NM Bar Performance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When drafting a persuasive brief for an MPT appellate task, the point headings should be written as:
- Neutral topic labels such as 'Issue One: Negligence'
- Argumentative sentences stating the legal conclusion favoring your client (Correct answer)
- Questions for the court to answer
- Statutory citations with no accompanying text
Correct answer: Argumentative sentences stating the legal conclusion favoring your client
Persuasive point headings assert the conclusion you want the court to adopt, functioning as mini-arguments that advance your client's position.
Question 2: In an MPT task requiring a demand letter, the tone should be:
- Threatening and hostile to maximize pressure on the recipient
- Firm and professional while clearly stating the legal basis for the demand (Correct answer)
- Conciliatory and apologetic to encourage settlement
- Identical in tone to an internal office memorandum
Correct answer: Firm and professional while clearly stating the legal basis for the demand
A demand letter must be assertive enough to convey seriousness but professional, as courts and opposing counsel may later review it.
Question 3: During MPT preparation, why is it important to read all File documents before reading the Library?
- Library cases are irrelevant until the facts are known
- The File always contains the answer to every legal question
- Understanding the facts helps you identify which legal rules are relevant to apply (Correct answer)
- File documents override Library authority on substantive law
Correct answer: Understanding the facts helps you identify which legal rules are relevant to apply
Knowing the factual context first allows you to read library materials with a purpose, identifying which legal rules are actually relevant to your client's situation.
Question 4: A supervising attorney's memo in an MPT task instructs you NOT to discuss one particular issue. As the examinee, you should:
- Include it anyway if you believe it is legally important
- Follow the instruction and omit that issue from your work product (Correct answer)
- Flag the issue in a footnote without full analysis
- Ask the client for guidance on whether to include it
Correct answer: Follow the instruction and omit that issue from your work product
The task memo defines the assignment's scope, and examinees are evaluated on their ability to follow those instructions precisely.
Question 5: In an MPT performance test, what is the principal function of the 'Library'?
- To provide background historical information about the legal system
- To supply all controlling legal authority needed to complete the assigned task (Correct answer)
- To list sources the examinee may look up outside the test packet
- To present the client's legal arguments in summary form
Correct answer: To supply all controlling legal authority needed to complete the assigned task
The Library contains all statutes, cases, regulations, and rules the examinee needs; no outside legal knowledge beyond basic competence is required.
Question 6: When an MPT task requires you to draft interrogatories, the questions should be:
- Open-ended, compound, and exhaustive to gather maximum information
- Clear, narrowly focused, and designed to elicit specific discoverable facts (Correct answer)
- Identical to deposition questions already in the File
- Written in legal jargon to demonstrate professional competence
Correct answer: Clear, narrowly focused, and designed to elicit specific discoverable facts
Effective interrogatories are precise and targeted so that they are difficult to evade and clearly define the information sought.
Question 7: A closing argument outline in an MPT task should emphasize:
- Every legal issue raised during trial, including those resolved against your client
- The strongest facts and inferences that support your theory of the case (Correct answer)
- Procedural objections and evidentiary rulings from the record
- Abstract legal principles without connecting them to the evidence
Correct answer: The strongest facts and inferences that support your theory of the case
A closing argument weaves compelling facts with the applicable law to persuade the fact-finder to adopt your theory, focusing on your strongest points.
NM Bar Performance 3
When drafting a persuasive brief for an MPT appellate task, the point headings should be written as: