MPRE Sample Test Questions

Multistate Professional

Responsibility Examination

MPRE

The following sample questions are examples of test questions similar to those on

the MPRE. While these sample questions illustrate the kinds of questions that will

appear on the MPRE, they do not represent all the material covered. Examinees are

advised to review the information on MPRE content, including the subject matter

outline. An answer key is provided on page 5.

1. An attorney was representing a nonprofit organization in

merger negotiations with another nonprofit entity. During

a review of the client organization’s financial records, the

attorney discovered that the organization had engaged in

activities that jeopardized its nonprofit status. The attorney

reasonably concluded that the organization’s failure to

report these activities to the other nonprofit entity would

constitute a fraud. The attorney had not represented the

organization at the time of the activities and had not made

any false representations to the other nonprofit entity during

the negotiations.

The attorney met with the organization’s board of directors

and informed it that he would withdraw from representing the

organization in the merger negotiations unless it disclosed

to the other nonprofit entity the activities that jeopardized

the organization’s nonprofit status. The board refused to

disclose the activities and insisted that the attorney continue

to represent the organization. The attorney declined and

promptly withdrew from the representation without making

any disclosures to the other nonprofit entity or to the state

tax authorities.

Is the attorney subject to discipline for his conduct in this

representation?

(A) Yes, because the attorney did not inform the other non-

profit entity that the organization had failed to report the

activities that jeopardized the organization’s nonprofit

status.

(B) Yes, because the attorney withdrew from representing

the organization in the merger negotiations without the

board’s permission.

tation after informing the board of directors about the

need to disclose the activities to the other nonprofit

entity.

(D) No, because the attorney was permitted to withdraw

regardless of whether he informed the board of direc-

tors of the need to disclose the activities to the other

nonprofit entity.

2. A state prosecutor was assigned to a murder case in which

the defendant had confessed to committing the crime. In

the same confession, the defendant had also confessed to

committing many other crimes over many years, including

the murder of a young woman in another jurisdiction. In

investigating the defendant’s confession, which the prose-

cutor knew to be credible, the prosecutor discovered that

another individual had been convicted and sentenced to

prison for the murder of the young woman. Based on the

defendant’s confession, for which there was corroboration,

the prosecutor knew that it was reasonably likely that the

individual convicted of murdering the young woman was

innocent. The prosecutor did not tell anyone about the

defendant’s confession to the murder of the young woman.

Was the prosecutor’s conduct proper?

(A) No, because the prosecutor failed to promptly disclose

the information regarding the defendant’s confession to

a court or the chief prosecutor in the other jurisdiction.

(B) No, because the prosecutor failed to investigate to

determine whether the individual convicted of murder-

ing the young woman was innocent.

tion relating to the prosecutor’s representation of the

state.

(D) Yes, because the prosecution of the other individual for

murdering the young woman was final.

3. An attorney represented a company that produces chemical

products. Some of the waste products of the company’s

manufacturing processes are highly toxic and are reason-

ably certain to cause substantial bodily harm if disposed of

improperly. The president of the company recently informed

the attorney that a new employee had mistakenly disposed

of the waste products in the ground behind the company

plant, an area that is part of the source of the city’s water

supply. The attorney advised the president that the com-

pany could be civilly and criminally liable for negligence

in lawsuits brought by any persons harmed by the waste

products. The attorney advised the president to immediately

report the problem to city authorities. Fearful of adverse

publicity, the president declined to do so. The attorney

further advised the president that she believed the presi-

dent’s decision was immoral. The president continued to

decline to report the matter. The attorney then informed the

president that she was withdrawing from the representation

and would inform the authorities herself. Immediately after

withdrawing, the attorney reported the company’s conduct

to the authorities.

Is the attorney subject to discipline?

(A) Yes, because the attorney received the information in

confidence and was not permitted to reveal the informa-

tion without the company’s consent.

(B) Yes, because the company’s conduct was not

intentional.

MPRE Sample Test Questions | 1

the president was pursuing an imprudent and immoral

course of conduct.

(D) No, because the attorney reasonably believed that the

company’s disposal of the waste products was reason-

ably certain to cause substantial bodily harm.

