MS Bar MS Bar Professional Responsibility 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Mississippi attorney discipline is governed primarily by which set of rules?
- The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
- The Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct (Correct answer)
- The Mississippi Code of Professional Responsibility
- Federal bar rules only
Correct answer: The Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct
Mississippi attorneys are governed by the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct, which are based on the ABA Model Rules with state-specific modifications.
Question 2: Under the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct, a lawyer must hold client funds in which type of account?
- The lawyer's personal checking account
- A separate trust account (IOLTA or client trust account) (Correct answer)
- The law firm's general operating account
- Any interest-bearing account designated by the client
Correct answer: A separate trust account (IOLTA or client trust account)
Mississippi attorneys must hold client funds in a separate trust account (such as an IOLTA account) and may not commingle client and personal funds.
Question 3: Under Mississippi Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6, a lawyer may disclose confidential client information without consent when:
- The client's conduct is merely embarrassing to the lawyer
- Disclosure is necessary to prevent the client from committing a crime likely to cause substantial harm (Correct answer)
- The opposing attorney requests the information
- The information is available from other public sources
Correct answer: Disclosure is necessary to prevent the client from committing a crime likely to cause substantial harm
MRPC 1.6 permits disclosure to prevent a client's future criminal conduct reasonably certain to cause substantial financial or bodily harm.
Question 4: Under Mississippi Rule of Professional Conduct 1.7, a concurrent conflict of interest exists when:
- A lawyer represents two clients in unrelated matters
- Representation of one client is directly adverse to another client (Correct answer)
- A client is unhappy with their representation
- A lawyer represents a client against a former client
Correct answer: Representation of one client is directly adverse to another client
A concurrent conflict under MRPC 1.7 arises when one client's interests are directly adverse to another current client.
Question 5: Under Mississippi's professional conduct rules, a lawyer must keep a client reasonably informed. This duty is found in which rule?
- MRPC 1.1 (Competence)
- MRPC 1.4 (Communication) (Correct answer)
- MRPC 1.6 (Confidentiality)
- MRPC 2.1 (Advisor)
Correct answer: MRPC 1.4 (Communication)
MRPC 1.4 imposes a duty on Mississippi lawyers to keep clients reasonably informed about the status of their matters and to promptly respond to inquiries.
Question 6: Under Mississippi professional responsibility rules, which body investigates and prosecutes attorney disciplinary complaints?
- The Mississippi Bar Association's Board of Directors
- The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance
- The Mississippi Bar's Committee on Professional Responsibility (Correct answer)
- The Mississippi Supreme Court directly
Correct answer: The Mississippi Bar's Committee on Professional Responsibility
The Mississippi Bar's Committee on Professional Responsibility investigates attorney disciplinary complaints before referring matters to the Supreme Court.
MS Bar MS Bar Professional Responsibility 1
Mississippi attorney discipline is governed primarily by which set of rules?