ABPLA Legal Professional Liability Specialist

The four elements a plaintiff must prove in a legal malpractice action are:

• ADuty, breach of the standard of care, causation, and damages
• BFault, injury, money
• CContract, breach, mitigation, damages
• DIntent, act, harm, foreseeability

An attorney-client relationship (the duty element) typically arises when:

• AThe attorney consents to provide legal services to a person who reasonably relies on the…
• BA person pays a retainer
• CA person enters the law office
• DA person tells a friend that an attorney is their lawyer

Engagement letters are important in legal malpractice prevention primarily because they:

• ADefine the scope of representation, fees, and identify the client to limit duty
• BEliminate all malpractice liability
• CAre required by federal law
• DConstitute a binding waiver of malpractice claims

The standard of care for attorneys is best stated as:

• AThe skill, knowledge, and care ordinarily exercised by attorneys in similar circumstances
• BPerfect performance
• CThe best possible representation
• DWhatever the client requests

In most jurisdictions, expert testimony in a legal malpractice case is:

• ARequired to establish the standard of care unless the breach is within common knowledge
• BNever required
• CRequired only in criminal malpractice
• DRequired only when damages exceed $100,000

A violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) in a legal malpractice case is:

• AEvidence of breach of the standard of care but not malpractice per se
• BConclusive proof of malpractice
• CIrrelevant
• DGrounds for dismissal of the malpractice claim

'Actual cause' (but-for causation) in a legal malpractice case requires plaintiff to prove that:

• ABut for the attorney's breach, the plaintiff would have obtained a better result
• BThe breach was a moral wrong
• CThe attorney acted intentionally
• DThe damages were foreseeable

The 'case-within-a-case' doctrine in litigation malpractice requires the plaintiff to:

• ATry the underlying case as part of the malpractice case to prove they would have won
• BShow the attorney was rude
• CProve a disciplinary violation
• DShow punitive damages

Legal (proximate) cause in legal malpractice asks whether:

• AThe harm was a foreseeable consequence of the attorney's breach
• BThe attorney knew the law
• CThe damages are large
• DThe client was sympathetic

Recoverable damages in legal malpractice are most commonly limited to:

• AThe difference between what the client would have obtained absent the breach and what was…
• BAll client-perceived losses
• CNominal damages
• DPunitive damages only

In litigation malpractice, the plaintiff must typically also prove:

• ACollectibility — that the underlying judgment, if obtained, could have been collected
• BThat the attorney was disbarred
• CThat the attorney was uninsured
• DThat the attorney committed a crime

A 'settle-and-sue' legal malpractice claim arises when:

• AThe client settles the underlying case and then sues the attorney for negligently inducin…
• BThe client wins and then sues
• CThe client refuses to settle
• DThe attorney settles without authority

Emotional distress damages in legal malpractice are generally:

• ANot recoverable absent egregious conduct or independent physical/financial injury
• BAlways recoverable
• CRecoverable only against insurance defense attorneys
• DTripled by statute

Punitive damages in legal malpractice are:

• AGenerally not available for ordinary negligence; require malice, fraud, or willful conduct
• BRecoverable by default
• CAvailable only in federal court
• DAlways tripled

The 'discovery rule' for legal malpractice statute of limitations means the cause of action accrues when:

• AThe client knows or reasonably should know of the injury caused by the attorney's neglige…
• BThe attorney commits the act
• CThe attorney is disbarred
• DThe client first hires successor counsel

The 'continuous representation' doctrine tolls the legal malpractice SOL while:

• AThe attorney continues to represent the client on the same matter in which the negligence…
• BThe attorney is in practice
• CThe client is unhappy
• DThe matter is on appeal

In jurisdictions following the 'actual injury' rule, the legal malpractice SOL begins to run:

• AWhen the client suffers actual, appreciable harm — not on the negligent act alone
• BImmediately on the negligent act
• CWhen the attorney is disciplined
• DWhen successor counsel is retained

A 'statute of repose' in legal malpractice differs from a statute of limitations in that it:

• AImposes an absolute outer time limit from the date of the negligent act, regardless of di…
• BTolls the SOL
• CExtends the SOL
• DApplies only in transactional cases

RPC 1.7 (concurrent conflicts of interest) generally requires:

• AThe attorney to obtain informed consent confirmed in writing when representations are dir…
• BUnanimous consent of all bar members
• CA court order
• DNotice to opposing counsel

RPC 1.9 (duties to former clients) prohibits representation where:

• AThe new matter is the same or substantially related to a former client's matter and mater…
• BAny prior client objects
• CThe lawyer remembers the former client
• DA friend referred the new client

RPC 1.10 (imputation of conflicts) generally provides that:

• AWhile lawyers are associated in a firm, the disqualification of one is imputed to all unl…
• BConflicts only attach to the named partner
• CImputation does not apply at law firms
• DAll firm conflicts can be waived by partner vote

An 'advance waiver' of future conflicts under RPC 1.7 is:

• APermissible if the client reasonably understands the material risks of future conflicts a…
• BAlways invalid
• CRequired by RPC
• DEffective only for sophisticated clients without limits

The 'actual innocence' rule in criminal legal malpractice generally requires:

• AThe convicted defendant prove actual innocence of the underlying offense to recover again…
• BCounsel be disbarred
• CThe defendant remain incarcerated
• DThe prosecutor consent

Transactional legal malpractice differs from litigation malpractice primarily in that:

• ADamages are typically the diminished value of the transaction; the case-within-a-case is…
• BTransactional malpractice is impossible
• CTransactional malpractice has no SOL
• DOnly contract claims apply