4. A state trial court judge was assigned an action that sought

to invalidate a testamentary trust as violating the rule against

perpetuities. The judge had no experience in estate matters

and did not find the briefs submitted by the parties to be help-

ful. Without prior notice to the parties, the judge consulted

another trial judge with extensive experience in estate plan-

ning concerning the essential aspects of the rule. The judge

was careful during the consultation to avoid identifying the

parties or receiving any factual information that was not part

of the record. The judge then personally decided the matter.

She neither informed the parties about her consultation with

the other judge nor gave them the opportunity to object or

respond.

Was the judge’s conduct proper?

(A) Yes, because the judge did not identify the parties.

(B) Yes, because the judge personally decided the matter.

notice that she planned to consult ex parte with the other

judge concerning the matter.

(D) No, because the judge neither informed the parties about

her consultation with the other judge nor gave them the

opportunity to object or respond.

5. An attorney represented a mother in a child custody dispute.

The father of the child was not represented by a lawyer. The

mother told the attorney that she wanted to resolve the cus-

tody dispute amicably and asked the attorney to meet with

the father to see if an agreement could be reached before the

upcoming court date.

The attorney met with the father, presented the mother’s

proposed custody arrangement, and asked the father to

agree to it. The father asked the attorney whether the custody

arrangement was fair. The attorney advised the father to hire

his own lawyer if he wanted advice regarding the fairness of

the arrangement. The attorney did not offer any other advice.

The father hired a lawyer, and the matter turned into an

antagonistic negotiation that had to be resolved in court.

Is the attorney subject to discipline?

(A) Yes, because the attorney asked the father to agree to

the proposed custody arrangement.

(B) Yes, because the attorney advised the father to hire his

own lawyer.

other than to hire his own lawyer.

(D) No, because a lawyer may give legal advice to an unrep-

resented opposing party.

6. An attorney represented a client who was the plaintiff in a per-

sonal injury action. After the action had settled, the attorney

received a check in the amount of $10,000 payable to the

attorney, which she deposited in her client trust account.

The next day, the attorney received a letter from a bank. The

bank informed the attorney that the client had failed to make

mortgage payments on a residential building for the last three

months and demanded that the attorney immediately release

$3,000 of the settlement proceeds to the bank to avert imme-

diate foreclosure proceedings against the client. When the

attorney, who did not represent the client in the mortgage

matter, informed the client of the bank’s letter, the client did

not dispute the $3,000 debt but expressed no concern for

what the bank might do. The client believed that the build-

ing was essentially worthless, so he assumed that the bank

would never foreclose. The client instructed the attorney to

take her legal fees from the settlement and turn the rest of

the proceeds over to him. The attorney followed the client’s

instructions.

Is the attorney subject to discipline?

(A) Yes, because the client did not dispute the $3,000 debt

to the bank.

(B) Yes, because the attorney knew that the client was plan-

ning to force the bank to foreclose the mortgage.

the mortgage matter.

(D) No, because the bank had no established right to the spe-

cific proceeds of the client’s personal injury settlement.

7. An attorney in a five-lawyer firm learned that one of her

partners had charged personal expenses to a client and

had fraudulently represented that the expenses were related

to the client’s representation. After being confronted with

evidence of the fraud, the partner resigned. The attorney

disclosed the fraud to the client and directed the law firm’s

billing department to refund the fraudulent charges to the cli-

ent. The attorney asked the client whether the client wanted

to disclose the partner’s conduct to the disciplinary authority.

The client did not object to the disclosure but left the decision

to the attorney.

Is the attorney required to report the partner’s conduct to the

disciplinary authority?

(A) Yes, because lawyers must report all violations of the

rules of professional conduct to disciplinary authorities.

(B) Yes, because the conduct raised a substantial question

as to the partner’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as

a lawyer.

damage to the client caused by the partner’s conduct.

(D) No, because the attorney owes a continuing fiduciary

duty to the partner with respect to matters that occurred

during the course of their partnership.

8. An attorney represented the wife in an acrimonious divorce

proceeding involving issues of property division and child cus-

tody. After one day of trial, the husband, through his lawyer,

made a settlement offer. The proposed settlement required

that the wife’s attorney agree not to represent the wife in any

subsequent proceeding, brought by either party, to modify

2 | MPRE Sample Test Questions

or enforce the provisions of the decree. The wife wanted to

accept the offer, and her attorney reasonably believed that it

was in the wife’s best interest to do so because the settlement

offer was better than any potential award to the wife resulting

from the case going to judgment. Consequently, the attorney

recommended to the wife that she accept the offer.

