Fees and Expenses Flashcards
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Read the first 7 Fees and Expenses flashcards as text
An attorney bills a client for time spent traveling to a deposition during which the attorney also worked on another client's matter. Under the Model Rules, the proper billing approach is:
Answer: Bill only the portion of travel time fairly allocable to each client's work.
Double-billing is improper; when time is spent on multiple clients simultaneously, each client may be charged only a fair share of that time.
A lawyer is discharged by a client before completing a matter handled on an hourly basis. The client refuses to pay any fees. Under the Model Rules, the lawyer:
Answer: May recover the reasonable value of services rendered even without a written agreement.
A lawyer discharged without cause is generally entitled to the reasonable value of services rendered (quantum meruit), even if the fee agreement is unenforceable.
A client asks the lawyer to advance court filing fees and expert witness costs during litigation. Under the Model Rules, a lawyer:
Answer: May advance litigation expenses, with repayment contingent on the outcome of the matter.
Rule 1.8(e) permits lawyers to advance litigation costs, with repayment contingent on the outcome, to prevent financial hardship from limiting access to representation.
A lawyer representing an indigent client in a civil rights matter may pay the client's living expenses during the litigation under the Model Rules:
Answer: No, because Rule 1.8(e) limits lawyers to advancing court costs and litigation expenses only.
Rule 1.8(e) only authorizes advancing court costs and litigation expenses, not living expenses or personal financial support.
A lawyer who has not been paid by a client wants to assert a lien on documents the client needs for an upcoming hearing. Under the Model Rules, asserting a retaining lien:
Answer: May be improper if it will seriously prejudice the client.
While the Model Rules do not expressly prohibit liens, withholding client property that causes serious prejudice to the client is generally improper under Rule 1.16(d).
An attorney charges a new client a $5,000 nonrefundable retainer described as compensation for 'availability.' Under the Model Rules, this arrangement is:
Answer: Impermissible because all advance fees must be deposited in trust and are refundable if unearned.
Most jurisdictions following the Model Rules treat advance fees as client funds held in trust; labeling a fee 'nonrefundable' does not override the obligation to return unearned funds.
A client agrees in the fee arrangement to pay the attorney's fee and also to pay any sanctions the court imposes on the lawyer for discovery violations. Under the Model Rules, this indemnification clause is:
Answer: Impermissible because it attempts to circumvent the deterrent effect of sanctions on the lawyer.
Indemnification agreements that shift sanctions from the lawyer to the client undermine the deterrent purpose of court sanctions and are improper under professional conduct rules.