The defense of 'judgmental immunity' (or attorney-judgment rule) protects an attorney who:

• AMade an informed, good-faith strategic decision on an unsettled question of law
• BWas acting on bad faith
• CWas negligent in research
• DFailed to file timely

The defense of 'in pari delicto' in legal malpractice applies when:

• AThe client's own wrongful conduct is at least equally culpable in producing the loss
• BThe client is a former bar member
• CThe client paid no fee
• DThe client lied to a third party

Comparative or contributory fault in legal malpractice may reduce damages when:

• AThe client's own conduct contributed to the harm (e.g., concealing facts, failing to foll…
• BThe client paid late
• CThe client criticized the attorney
• DThe client switched attorneys

Under Togstad v. Vesely (Minn. 1980), an attorney-client relationship can form:

• AFrom an initial consultation when the prospective client reasonably relies on legal advic…
• BOnly when a written engagement letter is signed
• COnly after payment of a retainer
• DOnly when the attorney sends a confirming letter

RPC 1.18 (duties to prospective clients) requires lawyers to:

• AProtect information learned in consultation with a prospective client even if no relation…
• BTake every prospective client
• CCharge for consultations
• DDisclose all consultations to current clients

In a 'missed statute of limitations' case, the plaintiff in the malpractice action must typically prove:

• AThe underlying case would have succeeded but for the missed SOL — the case-within-a-case
• BOnly that the SOL was missed
• COnly that the attorney admitted error
• DOnly that the attorney lacked malpractice insurance

Fee forfeiture as a legal malpractice remedy:

• APermits the client to recover attorney fees paid even without proving damages on the unde…
• BIs unavailable
• CRequires criminal conviction
• DEquals triple damages

In legal malpractice, 'breach of fiduciary duty' is:

• AA claim distinct from negligence-based malpractice that may apply different rules and rem…
• BIdentical to negligence
• CAvailable only in transactional cases
• DLimited to criminal cases

The 'specialist' standard of care applies when:

• AThe attorney holds himself or herself out as having special expertise in a practice area
• BThe attorney is over 50
• CThe attorney has malpractice insurance
• DThe attorney has won prior cases

The 'locality rule' (community standard) for attorneys is:

• ALargely abandoned in favor of a state-wide or national standard with limited exceptions
• BThe dominant rule today
• COnly applied in tax law
• DRequired by federal statute

In legal malpractice, the 'reasonable lawyer' is benchmarked against:

• AA lawyer of ordinary skill, knowledge, and care in the same practice area at the time of…
• BA perfect lawyer
• CThe most respected lawyer in the field
• DAny lawyer with malpractice insurance

Expert witnesses on attorney standard of care typically must be:

• AQualified by experience or knowledge in the same practice area and jurisdiction or applic…
• BA judge
• CA law professor
• DA bar examiner

RPC 1.5 governs:

• AReasonableness of legal fees and required disclosures, including contingency-fee writings
• BConflicts of interest
• CConfidentiality
• DWithdrawal

A 'limited-scope' representation (RPC 1.2(c)) reduces malpractice exposure by:

• ADefining specifically what the attorney is and is not doing, with informed client consent
• BEliminating duty altogether
• CAvoiding all malpractice claims
• DMaking the attorney a witness only

RPC 1.16 (declining or terminating representation) requires withdrawal when:

• AContinued representation would violate the RPC or other law, or the attorney's condition…
• BThe client is rude
• CThe fee is unpaid for one month
• DThe case looks unwinnable

In a transactional matter, an attorney's duty to detect fraud by the client extends to:

• AWithdrawing or disaffirming representations to third parties when the client's fraud beco…
• BReporting all clients to authorities
• CAuditing client financials
• DVerifying every fact independently

Liability to non-clients in legal malpractice generally requires:

• AA duty owed to the non-client (e.g., third-party beneficiary, foreseeable reliance) — gen…
• BNo legal basis
• CDirect attorney-client relationship in all cases
• DInsurance acceptance

In estate planning malpractice (negligent will drafting), most jurisdictions now permit:

• AIntended beneficiaries of the will to sue the drafting attorney despite lack of privity
• BOnly the executor to sue
• COnly the testator's estate to sue
• DNo civil action

Confidentiality breaches under RPC 1.6 may support malpractice or breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims when:

• AThe breach causes harm to the client or violates a duty owed
• BThe information is technical
• CThe breach is unintentional
• DDisclosure was to a non-attorney

An attorney representing an organization (RPC 1.13) owes primary duties to:

• AThe organization, not its constituents (officers, directors, employees, shareholders)
• BEach individual officer
• CWhichever constituent pays
• DThe majority shareholder

In family law malpractice, the most common breach involves:

• AFailure to draft proper QDROs, missing tax consequences, or inadequate discovery of marit…
• BFailure to obtain a divorce
• CCharging hourly
• DGoing to mediation

In real estate malpractice, common breach scenarios include:

• ATitle defects, missed easements, defective deeds, escrow errors, and zoning oversights
• BCharging closing costs
• CUsing a title company
• DRefusing dual representation

In tax law malpractice, the 'tax injury' typically accrues when:

• AThe IRS assesses additional tax/penalties traceable to the attorney's negligent advice
• BThe advice is given
• CThe return is filed
• DThe audit begins

The 'collateral source rule' in legal malpractice generally:

• AHas been modified or abolished in many jurisdictions for legal malpractice — varies by st…
• BAlways applies
• CNever applies
• DApplies only to insurance benefits