Was it proper for the wife’s attorney to recommend that the

wife accept the settlement offer?

(A) No, because the attorney did not obtain the wife’s

informed consent to the conflict of interest created by the

proposed settlement.

(B) No, because the proposed settlement restricted the attor-

ney’s right to represent the wife in the future.

to subsequent proceedings in the same matter.

(D) Yes, because the attorney reasonably believed that it

was in the wife’s best interest to accept the proposed

settlement.

9. A man asked an attorney to represent him pro bono in an

appeal from the denial of unemployment benefits. The attor-

ney agreed but missed the deadline to file the appeal.

When the attorney discovered his error, he met with the man

and presented a proposed settlement of the man’s potential

malpractice claim against the attorney. The attorney proposed

to pay the man an amount equal to the unemployment bene-

fits he would have received had his appeal been successful;

in exchange, the man would agree to waive any malpractice

claim. The attorney memorialized this proposed settlement

in a written document that included a statement advising the

man to seek independent legal counsel before accepting the

settlement and stating that the man could take as long as he

needed to do this. However, without consulting independent

legal counsel, the man agreed to and signed the proposed

settlement the next week. The attorney subsequently paid the

man the money he would have received from a successful

appeal.

Is the attorney subject to discipline?

(A) Yes, because the attorney made an agreement with the

man to waive a potential claim for malpractice.

(B) Yes, because the man did not consult independent coun-

sel before he agreed to the proposed settlement.

seek independent legal counsel before agreeing to the

proposed settlement.

(D) No, because the attorney agreed to fully compensate the

man for his losses.

10. An attorney represented a client in a breach of contract action

against the client’s former business partner. During the rep-

resentation, the client presented the attorney with incontro-

vertible proof that the former partner had committed perjury

in unrelated litigation several years earlier. The prior litigation

had been resolved in the former partner’s favor. Neither the

attorney nor the client had been involved in any way in the

prior litigation. However, at the time of the prior litigation, the

client and the former partner had had a close personal and

business relationship. The attorney believed that it would be

detrimental to the client’s best interests to reveal the former

partner’s perjury because the court might draw negative

inferences about the client from the former partner’s behavior.

As a result, the attorney did not disclose the former partner’s

prior perjury to the court.

Was the attorney’s conduct proper?

(A) Yes, because the attorney believed that the disclosure

would be detrimental to the client’s best interests.

(B) Yes, because neither the client nor the attorney had been

involved in any way in the prior litigation.

former partner had perpetrated a fraud on a tribunal.

(D) No, because the information regarding the prior perjury

was not privileged.

11. An experienced plaintiffs’ attorney purchased advertising

space on a consumer advocate’s blog. The advertisement

included the attorney’s name and contact information along

with the following accurate statement: “In the last three

years, I have obtained five jury verdicts that awarded over

one million dollars each in medical malpractice cases.” The

advertisement also included the following disclaimer: “The

merit of claims and amount of damages vary depending on

the individual circumstances of each medical malpractice

case. Past results do not guarantee the amount of any future

recovery.” After running the advertisement for six months, the

attorney asked all prospective clients who had contacted him

during that time period if they had seen the advertisement. No

prospective client reported seeing the advertisement.

Is the attorney subject to discipline?

(A) Yes, because the advertisement may have misled poten-

tial clients by creating unjustified expectations based on

the attorney’s past record.

(B) No, because even without the disclaimer, no reasonable

potential client would believe that past results guarantee

similar outcomes in the future.

to avoid creating unjustified expectations based on the

attorney’s past record.

(D) No, because no prospective client reported seeing the

advertisement.

12. An attorney was engaged under a general retainer agreement

to represent a corporation involved in the uranium industry.

