Deck 4: Alternative, Judicial, and E-Dispute Resolution

Question 1

Mary hired the attorneys at the law firm of Sunny & Warm to represent her in a civil lawsuit. Erin Sunny, a partner, explained to Mary that she will need to pay to the firm a sum of money up-front that will be placed in a trust account before the firm proceeds. Periodically the lawyer's fees will be taken from the trust account as services are provided. What is this payment advance called?

A) a mortgage
B) a lien
C) a retainer
D) a security deposit

Answer 1

a retainer

Question 2

Barry Stir, Esq. is an attorney with a small solo practice. Most of the matters that Barry handles are straightforward and well defined, such as drafting simple wills and trusts, forming small corporations and limited liability companies, filing simple bankruptcy proceedings, and settling uncontested divorces. For these matters, the fee arrangement is usually ________.

A) a contingency-fee
B) a flat fee
C) a mortgaged fee
D) an hourly fee

Answer 2

a flat fee

Question 3

A defendant in a criminal case can hire his or her own attorney, but if the defendant cannot afford an attorney, ________

A) the defendant must defend himself at trial.
B) the case will be dismissed.
C) the trial judge will assign a bailiff to assist the defendant.
D) the government will provide an attorney to represent the defendant free of charge.

Answer 3

the government will provide an attorney to represent the defendant free of charge.

Question 4

The process of bringing, maintaining, and defending a lawsuit is called ________.

A) mediation
B) remediation
C) litigation
D) legislation

Question 5

The state of Idaho has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions. Graham was injured by Alice in a car accident on January 1, 2013. If Graham wants to bring a lawsuit against Alice on January 15, 2015, which of the following is most likely to be the outcome?

A) Graham is allowed to sue Alice after appealing for an extension of the statute of limitations.
B) Graham is not allowed to sue Alice, having lost his right to sue her.
C) Graham can sue Alice but will not receive damages.
D) Graham can sue Alice but is not entitled to a jury trial.

Question 6

The ________ is the party who files a complaint.

A) plaintiff
B) defendant
C) intervenor
D) arbitrator

Question 7

A ________ establishes the period during which a plaintiff must bring a lawsuit against a defendant.

A) statute of limitations
B) statute of frauds
C) writ of habeas corpus
D) remittitur

Question 8

Briefly describe what a "statute of limitations"
does.

Question 9

In a civil lawsuit, when will a court issue a default judgment against a defendant, and what does that mean to the plaintiff?

Question 10

A lawsuit where a group of plaintiffs with common claims collectively brings a lawsuit against a defendant is known as a(n) ________.

A) mass action
B) class action
C) consolidation
D) arbitration

Question 11

To maintain a class action lawsuit, a class must be ________ by the appropriate federal or state court.

A) sealed
B) patented
C) certified
D) sequestered

Question 12

Which of these is NOT a factor weighed by a court in determining whether a class can be certified in a class action?

A) if the legal and factual claims of all the parties are common
B) if it is impracticable for individual claimants to bring multiple lawsuits against the defendant
C) if the claims and defenses are typical for the plaintiffs and the defendant
D) if the representative parties will not adequately protect the interests of the class

Question 13

The deposition of a party or a witness can be given voluntarily or pursuant to a(n) ________.

A) writ of attachment
B) electronic surveillance
C) court order
D) writ of certiorari

Question 14

Which of the following is NOT considered to be discoverable ESI under Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure?

A) text messages
B) canceled business checks
C) emails
D) social media posts

Question 15

Hill Company maintains most of their business records as electronically stored information (ESI). Recently the company's president, Clint Hill, was informed that the firm can reasonably anticipate being named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit. Accordingly, Clint should see to it that the company ________.

A) preserves all relevant ESI that may be useful to an adversary
B) immediately deletes all relevant ESI before the company is named in a federal lawsuit
C) deletes all relevant ESI before the company receives any discovery requests
D) transfers all relevant ESI to a cloud server maintained by another company outside of the United States

Question 16

What occurs during discovery and what are some of the purposes for it?

Question 17

Pretrial conferences are often held ________.

A) formally in a large public forum
B) formally in a lawyer's offices
C) informally in the judge's chambers
D) informally in a restaurant or private club

Question 18

More than 95 percent of all cases ________.

A) are tried before a jury
B) are settled before they go to trial
C) are appealed to a higher court
D) are filed in a federal court

Question 19

A(n) ________ is a hearing before a trial in order to facilitate the settlement of a case.

A) en banc hearing
B) arbitration
C) settlement conference or pretrial hearing
D) remittitur

Question 20

Which of these is NOT considered to be a part of the permanent record of a trial court proceeding?

A) the trial court's written memorandum setting forth the reasons for the judgment entered
B) the trial transcript
C) the names and addresses of all jurors
D) the evidence introduced at trial

Question 21

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding what an attorney will do during the closing argument to the jury?

A) The attorney will try to convince the jury to render a verdict in his or her client's favor.
B) The attorney will point out the strengths in his or her client's case.
C) The attorney will point out weaknesses in the other side's case.
D) The attorney will enter additional evidence into the record.

Question 22

Following closing arguments, the judge will read jury instructions to the jury. Which of these would NOT be considered a proper jury instruction?

A) the judge's suggestions on what verdict should be returned
B) instructions as to what law to apply when they decide the case
C) the statutory definition of the crime charged in a criminal case
D) the legal definition of negligence in a civil negligence case

Question 23

In order to reduce the avalanche of paper that has traditionally been part of litigation, and utilizing the advances in technology, some courts have ordered ________.

A) that lawyers only file documents on "legal size" paper
B) that electronic filing of pleadings and other documents is mandatory
C) that all pleadings be printed on both sides of a sheet of paper
D) that smaller fonts and margins be used for all pleadings

Question 24

A party in a civil case may commence an appeal from a state trial court's decision by filing a notice of appeal ________.

A) once a final judgment is entered by the trial court
B) to any higher court in the state
C) to any higher federal court in the state
D) within seven years from when judgment was entered

Question 25

Only the ________ can appeal in a criminal case.

A) prosecution
B) defendant
C) plaintiff
D) jurors

Question 26

Which of the following documents would NOT be filed with an appellate court?

A) the trial judge's confidential correspondence with the appellate court suggesting how it should rule
B) all or relevant portions of the trial record
C) the appellant's opening brief
D) the appellee's responding brief

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true about the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) of 1925?

A) The FAA restricts parties from obtaining a court order to compel arbitration with an arbitration agreement.
B) The FAA restricts federal courts from hearing issues of law that have been decided by an arbitrator.
C) The FAA provides that arbitration agreements involving commerce are revocable contracts under ordinary circumstances.
D) Breach of contract cases and tort claims are not candidates for arbitration as per the FAA.

Question 28

In a mediation, the neutral third party is called a(n) ________.

A) moderator
B) mediator
C) ombudsman
D) arbitrator

Question 29

Which of these is NOT an advantage of online arbitration and/or online mediation?

A) reasonable fees
B) Settlements are reached rather quickly.
C) Parties act through a more objective online process.
D) Parties are able to confront each other and argue face-to-face.

Question 30

Most online arbitration requires one party to submit an amount that the party is willing to accept or willing to pay to the other party. After receiving this initial offer, which of these is NOT one of the usual options that the other party is permitted to do?

A) accept the offer
B) respond with a counteroffer
C) report the other party to the Federal Trade Commission
D) remove themselves from the online ADR process