When Paralegal Jenny goes to the local courthouse, she can retrieve a list of upcoming home foreclosures. What can Jenny do with this information?
Maggie Rudin was accused of murdering her millionaire 4th husband. Because she was denied access to her husband’s money, Rudin needed a pro bono lawyer. Attorney Amador agreed to take the case pro bono in exchange for the right to turn her story into a movie script. Rudin agreed. Each time Rudin met with Amador, Amador made sure the t.v. news media was there so that the public would get a picture of her as the wrongly accused grieving widow. Amador did not interview witnesses, but had all of the documents copied and placed into trial notebooks. Before trial, Amador took a month-long vacation and left Rudin’s case with the public defender assisting on the case. Which of the following can be said of Amador?
| A.Amador was negligent in the preparation of Rudin’s defense only if she is convicted. | |
| B.Amador was not negligent because everyone prepares for trial differently. | |
| C.Amador was negligent in the preparation of Rudin’s defense if his action/inaction fell below the standard of care of the reasonable lawyer under the circumstances | |
| D.Amador was not negligent because he was part of a defense team and the rest of the team had an equal obligation to prepare for trial. |
| Question 9 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Attorney Brite represented Martin in a personal injury case for injuries that she received when a kitchen cabinet in her apartment fell on her. The complaint that Brite filed on Martin’s behalf named many defendants, including various subcontractors and others, some of whom later provided evidence that they should not have been named as defendants. Several of the defendants named in the complaint filed motions for summary judgment. Brite delegated responsibility for opposing those motions to a new associate in his office, Gresby. Gresby had minimal legal experience and never opposed a motion for summary judgment. Brite was aware of Gresby’s inexperience, but he assigned the matter to Gresby nonetheless. To respond to the summary judgment motions, Gresby needed to submit documents or affidavits on Martin’s behalf that would show the court that there was a genuine issue of material fact requiring a trial. Rather than doing so, Gresby opposed the motions orally, relying solely on legal arguments. The trial court granted the defense motions. Brite
| A. will not be found to be incompetent unless Martin loses her case. | |
| B.should be found to be negligent for improper delegation and supervision AND filing a complaint against defendants without first doing enough background on the case to determine the proper defendants | |
| C.should be found to be negligent for improper delegation and supervision of his associate. | |
| D.will not be found to be incompetent because it was Gresby who wrote the losing summary judgment documents. |
Sarah has just been made a member of the bar and is going to open her own law office. You will be her first employee! What advice can you give her about professional liability insurance.
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| Question 11 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Attorney Evans lost a motion for a new trial. In his anger, he wrote a letter to the judge accusing him of making the adverse ruling based on religious bias because both the judge and opposing counsel are Jewish, and Evans is not. While appealing the judge’s ruling, Evans wrote to the judge:” I feel that your Ruling was either the result of your incompetence in the matter or perhaps worse and reflected a Jewish bias in favor of the Kaplan firm whose actions were in my judgment inexcusable in this cause. If in fact it represents incompetence I will drop the matter but if it is a Jewish bias I will file a complaint under the Rules for Handling Complaints of Judicial Misconduct or Disability.” Evans:
| A.will be found to be incompetent to continue to practice law because his letter was discourteous, prejudicial to the administration of justice, and defamatory. | |
| B.may be found to be incompetent to continue to practice law only if he loses his appeal. | |
| C.cannot be found guilty of anything, or incompetent, because his words are protected by the First Amendment. | |
| D. may be found to be rude, but nothing more | |
| Question 12 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Jody and Sam have agreed to end their marriage amicably. They have worked out all of the details of who will get what assets and how their money will be divided. In order to save money, they want to hire one lawyer to write up their agreement. Larry Lawyer
| A.can take this representation so long as both parties sign a waiver of the conflict. | |
| B.should not take this representation because, even if Jody and Sam have agreed to all of the details of their agreement, there is a conflict of interest between the two people. | |
| C.is obligated to take the representation because lawyers have a duty to take cases regardless of how they feel about the clients. | |
| D.can take this representation so long as both parties pay him an equal amount. | |
| Question 13 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Bronson Paralegal is writing a motion that will be filed with the state court. He has located a case that holds exactly the opposite of the point he is trying to make. In order to rectify what Bronson sees as a losing motion, Bronson simply quotes from the case’s ruling and inserts the word “not” at the appropriate place. Now the quote stands for the proposition that Bronson needs. “Unless the judge reads very carefully, he will never notice this small insertion,” thinks Bronson. Just to be sure his supervising attorney doesn’t get into trouble, though, Bronson tells the attorney what the case really says. Which of the following is likely to happen next?
