MPRE — Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam — All Questions
8 questions
Under Model Rule 7.1, a lawyer's advertisement is improper if it:
- a.States the lawyer's areas of practice
- b.Includes the lawyer's photograph
- c.Is false or misleading✓
- d.Lists the lawyer's office hours and fees
Rule 7.1 forbids "a false or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's services," including a material misrepresentation or an omission that makes the communication materially misleading. Photographs, practice areas, hours, and fees are permitted content.
Under Model Rule 7.3, a lawyer generally may NOT use live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain when the person solicited is:
- a.A stranger injured in a recent accident✓
- b.Another lawyer
- c.A former client of the lawyer
- d.A close personal friend of the lawyer
Rule 7.3(b) bars live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain unless the contact is with a lawyer; a person with "a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship" with the lawyer; or a routine business user of such services. A stranger fits none of these.
Which statement in a lawyer's advertisement is most likely misleading under Rule 7.1?
- a."Free initial consultation for injury cases."
- b.The state's most successful injury lawyer.✓
- c."Se habla español; evening appointments available."
- d."Serving families in Maple County since 2005."
The comment to Rule 7.1 says "an unsubstantiated comparison of the lawyer's or law firm's services or fees with those of other lawyers or law firms, may be misleading." Truthful facts about practice history, fees and languages are permitted.
Which communication is NOT a "solicitation" under Rule 7.3(a)?
- a.A letter to a specific person known to need a lawyer for a pending foreclosure.
- b.A call to a specific accident victim offering representation.
- c.A website describing the lawyer's services to the public.✓
- d.A text to a specific person known to be facing a lawsuit.
Rule 7.3(a) defines solicitation as a communication "directed to a specific person the lawyer knows or reasonably should know needs legal services in a particular matter." The comment says a communication "directed to the general public, such as through … a website" is not solicitation.
A lawyer telephones her former client to offer help with a new lawsuit against him. Is the call permitted solicitation?
- a.Yes, because he is a former client.✓
- b.No, because live telephone solicitation is always banned.
- c.Yes, but only if she charges no fee.
- d.No, unless the former client called first.
Rule 7.3(b)(2) permits live person-to-person contact with a "person who has a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship with the lawyer or law firm."
Which payment for a recommendation of the lawyer's services is permitted by Rule 7.2(b)?
- a.A monthly retainer to a tow-truck driver for referrals.
- b.A cash bonus to a client for each new client referred.
- c.A percentage of fees to a chiropractor for each referral.
- d.The usual charges of a qualified lawyer referral service.✓
Rule 7.2(b)(2) permits a lawyer to "pay the usual charges of a legal service plan or a not-for-profit or qualified lawyer referral service." Other payments for recommending a lawyer are prohibited unless they fit another listed exception.
What must every lawyer advertisement made under Rule 7.2 include?
- a.A responsible lawyer's name and contact information.✓
- b.The lawyer's bar number.
- c.The lawyer's fee schedule.
- d.A statement that past results do not guarantee future results.
Rule 7.2(d) requires that "any communication made under this Rule must include the name and contact information of at least one lawyer or law firm responsible for its content."
A lawyer who practices only patent law before the Patent and Trademark Office lists herself as a "Registered Patent Attorney." Is this proper under Rule 7.2?
- a.Yes, but only in states that certify patent law.
- b.No, unless an ABA-accredited body certified her.
- c.Yes, patent designations are not prohibited.✓
- d.No, because only state-certified specialists may use titles.
The comment to Rule 7.2 notes that the Patent and Trademark Office "has a long-established policy of designating lawyers practicing before the Office," and communications about these practice areas are not prohibited.