MT Bar Professional Responsibility 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Montana's Rules of Professional Conduct, an attorney must keep client funds in a trust account that is:
- Commingled with the attorney's operating account
- Separate from the attorney's own funds (Correct answer)
- Held in any interest-bearing account the attorney chooses
- Accessible only with court approval
Correct answer: Separate from the attorney's own funds
Montana Rule 1.15 requires attorneys to hold client funds in a separate trust account, completely segregated from the attorney's own funds, to prevent commingling.
Question 2: Under Montana Rule of Professional Conduct 1.6, an attorney MAY disclose confidential client information without consent when:
- The attorney believes it will help the client's case
- Disclosure is necessary to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm (Correct answer)
- The information is embarrassing to the attorney
- The client's adversary requests it
Correct answer: Disclosure is necessary to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm
Montana RPC 1.6(b)(1) permits (but does not require) disclosure of confidential information to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm.
Question 3: Under Montana's Rules of Professional Conduct, which of the following best describes the duty of competence (Rule 1.1)?
- An attorney must be the best lawyer in their field
- An attorney must provide legal services with the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation (Correct answer)
- Competence requires board certification in every area of practice
- An attorney must always associate with a specialist
Correct answer: An attorney must provide legal services with the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation
Montana RPC 1.1 defines competence as providing legal services with the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.
Question 4: Under Montana RPC 1.7, a concurrent conflict of interest exists when:
- An attorney represents two clients in unrelated matters
- Representation of one client is directly adverse to another client, or there is a significant risk that representation will be materially limited (Correct answer)
- An attorney previously worked for a government agency
- A client refuses to pay legal fees
Correct answer: Representation of one client is directly adverse to another client, or there is a significant risk that representation will be materially limited
Montana RPC 1.7(a) identifies concurrent conflicts as situations where representation is directly adverse to another current client or where there is a significant risk of material limitation in the representation.
Question 5: Under Montana RPC 1.9, an attorney's duty to a former client includes:
- Never representing any adverse party in any matter
- Not representing another party in the same or a substantially related matter in which the client's interests are materially adverse (Correct answer)
- Maintaining confidentiality indefinitely without exception
- Returning all files immediately upon termination
Correct answer: Not representing another party in the same or a substantially related matter in which the client's interests are materially adverse
Montana RPC 1.9 prohibits representing a new client in the same or substantially related matter as a former client if the interests are materially adverse, unless the former client gives informed written consent.
Question 6: In Montana, an attorney who discovers that they are representing a client with a non-waivable conflict of interest must:
- Continue representation and disclose the conflict to the court
- Withdraw from representation (Correct answer)
- Obtain the client's oral consent to continue
- Associate with a second attorney to handle the conflict
Correct answer: Withdraw from representation
When a conflict is non-waivable under Montana RPC 1.7(b) (e.g., directly adverse representation of co-defendants in a criminal case), the attorney must withdraw; no consent can cure the conflict.
MT Bar Professional Responsibility 1
Under Montana's Rules of Professional Conduct, an attorney must keep client funds in a trust account that is: