OR Bar OR Bar Professional Responsibility 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Oregon RPC 4.2, may an attorney contact a represented party without that party's attorney's consent?
- No, unless authorized by law or a court order (Correct answer)
- Yes, if the contact is brief and courteous
- Yes, if the attorney believes opposing counsel is incompetent
- No, under any circumstances whatsoever
Correct answer: No, unless authorized by law or a court order
Oregon RPC 4.2 prohibits communication with a represented person absent consent of counsel, unless authorized by law or court order.
Question 2: An Oregon attorney's fee agreement is silent on the method of fee calculation. If a dispute arises, how is the fee evaluated?
- By whether the fee is reasonable under the factors listed in Oregon RPC 1.5 (Correct answer)
- By the client's ability to pay
- By the prevailing hourly rate in New York
- By the amount of time the attorney subjectively spent on the matter
Correct answer: By whether the fee is reasonable under the factors listed in Oregon RPC 1.5
Oregon RPC 1.5 requires that all attorney fees be reasonable, evaluated by factors such as time, novelty, skill required, and customary fees.
Question 3: Under Oregon RPC 1.9, which of the following best describes the former client conflict rule?
- An attorney may not represent a new client whose interests are materially adverse to a former client in a substantially related matter without consent (Correct answer)
- An attorney may never represent anyone adverse to a former client
- Conflicts with former clients can never be waived
- The rule only applies to clients from the past year
Correct answer: An attorney may not represent a new client whose interests are materially adverse to a former client in a substantially related matter without consent
Oregon RPC 1.9 bars adverse representation in a substantially related matter unless the former client gives informed written consent.
Question 4: An Oregon attorney advertises legal services online. Which statement about the advertisement is TRUE under Oregon RPC 7.1?
- The advertisement must not contain false or misleading communications about the attorney or her services (Correct answer)
- Attorneys may make any claims as long as they are labeled as opinions
- Attorney advertising is completely unregulated in Oregon
- Testimonials from former clients are always prohibited
Correct answer: The advertisement must not contain false or misleading communications about the attorney or her services
Oregon RPC 7.1 prohibits false or misleading communications about an attorney's services in all forms of advertising.
Question 5: Under Oregon RPC 1.6, which of the following is a recognized exception permitting disclosure of confidential client information?
- To prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm (Correct answer)
- When the attorney believes the client is dishonest
- Whenever the attorney deems disclosure in the public interest
- To secure the attorney's own fee in any dispute
Correct answer: To prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm
Oregon RPC 1.6(b)(1) permits disclosure to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm even without client consent.
Question 6: An Oregon supervising attorney negligently fails to oversee an associate who commits an ethical violation. Under Oregon RPC 5.1, is the supervising attorney subject to discipline?
- Yes, if the supervising attorney knew of the conduct at a time when its consequences could have been avoided and failed to act (Correct answer)
- No, because each attorney is individually responsible for their own conduct only
- Yes, but only if the supervising attorney directly ordered the misconduct
- No, supervision is only required for non-lawyers
Correct answer: Yes, if the supervising attorney knew of the conduct at a time when its consequences could have been avoided and failed to act
Oregon RPC 5.1(c) holds supervisory attorneys responsible when they know of a subordinate's misconduct in time to prevent or mitigate it and fail to act.
OR Bar OR Bar Professional Responsibility 2
Under Oregon RPC 4.2, may an attorney contact a represented party without that party's attorney's consent?