attempt to determine whether his instincts during jury slection was correct, the attoreny
approached the spectator and asked wherhere she would have voted to convict the defendant.
The spectator said that she would rather not talk about it. When the attoreny explained that he
was looking for constructive feedback the spectator changed her m - CORRECT ANSWER -
A. Yes, because the spectator initally declined to speak with teh lawyer. 3.5(c)
A lawyer assigned his secretary to manage his client trust account. The lawyer gave the secretary
extensive, detailed instructions about the kind of records to keep, the kinds of funds that she must
deposit and the kinds of permissible withdraws that she could make. The lawyer had complete
faith in the secretaries abilities. Three years later during an audit, it was discovered that on 18
different occasions during that period the account balance fell below the amount that should have
been there. The lawyer was unawre of these occassions until he recieved a copy of the audit.
Is the lawyer subject to discipline? - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Yes, because he did not
adequately supervise the receptionist. MRPC 5.3
A potential client consulted an attoreyn hoping to hire her to represent him as a plaintitff in a
medical malpractice acction against his doctor. Wuithout mention the doctors name, the client
described the alleged acts of malpractice and said that tehy happened more than two years ago.
Only at this point did the potential client name the doctor. The attorney immediatley stopped the
potential client and said that she could not represent him because she wsa already repping the
doctr in an unrealted matter and she urged him to consult another lawyer. That was the end of the
conversation. The pootential client did nothing for 15 motnsh at whcih he consulted another
lawyer. By that time the SOL had run on the potential claim against the doctor. The protential
client sued the attroreny for legal malpractice alleging that the attoreny was nelgigent in not
warning him about the SOL.
Is the attorney subject to civil liabili - CORRECT ANSWER - A. No, because the attorney did
what a reasonably prudent lawyer would do in the circumstances -- decline to represent the
potential client and suggest that he consult another lawyer.
A client hired a lawyer to do the legal work in connection with a complex public securities
offering. The lawyer agreed to do the work for a set hourly fee. THe lawyer did a great deal of
legal research, prepared numerous memoranda of fact and law, and rafted most of the documents
need for the public offering. At that tpoint the client became angry with teh lawyer for not reason
and fired him. The client paid the lawyer at the agreed rate for teh work the lawyer had already
, done and demanded the lawyer turn over the papoers that the lawyer had prepared, including
legal and fact memoranda and the document drafts.
What papers must the lawyer turn over to the client? - CORRECT ANSWER - D. All of the
papers, even though the client fired the lawyer. MRPC 1.16(d) (Client is entitled to all paper
which were prepared for them)
A judge serves on a state trial court that has 9 other judges. Her husband is a life insurnace
salesman for a large life insurance company. The life insurnace company occassionally a litigant
in the court in which hte judge sits. EVery year the life insurance company runs a national sales
content inn which the person with the highest sales receives a valuable prize. The judge's
husband won this year and took the jduge on a trip to Europe all expenses paid. She did not make
a public report of the prize.
Was it proper for the jduge to allow her husband to accept the prize and take her on the trip? -
CORRECT ANSWER - A. Yes, because acceptanc eof the prize cannot reasonably be
perceived as undermining the judge's integrity or imparitiality.
A law student is applying for admission to the State Bar A. When the law student was in HS he
and his parents lived in state B. His neighbor was an attorney admitted to practice in State B but
not state A. The attorney knew that during the law students senior year in HS he was convicted
of burglarizing a liquor store. After severing his sentence the law student wnt to college and hten
law school. he attorney has not had ocntact with the student since HS and does not know whether
student has done anything bad since then. The bar of State A sent attoreny a routine questionaire
asking a series of questions about the students character. The attorney does not know whether the
law student disclosed the burglary conviction on their bar app and she does not know whetre to
contact him to find otu.
Which of the following would be a proper response to the questionnaire? - CORRECT
ANSWER - D. She should state what she knows about the law student, including mention of
his conviction.
An attorney received her law degree from a small local college of law and tech science. Last
summer she atteneded a three day trial practice seminar at Harvard Law. During her brief career
she has tried 5 cases two jury nad three becn , She won all jury trials and 2 of 3 bench trials. The
attorney placed an ad under the subject heading "Trial lawyers in classified pages in phone book.
Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
A full time judge lives in state A. Her father lives in a retirement home in State b. the judge's
father told her that several of his friends in the retirement home had emplyoed an attorney to
write will for them, and that in each will the attorney had incldued a bequest to himself. Each
bequest was approximately 50% of the estimated value of the persons probable estate. The
friends told the judge's father that they did not really want to give the attorney anything but they
had assumed it was merely a matter of routine, a part of the attorney's compensation for drafting
the will. The attorney is admitted to practice in State B but not in State A. The judge did not talk
personally with any of her fathers friends but she belives that her father is telling the truth.
Would it be proper for the judge to communicate directly with teh attorney about the matter and
if that does not satisfy her, to communicate with teh disc - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Yes,
because she has received infomration indicating a substantial likelihood that the attorney has
violated a legal ethics rule.