Under the agreement, the attorney handled all of the cor-

poration’s legal work, which typically involved regulatory

issues and litigation. The corporation told the attorney that a

congressional committee was holding hearings concerning

the extent of regulation in the copper industry. Because the

corporation was considering buying a copper mine during

the next fiscal year, the corporation asked the attorney to

appear and testify that the industry was overregulated. The

attorney subsequently testified to that effect before the rel-

evant congressional committee. The attorney registered his

appearance under his own name and did not disclose that he

MPRE Sample Test Questions | 3

was appearing on behalf of a client. Afterward, the attorney

billed the corporation for fees and expenses related to his

testimony. The attorney’s testimony was truthful.

Was the attorney’s conduct proper?

(A) Yes, because the duty of confidentiality prevented the

attorney from disclosing the identity of his client.

(B) Yes, because the attorney-client evidentiary privilege

prevented disclosure of the identity of his client in this

context.

ilege by testifying.

(D) No, because the attorney failed to disclose that he was

appearing and testifying in a representative capacity.

13. A state attorney general notified a privately held health-care

corporation that it was under investigation for fraud in con-

nection with state Medicaid benefits. The corporation retained

an attorney to investigate the alleged violations, advise it on

how to proceed, and, if necessary, defend it in civil or criminal

litigation.

The attorney interviewed an employee of the corporation who

told the attorney that the corporation routinely inflated the bills

it submitted to the state at the direction of the corporation’s

president. The employee said that the billing fraud was ongo-

ing. Based on a subsequent review of the records, the attor-

ney knew that the employee’s statement about the inflated

bills was truthful. The attorney reported this information to the

corporation’s general counsel and also to the board of direc-

tors. A week later, the general counsel notified the attorney

that the board of directors had considered the information and

had declined to take any further action.

The attorney knew that the billing fraud would continue and

was reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the

corporation. Without first obtaining the informed consent of

the employee, the attorney disclosed the information to the

state attorney general.

Is the attorney subject to discipline?

(A) Yes, because the attorney did not obtain the informed

consent of the employee to disclose the information.

(B) Yes, because the attorney was retained to investigate the

alleged violations of law and to defend the corporation in

litigation arising out of any alleged violations of law.

to the board of directors and only reported to the state

attorney general when the board refused to take action.

(D) No, because the information pertained to violations of law

that the attorney knew were reasonably certain to result

in substantial injury to the corporation.

14. An attorney who had represented a client for many years pre-

pared the client’s will and acted as one of the two subscribing

witnesses to its execution. The will gave 10% of the client’s

estate to the client’s housekeeper, 10% to the client’s son

and sole heir, and the residue to charity. Upon the client’s

death one year later, the executor named in the will asked

the attorney to represent him in probating the will and admin-

istering the estate. At that time, the executor informed the

attorney that the son had notified him that he would contest

the probate of the will on the grounds that the client lacked the

required mental capacity at the time the will was executed.

The attorney believes that the client was fully competent at all

times and will so testify at trial. The other subscribing witness

to the client’s will predeceased the client.

Would it be proper for the attorney to represent the executor

in the probate of the will?

(A) No, because the attorney will be called to testify on a

contested issue of fact.

(B) No, because the attorney would be representing an inter-

est adverse to the interests of the client’s heir.

the execution of the will.

(D) Yes, because the attorney’s testimony will support the

validity of the will.

15. A prosecutor who had graduated from law school two years

earlier became a candidate to serve as a judge on a state trial

court. In that state, trial court judges are chosen in nonparti-

san elections. A newspaper reporter interviewed a prominent

local attorney who gave his general impressions about each

candidate, although he had not conducted any investigation

into the candidates’ backgrounds or qualifications. When

asked about the prosecutor, the attorney said, “It takes many

years of experience to develop the wisdom necessary to

serve as a judge. Given that he has only been in practice for

two years, I do not believe this prosecutor is ready to become

a judge.”

Is the attorney subject to discipline?

(A) No, because the attorney expressed an honest and

candid opinion concerning the professional fitness of a

candidate for judicial office.

(B) No, because the First Amendment immunizes lawyers

from discipline for making statements impugning the

integrity of judges.

tions of a candidate for judicial office.

(D) Yes, because the attorney did not conduct a reasonable

investigation to determine whether the prosecutor was

qualified to serve as a judge.

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MPRE Sample Test Questions | 5

MPRE Sample Test Questions Answer Key

Answer Key

1. C

2. A

3. D

4. B

5. C

6. D

7. B

8. B

9. C

10. A

11. C

12. D

13. B

14. A

15. A

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