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MPRE EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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MPRE EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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MPRE EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS2. Application Process
a. Prohibited behavior - Answers -An applicant for admission to the bar is prohibited
from:
i) Knowingly making a false statement of material fact in connection with the application;
ii) Failing to disclose a fact necessary to correct a misapprehension known by him to
have arisen in the matter; or
iii) Failing to respond to a lawful demand by an admissions authority in connection with
the application (unless such fact is protected by the rules governing confidential
communications).
b. Fifth Amendment privilege - Answers -An applicant for admission to the bar may
invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination but must do so openly
rather than simply leaving out requested information. MRPC 8.1, cmt. 2.
c. Violations prevent admission - Answers -Violation of the provisions of the Model
Rules may prevent admission. If the applicant has been admitted, the applicant is
subject to discipline as a lawyer for having violated the provisions. MRPC 8.1, cmt. 1.
d. Information from others - Answers -Bar authorities seek information as to an
applicant's fitness to practice law from the applicant and from other people. A person
who is a member of the bar is subject to the same rules as those impacting the
applicant. If a lawyer is asked about an applicant and fails to disclose a fact necessary
to correct a misapprehension or to disclose any material fact requested in connection
with the application, the lawyer is subject to discipline under the Model Rules. MRPC
8.1, cmt. 1. This rule, however, does not require the lawyer to disclose information that
is otherwise protected by the confidentiality provisions of the Model Rules or the
attorney-client privilege.
d. Information from others- Example - Answers -Example: An attorney is asked to write
a letter of recommendation for a client's nephew for admission to the bar. The attorney
has had no direct contact with the nephew, but the client has assured the attorney that
the nephew is industrious and honest. The attorney is not permitted to write the letter
based on the client's assurance. The attorney must make an independent investigation
and write the letter only if the attorney is then satisfied that the nephew is qualified.
A question on a bar application such as, "Have you ever been a party to any legal action
or proceeding?" must be answered truthfully and completely, even if the action was
dismissed or the judgment eventually expunged.
REGULATION AFTER ADMISSION - Answers -
,1. Grounds of Misconduct - Answers -It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:
a. Violate or attempt to violate any of the Model Rules, knowingly assist or induce
another to do so, or to do so through the acts of another. MRPC 8.4(a).
b. Commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty or fitness as a
lawyer in other respects. MRPC 8.4(b).
c. Engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation,
regardless of whether the conduct is criminal. MRPC 8.4(c).
d. Engage in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, regardless of whether
the conduct is criminal or dishonest in nature. MRPC 8.4(d).
e. State or imply an ability to influence improperly a government agency or official.
MRPC 8.4(e).
f. Knowingly assist a judge or judicial officer in conduct that is a violation of applicable
rules of judicial conduct or other law. MRPC 8.4(f).
g. Engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment
or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability,
age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or socioeconomic status in
conduct related to the practice of law. MPRC 8.4(g).
A lawyer does not have to be engaged in the practice of law to violate the Model Rules
and be subject to professional discipline.
1. Grounds of Misconduct- Example - Answers -Example: An attorney is a member of
the bar in Delaware and is also licensed as a stockbroker in New York. In his application
for renewal of his stockbroker's license in New York, the attorney knowingly filed a false
financial statement. The attorney is subject to professional discipline as a lawyer in
Delaware because his actions involved dishonesty or misrepresentation in violation of
MRPC 8.4(c).
2. Misconduct Committed by Others in Law Firm - Answers -In general, a lawyer is only
subject to discipline for her own conduct and is not subject to discipline for the conduct
of a partner, associate, or subordinate merely because both belong to the same law
firm. MRPC 5.1., cmt. 7.
Compare civil liability: A lawyer who is practicing law as a partner in a partnership may
have civil liability for the conduct of another lawyer-partner.
,a. Misconduct ordered or ratified - Answers -A lawyer is subject to discipline for a
violation of the Model Rules committed by another lawyer if the lawyer: (i) orders the
misconduct or (ii) ratifies the misconduct with knowledge of the specific conduct.
A lawyer is also subject to discipline for ordering or ratifying conduct by a non-lawyer
employed by, retained by, or associated with the lawyer that would constitute a violation
of the Model Rules if engaged in by a lawyer. MRPC 5.1(c), 5.3(c).
b. Manager's responsibility for firm's preventive measures - Answers -A lawyer who has
managerial authority over the professional work of a law firm, such as a partner of a
partnership or the head of a corporation's legal department, or a lawyer with
intermediate managerial responsibilities, such as the head of the litigation branch of a
law firm, must make reasonable efforts to ensure the firm has measures in place that
give reasonable assurance that the conduct of all lawyers in the firm, as well as that of
non-lawyers employed by the firm, conforms to the Model Rules. MRPC 5.1(a), 5.3(a).