A yong lawyer three years out of law school had never set foot in a courtroom. The lawyer was
on the board for a non for profit for a preschool. One of the preschools teachers was charged
with felony child abuse for molesting three kids. AFter conducing its own investigation the board
of directors concldue that the criminal charge was unfoundedand the board resolved to provide
defense counsel for the teacher. The young lawyer volunteered to do the work without a fee. a
few days before the trial was to begin the lawyer became convinced that he was not competent to
serve as teh teachers counsel. He asked the judge to withdraw. AFter questionig the lawyer about
preparation for the trial the judge said that while he understoodf the lawyers anxiet, he believed
that the lawyer was competent to handle hte case. The judge denied the motion to withdraw but
postponed the trail for 7 days to allow him to complete preparation. - CORRECT ANSWER -
A. Yes, becuase he abandoned his client in direct violation of the trial judge's order. 1.16(c)
An attorney represented a defendent in a criminal trial. After the jury returned a guilty verdict,
the defendant was taken to jail and the jury was dishcarged. While walking to hisncar, the lawyer
spotted one of the courtroom spectators in the parking lot. The attorney recalled that the spectator
had been a member of the jury pool but he had exercised a preemptory challenge against her
because he instincitively felt that she would vote against the defendant. Despite not being
selected as a juror, the spectator developed an interest in the case and attedned the entire trial.
,In an attempt to determine whether his instincts during jury slection was correct, the attoreny
approached the spectator and asked wherhere she would have voted to convict the defendant.
The spectator said that she would rather not talk about it. When the attoreny explained that he
was looking for constructive feedback the spectator changed her m - CORRECT ANSWER -
A. Yes, because the spectator initally declined to speak with teh lawyer. 3.5(c)
A lawyer assigned his secretary to manage his client trust account. The lawyer gave the secretary
extensive, detailed instructions about the kind of records to keep, the kinds of funds that she must
deposit and the kinds of permissible withdraws that she could make. The lawyer had complete
faith in the secretaries abilities. Three years later during an audit, it was discovered that on 18
different occasions during that period the account balance fell below the amount that should have
been there. The lawyer was unawre of these occassions until he recieved a copy of the audit.
Is the lawyer subject to discipline? - CORRECT ANSWER - A. Yes, because he did not
adequately supervise the receptionist. MRPC 5.3
A potential client consulted an attoreyn hoping to hire her to represent him as a plaintitff in a
medical malpractice acction against his doctor. Wuithout mention the doctors name, the client
described the alleged acts of malpractice and said that tehy happened more than two years ago.
Only at this point did the potential client name the doctor. The attorney immediatley stopped the
potential client and said that she could not represent him because she wsa already repping the
doctr in an unrealted matter and she urged him to consult another lawyer. That was the end of the
conversation. The pootential client did nothing for 15 motnsh at whcih he consulted another
lawyer. By that time the SOL had run on the potential claim against the doctor. The protential
client sued the attroreny for legal malpractice alleging that the attoreny was nelgigent in not
warning him about the SOL.
Is the attorney subject to civil liabili - CORRECT ANSWER - A. No, because the attorney did
what a reasonably prudent lawyer would do in the circumstances -- decline to represent the
potential client and suggest that he consult another lawyer.
A client hired a lawyer to do the legal work in connection with a complex public securities
offering. The lawyer agreed to do the work for a set hourly fee. THe lawyer did a great deal of
legal research, prepared numerous memoranda of fact and law, and rafted most of the documents
need for the public offering. At that tpoint the client became angry with teh lawyer for not reason
and fired him. The client paid the lawyer at the agreed rate for teh work the lawyer had already
, done and demanded the lawyer turn over the papoers that the lawyer had prepared, including
legal and fact memoranda and the document drafts.
What papers must the lawyer turn over to the client? - CORRECT ANSWER - D. All of the
papers, even though the client fired the lawyer. MRPC 1.16(d) (Client is entitled to all paper
which were prepared for them)
A judge serves on a state trial court that has 9 other judges. Her husband is a life insurnace
salesman for a large life insurance company. The life insurnace company occassionally a litigant
in the court in which hte judge sits. EVery year the life insurance company runs a national sales
content inn which the person with the highest sales receives a valuable prize. The judge's
husband won this year and took the jduge on a trip to Europe all expenses paid. She did not make
a public report of the prize.
Was it proper for the jduge to allow her husband to accept the prize and take her on the trip? -
CORRECT ANSWER - A. Yes, because acceptanc eof the prize cannot reasonably be
perceived as undermining the judge's integrity or imparitiality.
A law student is applying for admission to the State Bar A. When the law student was in HS he
and his parents lived in state B. His neighbor was an attorney admitted to practice in State B but
not state A. The attorney knew that during the law students senior year in HS he was convicted
of burglarizing a liquor store. After severing his sentence the law student wnt to college and hten
law school. he attorney has not had ocntact with the student since HS and does not know whether
student has done anything bad since then. The bar of State A sent attoreny a routine questionaire
asking a series of questions about the students character. The attorney does not know whether the
law student disclosed the burglary conviction on their bar app and she does not know whetre to
contact him to find otu.
Which of the following would be a proper response to the questionnaire? - CORRECT
ANSWER - D. She should state what she knows about the law student, including mention of
his conviction.
An attorney received her law degree from a small local college of law and tech science. Last
summer she atteneded a three day trial practice seminar at Harvard Law. During her brief career
she has tried 5 cases two jury nad three becn , She won all jury trials and 2 of 3 bench trials. The
attorney placed an ad under the subject heading "Trial lawyers in classified pages in phone book.
