CAS Bar CAS Professional Responsibility and Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: 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:
- Charge a flat fee to eliminate any financial conflict
- Obtain informed written consent from both clients after full disclosure of all relevant circumstances (Correct answer)
- File a dual-representation notice with the State Bar
- Appoint a neutral third-party arbitrator to oversee the transaction
Correct 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.
Question 2: Contingency fee arrangements are expressly prohibited by professional responsibility rules in which type of case?
- Commercial breach of contract litigation
- Criminal defense cases (Correct answer)
- Personal injury lawsuits
- Civil rights actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Correct 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.
Question 3: Attorney Z currently represents a corporation and is asked to represent the CEO personally in an unrelated breach of contract dispute. The attorney should:
- Accept the case immediately since the matters are factually unrelated
- Accept only if the CEO pays an enhanced retainer above the corporate rate
- Conduct a conflict check and obtain informed written consent from both the corporation and the CEO if a conflict exists (Correct answer)
- Automatically decline because representing both a corporation and its officer is always prohibited
Correct 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.
Question 4: 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:
- $500
- $1,000 (Correct answer)
- $2,500
- $5,000
Correct 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.
Question 5: 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?
- Time and labor required to perform the legal service
- Complexity of the legal issues involved
- The attorney's personal financial debts and obligations (Correct answer)
- The experience, reputation, and ability of the attorney
Correct 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.
Question 6: 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:
- Continue representation with written court approval of the conflict waiver
- Move for a continuance until both defendants retain independent counsel
- Withdraw from representing at least one of the defendants (Correct answer)
- Allow each defendant to independently control their own portion of the defense strategy
Correct 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.
Question 7: Under California RPC 1.5.1, a lawyer may divide fees with a lawyer from a different firm if:
- The State Bar approves the fee-sharing arrangement in advance
- Both lawyers have worked substantially equal hours on the matter
- 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 (Correct answer)
- The referring attorney formally assumes no responsibility for the outcome of the matter
Correct 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.
CAS Bar CAS Professional Responsibility and Ethics 2
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: