CAS Professional Responsibility and Ethics Flashcards

Under the California Rules of Professional Conduct, an attorney who simultaneously represents a buyer and seller in the same real estate transaction must at minimum:

Answer: Obtain informed written consent from both clients after full disclosure of all relevant circumstances

Concurrent representation of clients with potentially conflicting interests requires informed written consent from each affected client after full disclosure under California RPC 1.7.

Contingency fee arrangements are expressly prohibited by professional responsibility rules in which type of case?

Answer: Criminal defense cases

California RPC 1.5(d) and the ABA Model Rules prohibit contingency fee agreements in criminal cases because they could improperly influence the attorney's advice.

Attorney Z currently represents a corporation and is asked to represent the CEO personally in an unrelated breach of contract dispute. The attorney should:

Answer: Conduct a conflict check and obtain informed written consent from both the corporation and the CEO if a conflict exists

Representing both a corporation and its officer requires a conflict analysis and, if a conflict exists, informed written consent from both clients under California RPC 1.7.

Under California Business and Professions Code section 6148, an attorney-client fee agreement generally must be in writing when the total fees and costs are reasonably expected to exceed:

Answer: $1,000

California B&P Code § 6148 requires a written fee agreement when the attorney reasonably anticipates fees and costs will exceed $1,000.

Which of the following is NOT a factor considered in determining whether an attorney's fee is reasonable under the California Rules of Professional Conduct?

Answer: The attorney's personal financial debts and obligations

Personal financial need of the attorney is irrelevant to fee reasonableness; California RPC 1.5(b) focuses on client-centered and market-based factors.

Two co-defendants charged with first-degree murder discover mid-trial that their defenses are directly antagonistic—each pointing to the other as the sole perpetrator. The attorney representing both must:

Answer: Withdraw from representing at least one of the defendants

When co-defendants' defenses become directly conflicting, the conflict is non-consentable and the attorney must withdraw from at least one representation under California RPC 1.7.

Under California RPC 1.5.1, a lawyer may divide fees with a lawyer from a different firm if:

Answer: There is a written fee-division agreement signed by the client and each lawyer, and the total fee is not increased solely by reason of the division

California RPC 1.5.1 requires a written fee-division agreement signed by the client and each lawyer, with no fee increase attributable solely to the division.