What constitutes reasonable measures depends on the size and kind of firm.
b. Manager's responsibility for firm's preventive measures- EXAM NOTE - Answers -
EXAM NOTE: The obligations of a partner are tested frequently in the context of
paralegals or other non-lawyers violating a Model Rule without the lawyer's knowledge.
The outcome depends on whether the firm had procedures in place to prevent such
violations. If a question indicates that a subordinate engaged in misconduct without the
lawyer's knowledge, check to see if preventative measures, such as employee training,
were taken.
c. Direct supervisor's responsibility for supervised person's conduct - Answers -A lawyer
with direct supervisory authority over the work of another lawyer in the firm or a non-
lawyer employed by the firm must make reasonable efforts to ensure that the
supervised person's conduct conforms to the Model Rules. MRPC 5.1(b).
EXAM NOTE: Supervisory obligations are frequently tested in situations in which non-
lawyers are not properly instructed of the need to maintain confidential communications.
d. Failure to remediate known misconduct - Answers -A lawyer with managerial
authority in a law firm or a lawyer with direct supervisory authority over another lawyer
or non-lawyer employed by the firm is subject to discipline for misconduct about which
the managerial or supervisory lawyer knows at a time when the consequences of the
misconduct can be avoided or mitigated, but the managerial or supervisory lawyer fails
to take reasonable remedial action. MRPC 5.1(c); 5.3(c).
EXAM NOTE: This is a frequently tested area on the MPRE. Often the issue will involve
whether the supervisor could have prevented the misconduct. If the supervisor could not
have prevented the subordinate's misconduct, then the subordinate's misconduct is not
attributed to the supervisor unless the supervisor learned of the action while it was still
possible to take remedial action to mitigate the consequences of the misconduct.
, e. Duties of subordinate lawyer - Answers -A subordinate lawyer must conform to the
Model Rules even if acting under the direction of a supervising lawyer. MRPC 5.2. The
subordinate lawyer is not in violation of the Model Rules, however, if the subordinate
lawyer acts in accordance with the supervising lawyer's reasonable resolution of an
arguable question of professional duty. MRPC 5.2(b). If an ethical issue can only be
reasonably answered in one specific way, it does not constitute an arguable question.
MRPC 5.2, cmt. 2. Also, in order to know whether a supervising lawyer's resolution is in
fact reasonable, the subordinate lawyer has a responsibility to undertake his own
analysis of the law applicable to his conduct.
Example: An associate attorney disagreed with his supervising attorney as to their
responsibility to respond to a request for production of documents. The request is
ambiguous and after careful consideration of the rules, the associate attorney follows
his supervisor's direction not to produce certain documents. A court subsequently finds
that the refusal to produce the documents constituted a violation of the Model Rules.
The supervising attorney is subject to discipline, but the associate attorney is not.
f. Runners and cappers - Answers -Lawyers who employ agents to monitor accidents
and other events likely to produce legal work in order to solicit business on the lawyer's
behalf are subject to discipline. See MRPC 5.3. Employment of runners or cappers is
also a criminal violation in some states.
3. Misconduct Outside of the State or Jurisdiction - Answers -A lawyer is subject to
discipline for misconduct in any jurisdiction in which the lawyer is admitted to practice,
even if the misconduct occurred outside of that jurisdiction. The lawyer may be subject
to discipline in both the jurisdiction where admitted and the jurisdiction where the
misconduct occurs. MRPC 8.5(a).
a. Choice of law - Answers -For conduct relating to a proceeding pending before a
tribunal, the lawyer is subject only to the rules of the jurisdiction in which the tribunal sits
unless the rules of the tribunal, including its choice of law rule, provide otherwise. As to
all other conduct, a lawyer is subject to the rules of the jurisdiction in which the conduct
occurred. MRPC 8.5(b), cmt. 4.
b. Multiple jurisdictions - Answers -If a lawyer's conduct involves significant contacts
with more than one jurisdiction, the lawyer is not subject to discipline so long as the
lawyer's conduct conforms to the rules of a jurisdiction in which the lawyer reasonably
believes the predominant effect will occur. In determining a lawyer's reasonable belief
with regard to conflict of interest, a written agreement between a lawyer and client that
reasonably specifies a jurisdiction will be considered if the agreement was obtained with
the client's informed consent confirmed in the agreement. In addition, if two or more
jurisdictions proceed against a lawyer for the same conduct, both should seek to apply
the same ethical rules. MRPC 8.5(b), cmts. 5, 6.
2) Authorized by law or order to appear pro hac vice - Answers -A lawyer admitted in a
jurisdiction may provide legal services in another jurisdiction on a temporary basis if the
services are in—or reasonably related to a pending or potential proceeding before a
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