MPRE Competence and Malpractice Practice Questions
Area V of NCBE’s MPRE outline · 6–12% of the exam, about 3 to 6 of the 50 scored questions
60 questions across all twelve areas in 2 hours, with a score for Competence and Malpractice so you know where you stand.
Free Competence and Malpractice drillA client faces an emergency: a hearing on a restraining order is tomorrow, and the only available lawyer has never handled one. The client cannot find anyone else. May the lawyer act?
Competence, Legal Malpractice and Other Civil Liability on the MPRE
Competence, legal malpractice and other civil liability make up Area V of NCBE’s outline and 6–12% of the MPRE, about 3 to 6 of the 50 scored questions. The questions mix disciplinary rules on competence and diligence with the civil law of malpractice and liability to clients and others.
- Share of the exam
- 6–12% in NCBE’s subject matter outline, about 3 to 6 of the 50 scored questions
- Our drill
- 10 questions from 28 Competence and Malpractice questions, untimed, an explanation after every answer; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What competence and malpractice questions test
- Competence: knowledge, skill, preparation, new fields, emergencies and technology (Rule 1.1)
- Diligence: promptness, workload and succession planning for sole practitioners (Rule 1.3)
- Malpractice: duty, breach, causation (the case within a case) and damages, and the role of the rules as evidence
- Liability to nonclients: intended beneficiaries, opinion letters, fraud and assisting a fiduciary’s breach
- Limiting liability and risk prevention: limited liability entities, Rule 1.8(h), insurance and docket systems
Sit the full exam under the real clock
60 questions across all twelve areas in 2 hours, with a score for Competence and Malpractice so you know where you stand.
Free Competence and Malpractice drillHow to study it
- Keep discipline and civil liability apart: a rule violation is not itself a cause of action, and a lawyer can be liable without being disciplined.
- Learn the elements of a negligence claim against a lawyer and how causation is proved.
- Learn when nonclients can sue: the lawyer invited reliance or the client’s main goal was to benefit them.
- Take the competence and malpractice drill until you score 80% or better.
Common questions
How many malpractice questions are on the MPRE?
Competence, legal malpractice and other civil liability are 6-12% of the exam in NCBE’s outline, about 3 to 6 of the 50 scored questions.
Does the MPRE use the phrase "subject to civil liability"?
Yes. NCBE’s key words and phrases say it asks whether the conduct would subject the attorney or firm to civil liability, for example for malpractice, misrepresentation or breach of fiduciary duty.
60 questions across all twelve areas in 2 hours, with a score for Competence and Malpractice so you know where you stand.
Free Competence and Malpractice drillThe other MPRE areas
- Regulation of the Legal Profession
- The Client-Lawyer Relationship
- Client Confidentiality
- Conflicts of Interest
- Litigation and Other Forms of Advocacy
- Transactions and Communications with Persons Other Than Clients
- Different Roles of the Lawyer
- Safekeeping Funds and Other Property
- Communications About Legal Services
- Lawyers’ Duties to the Public and the Legal System
- Judicial Conduct
- MPRE practice exam (60 questions, 2 hours)
- Mixed drill: all twelve areas
- MPRE practice test: exam facts and every area
Sources
- NCBE: About the MPRE (length, administrations, jurisdictions)
- NCBE: Preparing for the MPRE (format, pretest questions, subject matter)
- NCBE: MPRE Subject Matter Outline (PDF)
- NCBE: MPRE Key Words and Phrases (PDF)
- NCBE: MPRE Registration (fee, dates, rescheduling)
- NCBE: MPRE Scores (scale, equating, release)
- NCBE: MPRE Test Day Policies
- The Bar Examiner: 2025 MPRE statistics (examinees, mean score, passing scores)
- ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
- ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct
Original practice questions for exam preparation, written to NCBE’s MPRE Subject Matter Outline and the ABA Model Rules; they are not NCBE questions. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) or the American Bar Association. MPRE is a mark of NCBE.