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Professional Responsibility Flashcards

7 cards from real NYLE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Professional Responsibility flashcards as text

  1. A New York attorney's client is also a close personal friend. The client asks the attorney to prepare a will that leaves a substantial bequest to the attorney. Under NY RPC 1.8(c), this is:

    Answer: Prohibited for the attorney to draft it, unless the attorney (or the recipient) is related to the client

    NY RPC 1.8(c) bars a lawyer from soliciting a gift from a client, and from preparing an instrument giving the lawyer or a person related to the lawyer a substantial gift, unless the lawyer or other recipient is related to the client (spouse, child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, other relative, or an individual with a close familial relationship). A friend is not a relative, so the attorney may not draft the will; the client should use a different, independent lawyer.

  2. An attorney is negotiating a settlement with an unrepresented adverse party. Under NY RPC 4.3, the attorney must:

    Answer: Avoid giving the person any legal advice but may explain the attorney's own client's position

    NY RPC 4.3 permits negotiation with unrepresented parties but requires the attorney to make clear the attorney's role, avoid implying neutrality, and refrain from giving legal advice other than to advise the person to get a lawyer.

  3. A New York prosecutor learns before trial that DNA evidence conclusively exonerates the defendant. Under NY RPC 3.8(b), the prosecutor must:

    Answer: Disclose the exculpatory evidence to the defense promptly

    NY RPC 3.8(b) requires a prosecutor to make timely disclosure to the defense of the existence of evidence or information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the accused, mitigate the degree of the offense or reduce the sentence. The duty is affirmative and is independent of a defense request.

  4. After a confidential settlement, a New York attorney posts on social media: 'Just crushed the defense in the [Client Name] case — $2 million for my client! Call me for results!' This post likely violates NY RPC:

    Answer: 1.6 (confidentiality) and 7.1 (advertising)

    Posting the client's name and the confidential settlement amount reveals confidential information in violation of RPC 1.6(a). The post is also attorney advertising governed by RPC 7.1: it makes a prior-results claim without the required disclaimer, lacks the 'Attorney Advertising' label (RPC 7.1(f)), and is a solicitation-style call to action, so it can be false or misleading under 7.1(a).

  5. Under NY RPC 1.16(c), a New York attorney who discovers that her client has used the attorney's services to perpetrate a fraud on a third party may:

    Answer: Withdraw from representation even if it causes material harm to the client

    NY RPC 1.16(c)(3) permits a lawyer to withdraw when the client has used the lawyer's services to perpetrate a crime or fraud. Permissive withdrawal under 1.16(c) is allowed even if it has a material adverse effect on the client, though in a pending matter tribunal permission is required (RPC 1.16(d)).

  6. An attorney leaves a New York law firm to start her own practice. She wishes to take client files with her. Under the NY Rules, client files:

    Answer: Belong to the client, who may authorize their transfer to the departing attorney

    Client files belong to the client, not the attorney or the firm; clients have the right to designate who retains their files, including a departing attorney they choose to follow.

  7. A New York-licensed attorney appears for a client before a tribunal in another state. Under NY RPC 8.5(b)(1), which rules of professional conduct generally apply to her conduct in connection with that proceeding?

    Answer: New York's Rules of Professional Conduct in all cases

    NY RPC 8.5(b)(1) provides that, for conduct in connection with a proceeding in a court before which a lawyer has been admitted to practice (either generally or for that proceeding), the rules to be applied are those of the jurisdiction in which the court sits, unless the court's rules provide otherwise. For other conduct, RPC 8.5(b)(2) applies the rules of the jurisdiction where the conduct occurred, or, if its predominant effect is elsewhere, that jurisdiction's rules; a lawyer is not subject to discipline if the conduct conforms to the rules of the jurisdiction where the lawyer reasonably believes its predominant effect will occur.