MPRE Conflicts of Interest Practice Questions
Area IV of NCBE’s MPRE outline · 12–18% of the exam, about 6 to 9 of the 50 scored questions
60 questions across all twelve areas in 2 hours, with a score for Conflicts of Interest so you know where you stand.
Free Conflicts of Interest drillTwo years ago an attorney represented a company in negotiating a supply contract. The company's former supplier now asks the attorney to sue the company, claiming that same contract was breached. The attorney no longer represents the company. May the attorney accept?
Conflicts of Interest on the MPRE
Conflicts of interest are Area IV of NCBE’s outline and 12–18% of the MPRE, about 6 to 9 of the 50 scored questions, the largest single area on the exam. The questions ask whether a conflict exists, whether the client can consent to it, how consent must be given, and whether the conflict spreads to the rest of the firm.
- Share of the exam
- 12–18% in NCBE’s subject matter outline, about 6 to 9 of the 50 scored questions
- Our drill
- 10 questions from 46 Conflicts of Interest questions, untimed, an explanation after every answer; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What conflicts of interest questions test
- Current clients: direct adversity, material limitation and consentable conflicts (Rule 1.7)
- Specific prohibitions: business transactions, gifts, media rights, financial assistance, third-party payment, aggregate settlements and limiting malpractice liability (Rule 1.8)
- Former and prospective clients: the substantially related test and harmful information (Rules 1.9, 1.18)
- Imputation and screening: which conflicts spread to the firm and when a screen avoids it (Rule 1.10)
- Government lawyers, judges, arbitrators, mediators and law clerks (Rules 1.11, 1.12)
Sit the full exam under the real clock
60 questions across all twelve areas in 2 hours, with a score for Conflicts of Interest so you know where you stand.
Free Conflicts of Interest drillHow to study it
- Work every conflict question in three steps: is there a conflict, is it consentable, and was consent given properly (informed, confirmed in writing, or signed by the client for Rule 1.8)?
- Learn which Rule 1.8 transactions need a writing signed by the client and which conflicts are never consentable.
- Learn when screening works: lateral lawyers, prospective clients, former government lawyers and former judges, but never current-client conflicts.
- Take the conflicts drill more than once; it is the largest area on the exam.
Common questions
How many conflicts of interest questions are on the MPRE?
Conflicts of interest are 12-18% of the exam in NCBE’s outline, about 6 to 9 of the 50 scored questions, the largest area.
Can a client consent to any conflict?
No. Under Rule 1.7(b) a conflict is not consentable if the lawyer cannot reasonably believe she can represent each client competently and diligently, if the representation is prohibited by law, or if it involves one client asserting a claim against another client of the lawyer in the same litigation.
60 questions across all twelve areas in 2 hours, with a score for Conflicts of Interest so you know where you stand.
Free Conflicts of Interest drillThe other MPRE areas
- Regulation of the Legal Profession
- The Client-Lawyer Relationship
- Client Confidentiality
- Competence, Legal Malpractice and Other Civil Liability
- 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.