| A.Bronson may be told to fix the sentence back to an accurate quote, even if it means losing the motion. | |
| B.Bronson may be fired for attempting to mislead the court but, at the very least, he will be in alot of trouble. | |
| C.Bronson may be demoted from doing legal research to organizing documents. | |
| D. Bronson will be told to fix the sentence back to an accurate quote, he may be demoted or he may be fired for attempting to mislead the court | |
| Question 14 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
The plaintiff, Leandro Rizzuto, climbed a ladder manufactured by the named defendant, Ladders, Inc. while shopping at a Buy-It-All store. The ladder collapsed suddenly and the plaintiff fell to the floor, incurring serious physical injuries. The plaintiff filed a product liability action against Ladders and the defendant, Buy-It-All, alleging that the ladder had been manufactured and designed improperly, and had been sold without proper warnings. Thereafter, the plaintiff asked the defendants repeatedly to preserve the ladder and to afford him an opportunity to examine the ladder. The defendants’ expert examined the ladder and concluded that it was not defective. The defendants thereafter destroyed the ladder, despite the fact that the plaintiff had never had an opportunity to inspect it. Plaintiff will bring a motion for
| A.spoliation of evidence. | |
| B.tortious interference with prospective business advantage. | |
| C.suppression of evidence. | |
| D. pretexting of evidence. |
Betty Plaintiff’s law firm has hired an associate from an out-of-town office of Defendant #1’s law firm. When Defendant #2’s law firm discovers this conflict of interest, they (Defendant #2’s law firm) brings a Motion to disqualify Plaintiff’s law firm. The ruling of the court will probably be
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| Question 16 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Attorney Fleamer is the Executive Director of a non-profit organization: Homes for Kids. This organization works in conjunction with state agencies that find permanent, adoptive homes for foster children. Fleamer’s assistant, Paralegal Lara, suspects that Fleamer has used agency money to fund personal vacations and purchase a new personal automobile. Lara should
| A.speak with the local police. | |
| B.maintain her loyalty to her employer by saying nothing. | |
| C.speak with Fleamer personally or, if she does not feel comfortable doing that, report Fleamer to the appropriate authorities. | |
| D.quit. Find a new job working for more honest people. | |
| Question 17 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Attorney Howard has just gotten a “letter of reproval” from his state’s lawyer disciplinary authority. He’s cleaning out his desk, assuming he is no longer authorized to practice law. You, his trusty paralegal, have one thing to say to him. What is it?
| A.A letter of reproval doesn’t mean you are disbarred! | |
| B.Put your stuff back in the drawers, my friend. You can still do paralegal work. | |
| C.Don’t call us. We’ll call you. | |
| D.Dude. Take care and have a nice life. | |
| Question 18 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Paralegal Beverly is researching a point of law dealing with whether or not a law firm’s website can use a suedoname for the URL. In other words, can her law firm use the web address “www.terrificlawyers.com”? She cannot locate any state statute on point but has conflicting information from other states. What is her best course of action now?
| A.She should advise the firm to go ahead with the plan because if there is no law against it, it is probably okay. | |
| B.She should advise the firm to ask their state’s appropriate authority (such as the state bar’s ethics committee) for an advisory opinion on using the trade URL name. | |
| C.Beverly should advise the firm that she is not qualified to do this assignment because there is no clear law on the subject. | |
| D. She should advise the firm to not use the trade URL because if there is no law authorizing what they want to do, it is probably illegal. | |
| Question 19 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Drake Paralegal’s cell phone rang. When he answered it, his best friend, who lives in another state, said: “Drake! I’ve just been stopped by the police! What should I do?” Drake responded: “Keep your mouth shut except to ask for a lawyer.” Then the phone connection was lost. Which of the following is true?
| A.Drake’s response was not UPL because his friend did not specifically ask for legal advice. | |
| B.Drake’s response was not UPL because it was not legal advice, just common sense advice. | |
| C.Drake’s response was UPL because he assessed his friend’s legal need, applied his knowledge of the law to it, and gave a response. | |
| D. Drake’s response was UPL because he gave advice in a criminal matter. | |
| Question 20 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Connie Paralegal is divorcing her husband. She hired a lawyer but has decided that she does not want to pay for a lawyer. She fires the lawyer and makes a court appearance by herself against her husband’s lawyer. Connie
| A.has committed UPL because she must have a lawyer represent her. | |
| B.has not committed UPL because she has the right to represent herself. | |
| C.has committed UPL because paralegals cannot make appearances in court. | |
| D.has committed UPL but will not get in trouble for it unless the lawyer complains. | |
| Question 21 of 25 | 2.5 Points |
Paralegal Samson has just completed the legal case of his life being part of the team that represented Mrs. Incredibly Rich in her divorce from Mr. Incredibly Rich. Now that the case is closed, Samson is looking forward to telling his wife all about it. Samson
| A.can tell his wife about the parts of the case that are likely to not come up again if the parties end up back in court. | |
| B.can tell his wife all about the case because, now that the case has closed, his duty of confidentiality has ended. | |
| C.must keep his client’s confidences forever so he can never tell his wife about the case. | |
| D.can tell his wife about the case after the time for an appeal has passed. |
Paralegal Beverly was sitting with Client Morrie, reading through Morrie’s interrogatory answers from last year in preparation for Morrie’s upcoming deposition. After reading one particular interrogatory response, Morrie declared: “OMG, Beverly! I can’t believe we wrote that answer! That’s completely wrong!” and then, mumbling to himself, Morrie said, “or maybe that was the lie I decided would be better than telling the truth. Hmmm.” When Beverly asks you what you make of that conversation with Morrie, you
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Do law firms need to advertise? When can potential clients be contacted and what is the rationale behind the law governing it? This essay is a large percentage of your Final exam grade. Please remember that an essay is comprised of paragraphs not two or three sentences. Also you must include a Bluebook citation to your source even if it is our textbook. An outside source is required for full credit. |
Describe the “duty of integrity” and its purpose. Explain if it is permissible to merely threaten to report misconduct. Why or why not? This essay is a large percentage of your Final exam grade. Please remember that an essay is comprised of paragraphs not two or three sentences. Also you must include a Bluebook citation to your source even if it is our textbook. An outside source is required for full credit.
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What makes a claim frivolous? Give an example of a frivolous claim, and explain what some possible penalties are in detail. Remember to use proper Bluebook citation format and answer each part of the question. This essay is a large percentage of your Final exam grade. Please remember that an essay is comprised of paragraphs not two or three sentences. Also you must include a Bluebook citation to your source even if it is our textbook. An outside source is required for full credit. |