Law Students

The MPRE: Part Two

By Scott Felsenthal et al.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE or “Ethics Bar”) is a two hour and five minute exam, consisting of sixty questions. Most states require it for admission to their bar. The passing requirements for most states fall between 70 and 85 (scaled score). The questions are developed by a NCBE (National Conference of Bar Examiners) drafting committee comprised of six professional responsibility experts. Fifty questions relate to fact patterns with multiple choice answers. They are based on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Examinees are also expected to know "controlling constitutional decisions and generally accepted principles established in leading federal and state cases and in procedural and evidentiary rules." The remaining ten ask about the exam site and testing conditions. Test-takers have about two and a half minutes to complete each question.

Break down of tested material:

I. Regulation of the Legal Profession (8-12%)

A. Inherent Powers of Courts to Regulate Lawyers
B. Admission to the Profession
C. Regulation After Admission
D. Maintaining Professional Standards--Peer Responsibility
E. Unauthorized Practice
F. Fee Division with a Non-Lawyer
G. The Law Firm
H. Contractual Restrictions on Practice

II. The Client-Lawyer Relationship (10-14%)

A. Acceptance or Rejection of Clients
B. Scope, Objective, and Means of the Representation
C. Within the Bounds of the Law
D. Withdrawal
E. Client-Lawyer Contracts
F. Fees

III. Privilege and Confidentiality--Clients and Former Clients (6-10%)

A. Evidentiary Privilege
B. Professional Obligation of Confidence
C. Client-Authorized Disclosure
D. Permissible Disclosure
E. Special Problems

IV. Independent Professional Judgment--Conflicts of Interest--Client Consent (12-16%)

A. As Affected by Lawyer's Personal Interest
B. Lawyer as Witness
C. Acquiring an Interest in Litigation
D. Entering into Business Transactions with Client
E. Conflicting Interests--Current Clients and Former Clients
F. Influence by Persons Other than Client
G. Law Firm, Associates, and Related Persons
H. Lawyer's Service as Arbitrator, Mediator, or Judge

V. Competence, Legal Malpractice, and Other Civil Liability (8-12%)

A. Civil Liability, Including Malpractice
B. Maintaining Competence
C. Acceptance of Employment
D. Exercise of Diligence and Care
E. Limiting Liability for Malpractice

VI. Litigation and Other Forms of Advocacy (12-16%)

A. Exercise of Professional Judgment
B. Civility, Courtesy, and Decorum
C. Conduct in the Course of Litigation--Claims, Defenses, Testimony, and Evidence
D. Fraud or Perjury
E. Communications in Course of Representation

VII. Different Roles of the Lawyer (4-8%)

A. Lawyer as Advisor
B. Lawyer as Intermediary
C. Lawyer as Evaluator
D. Lawyer as Negotiator
E. Lawyer as Mediator
F. Special Obligations of the Lawyer in Public Service
G. Appearances before Legislative Bodies

VIII. Safekeeping Property and Funds of Clients and Others (4-8%)

A. Lawyer as Trustee of Client Funds
B. Lawyer as Custodian of Client Property
C. Disputed Claims

IX. Communication About Legal Services (6-10%)

A. Public Communications About Services
B. Referrals
C. Group Legal Services
D. Direct Contact With Prospective Clients (Solicitation)
E. Fields of Practice--Limitations of Practice and Specialization

X. Lawyers and the Legal System (2-6%)

A. Lawyer Activity in Improving the Legal System
B. Impropriety Incident to Public Service

XI. Judicial Ethics (6-10%)

A. Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary
B. Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety
C. Duties of Impartiality and Diligence
D. Activities to Improve the Legal System
E. Extra-Judicial Activities
F. Political Activity of Judges
G. Candidate for Judicial Office

My Study Plan:

When I took the ethics bar in the fall, I had not yet taken a course in Professional Responsibility. I decided that taking it early would: 1) be less stressful that taking it in the March or August; 2) allow me to get it out of the way; or 3) give me more than one bite at the apple if I did not pass. To prepare I took the four hour BAR/BRI course. Then, put the materials away for almost two weeks and picked it up again three or four days prior to the exam. I took four practice exams (three from BAR/BRI and one from PMBR) but did not look at any of the outline materials. At that point, I was not real confident with my preparation or performance in the practice exams, but knew I just had to get half of the questions correct and could take it again if I did not.

Exam Day & Results:

I arrived on the test site about thirty or forty minutes before test time, signed in and found my assigned seat. (About that time, someone was reprimanded for bringing in a cup of coffee - do yourself a favor and don't make that mistake.) I felt fairly relaxed until the man sitting next to me said he was taking the MPRE for the third time. A woman two rows over chimed in that it was her second. A little panic set in. The exam was administered. I finished with about forty-five minutes to spare and looked back over questions and answers I was not sure about. There were several. So many of the questions could be narrowed down to two, seemingly good choices. I handed in my exam and joined some colleagues outside. Everyone seemed to have the same general opinion – that exam was way tougher than the practice exams. I don’t think I spoke with anyone who was certain they passed.

My roommate later told me a clerk he was working with also had to take the exam three times. I went ahead and prepared myself for bad news. Scores came back about four or five weeks later by email. Luckily, most of my friends and I had passed with some comfort, but we soon found out that some our peers were going to have to take the exam again because they failed and/or did not have a high enough score to be admitted in jurisdictions in which they were considering applying.

Final Remarks:

The standards of passing are not all that high (ei. you usually just need to get about half of the questions correct to pass in most jurisdictions). That being said, it is a tricky exam. See this, this, this, and this.  My advice is to take numerous practice tests but try not stress out about the MPRE too much.

Good Luck!

JTH

Resources:

MPRE - National Conference of Bar Examiners

Free Online MPRE Lectures and Practice Exams

Bar Plus Bar Review

BAR/BRI - MPRE

Full post as published by The Legal Scoop on February 26, 2008 (boomark / email).