PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY (i)

INTRODUCTION
As you start to prepare for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), be aware
that the exam is designed to test your ability to apply a set of detailed legal rulessimilar to the legal
rules you have learned in other courses in law school. You cannot pass the exam simply by having good
morals and good manners. You must know the rules, and you must know how to apply them.
The best way to prepare for the exam is to complete all of your course assignments. This will include
reading the outline, watching the lecture, and answering black letter law questions in the BARBRI AMP
software and practice questions in BARBRIs StudySmart software and in this book.
Heres what youll find in this book:
Comprehensive Outline of the Law: This outline not only summarizes all the essential law, but it also
contains many examples to illustrate less obvious points.
Conviser Mini Review: This is a condensed version of the comprehensive outline, and you should use it
as a final refresher before you take the exam.
Review Questions: These are short-answer questions that test your basic understanding of the concepts
discussed in the outline. Check your answers against the answers we have provided, referring back to the
pertinent section of the outline if you need more review of a particular topic.
Practice Exams: You should complete the practice questions in the StudySmart software as assigned
(these questions are also available in this book in Practice Exams 1 - 3). Once you have completed your
MPRE review, you are encouraged to take a practice exam under timed conditions so that you get a feel
for the time pressures you will face on the exam. We suggest using Practice Exam 4 for this purpose,
because these questions were not previously assigned and youll be seeing them for the first time.
Lecture Handout: This handout corresponds with your MPRE lecture. The lecturer will review points
of law most likely to be tested and will give you tips on exam-taking technique.

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Four full practice exams follow. You have two hours to answer the questions in an exam. An answer
sheet is provided after each set of practice exam questions.
The exams each contain 60 questions, as does the actual MPRE. On the actual exam, 50 questions are
scored and 10 are nonscored pretest questions. Because you will not know which are the nonscored
questions, you must answer all questions.
Your score will be based on the number of questions you answer correctly. It is therefore to your advantage to answer as many questions as you can. Use your time effectively. If a question seems too difficult, go on to the next one. Nevertheless, you should try to answer all questions because wrong answers
are not deducted from the right answers.
As on the actual MPRE, a few questions in each practice exam will measure aspects of the ABA
Code of Judicial Conduct. The remaining questions are designed so that disciplinary questions can be
answered solely under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, and questions outside the disciplinary context should be answered under the general law governing lawyering, including statutory and
common law.
Each question may include, among others, one of the following key words or phrases:
1.

Subject to discipline asks whether the conduct described in the question would subject the lawyer
to discipline under the provisions of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. In the case
of a judge, the test question asks whether the judge would be subject to discipline under the ABA
Model Code of Judicial Conduct.

2. May or proper asks whether the conduct referred to or described in the question is professionally
appropriate in that it: (i) would not subject the lawyer or judge to discipline; (ii) is not inconsistent
with the Preamble, Comments, or text of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct or the
ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct; and (iii) is not inconsistent with generally accepted principles of the law of lawyering.
3.

Subject to litigation sanction asks whether the conduct described in the question would subject
the lawyer or the lawyers law firm to sanction by a tribunal, such as punishment for contempt,
fine, fee forfeiture, disqualification, or other sanction.

4.

Subject to disqualification asks whether the conduct described in the question would subject the
lawyer or the lawyers law firm to disqualification as counsel in a civil or criminal matter.

5.

Subject to civil liability asks whether the conduct described in the question would subject the
lawyer or the lawyers law firm to civil liability, such as claims arising from malpractice, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty.

6.

Subject to criminal liability asks whether the conduct described in the question would subject
the lawyer to criminal liability for participation in or aiding and abetting criminal acts, such as
prosecution for insurance and tax fraud, destruction of evidence, or obstruction of justice.

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7.

When a question refers to discipline by the bar, state bar, or appropriate disciplinary authority,
it refers to the agency in the jurisdiction with authority to administer the standards for admission
to practice and for maintenance of professional competence and integrity.

8.

Whenever a lawyer is identified as a certified specialist, that lawyer has been so certified by the
appropriate agency in the jurisdiction in which the lawyer practices.

9.

The phrases informed consent and consent after consultation have the same meaning.

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