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1Under the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC), does a lawyer have a duty to provide competent representation to every client?
2What factors do the MRPC identify as relevant in determining whether a lawyer has sufficient knowledge and skill to provide competent representation?
3What factors do the MRPC identify as relevant in determining whether a lawyer has deployed sufficient thoroughness and preparation to provide compe...
4Is there a set standard for the amount of preparation a lawyer must do in a matter to provide competent representation?
5To maintain the level of knowledge and skill necessary for competent representation, must a lawyer keep up with changes in the law and its practice?
6A lawyer advised a business in employment-law matters. The lawyer assisted the business in terminating an executive for embezzlement. The terminati...
7Before a lawyer takes on a client or a matter, must the lawyer assess her own ability to provide competent representation?
8If a lawyer is not familiar with a particular factual context or a particular area of law, does this necessarily preclude the lawyer from undertaki...
9A lawyer who had never handled a criminal case was appointed by a court to represent a criminal defendant pro bono. The lawyer had practiced in oth...
10A lawyer graduated from law school and was admitted to the bar. Six months later, a woman asked the lawyer to draft a will on her behalf. The lawye...
11In an emergency, may a lawyer provide legal assistance even if the lawyer is not competent in the relevant area of law?
12A lawyer had advised a client on trusts-and-estates matters for 10 years. The client called the lawyer late one evening to ask for urgent advice ab...
13In affiliating with another lawyer to provide competent representation, should a lawyer obtain the client’s informed consent and discuss with the c...
14In affiliating with another lawyer to provide competent representation, should a lawyer do so based on a reasonable belief that the additional lawy...
15A client asked a lawyer to represent her in a complex business transaction. The lawyer had not previously worked on this type of transaction. The l...
16Does a lawyer have a duty to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client?
17Does a lawyer’s duty of diligence and promptness require a lawyer to seek every possible advantage, even to the point of rudeness or discourtesy?
18Does a lawyer’s duty of diligence and promptness prevent a lawyer from agreeing to a reasonable postponement or extension of a deadline?
19If there is doubt as to whether a client-lawyer relationship continues to exist, e.g., whether all matters in the scope of the representation have ...
20If a lawyer is a sole practitioner, might the lawyer’s duty of diligence require the lawyer to prepare a plan for another lawyer to review the sole...
21A lawyer was a sole practitioner. The lawyer learned that he had terminal cancer and had only a few weeks left to live. The lawyer immediately call...
22If a lawyer is disciplined by a bar association or other body for violating the rules of professional conduct, does that discipline typically inclu...
23What are the elements of a civil claim for professional negligence against a lawyer?
24In general, is a lawyer considered to be a fiduciary of a client?
25In addition to professional-negligence liability, is a lawyer subject to civil liability to a client for breach of a fiduciary duty?
26Are both professional-negligence claims and fiduciary-breach claims types of legal-malpractice claims?
27Is a lawyer generally liable for malpractice if she reasonably believed that her actions were required by law or by a rule of professional conduct?
28In the context of a lawyer’s professional negligence, what standard of care is required to satisfy the lawyer’s duty to the client?
29In evaluating whether a lawyer has acted competently as required by the professional-negligence standard of care, will a court essentially ask whet...
30In evaluating whether a lawyer has acted diligently as required by the professional-negligence standard of care, will a court essentially ask wheth...
31In evaluating whether a lawyer has complied with the professional-negligence standard of care, will a court generally compare the lawyer’s actions ...
32May a lawyer’s assertions or disclaimers of expertise or ability affect the standard of care applicable to the lawyer’s conduct?
33In general, does a lawyer breach the professional-negligence standard of care by following the lawful instructions of a properly informed client?
34In general, must a plaintiff in a legal-malpractice action present expert testimony regarding the care required and the defendant’s breach in order...
35In general, does a lawyer’s violation of a statute regulating lawyer conduct or a rule of professional conduct give rise to an implied cause of act...
36In general, does proof of a lawyer’s violation of a statute regulating lawyer conduct or a rule of professional conduct preclude the plaintiff from...
37In general, under what circumstances may a trier of fact consider a lawyer’s violation of a statute regulating lawyer conduct or a rule of professi...
38In the context of professional-negligence liability, does a lawyer owe a duty of care to a prospective client?
39In the context of professional-negligence liability, does a lawyer owe a duty of care to a former client?
40In general, are the elements of causation and damages in a legal-malpractice case governed by the relevant jurisdiction’s standard laws of causatio...
41If a plaintiff in a legal-malpractice case alleges that but for the lawyer’s misconduct she would have obtained a more favorable judgment in a civi...
42If a plaintiff in a legal-malpractice case recovers against a lawyer for the loss of a more favorable judgment in a prior case, may the lawyer alwa...
43In general, does a client who has been convicted of a crime have a cause of action against his lawyer if, but for the lawyer’s malpractice, the cli...
44In addition to malpractice liability, is a lawyer subject to liability under the normal contract-law principles governing breach of contract in an ...
45In holding a lawyer liable for malpractice, may a court generally award equitable remedies instead of, or in addition to, money damages?
46In general, is a law firm vicariously liable for civil wrongs committed by its principals and employees acting in the ordinary course of the firm’s...
47In general, is a partner in a law firm that is organized as a general partnership personally liable for civil wrongs committed by the firm, its pri...
48A lawyer in a large firm represented the husband in a divorce. Another lawyer in the lawyer’s firm agreed to represent the wife in the same divorce...
49Does a lawyer sometimes owe a duty of care to a nonclient who relies on the lawyer’s opinion or legal services?
50Does a lawyer sometimes owe a duty of care to a nonclient when the lawyer is performing work that benefits the nonclient?
51Does a lawyer sometimes owe a duty of care to a nonclient when the lawyer represents a nonclient’s fiduciary?
52In general, does a lawyer owe a duty of care to an opposing party in litigation or in an arm’s-length transaction?
53A lawyer represented the guardian of an incompetent person’s estate. A minor was the beneficiary of the estate, but the minor was not the lawyer’s ...
54In general, if a lawyer assists a client in breaking or refusing to enter into a contract, can the lawyer be held liable for intentional interferen...
55In general, is a lawyer who initiates court proceedings to obtain criminal prosecution liable to a nonclient for malicious prosecution if the lawye...
56In general, is a lawyer who initiates civil court proceedings liable to a nonclient for the wrongful use of civil litigation if the lawyer acts wit...
57In general, is a lawyer subject to civil liability for publishing material about a nonclient in the course of a court proceeding?
58Is the prospective limitation of legal-malpractice claims a favored practice?
59What restrictions do the MRPC place on a lawyer’s ability to settle legal-malpractice claims?
60In what circumstances may a client or former client rescind a settlement agreement that was meant to resolve a malpractice claim against the client...
61A client was unhappy with her former lawyer’s representation and filed a civil malpractice claim against the lawyer. Upon learning of the former cl...
62In most states, are lawyers required to maintain malpractice insurance?
63Are lawyers permitted to obtain insurance to protect themselves from negligent conduct committed by themselves or by their agents?
64A lawyer was a partner in a large law firm. The lawyer discovered that the firm had allowed its malpractice insurance to lapse. The state in which ...
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64 cards