Pre-Trial Practice
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Pre-Trial Practice is a course designed to immerse students in the procedures and strategic considerations that occur prior to trial in civil litigation. The course covers key aspects such as client interviewing, pleadings, motions practice, discovery (including interrogatories, depositions, and requests for production), pre-trial conferences, and settlement negotiations. Emphasis is placed on practical skills, ethical issues, and effective advocacy, with students often participating in simulations and drafting assignments to prepare for real-world legal practice. By the end of the course, students should have a thorough understanding of how to prepare a case for trial and the tactical choices that can influence case outcomes before reaching the courtroom.
Recommended Textbook
Civil Litigation 7th Edition by Peggy Kerley
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555 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Litigation and the Paralegal
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Sample Questions
Q1) Litigation paralegals often rely on form books and forms files.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
Q2) Most aspects of civil litigation occur in the courtroom.
A)True
B)False Answer: False
Q3) A litigation paralegal often appears in court.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Cloud computing refers to ________.
A) presentation software
B) case management software
C) an electronic filing system
D) storage of documents on the Internet
Answer: D
Q5) Laws that deal with private disputes between parties are known as ________ laws.
Answer: civil
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Chapter 2: The Courts and Jurisdiction
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a federal case, trials generally occur in the ________.
A) district court
B) courts of appeal
C) Supreme Court
D) All of these choices.
Answer: A
Q2) A court of appellate jurisdiction is a court where the case begins and is tried.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Venue is a type of jurisdiction.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) If the accident happened in Alabama, the state courts of Alabama would have jurisdiction, even though Stevens is not a citizen of that state.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Preliminary Considerations and Procedures
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Sample Questions
Q1) Litigation paralegals need not be concerned with ethical problems because various canons of ethics and rules of professional conduct apply only to attorneys.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) If a case is not filed within the appropriate statute of limitations, the case will be dismissed regardless of the merits of the case.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Which of the following never starts the running of a statute of limitations?
A) The date a wrongful act occurs
B) The date the plaintiff discovers a wrongful act
C) The date the plaintiff retains an attorney
D) All of these choices.
Answer: C
Q4) Client funds must always be kept in the attorney's ________ account.
Answer: trust
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Chapter 4: Investigation and Evidence
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Sample Questions
Q1) Demeanor refers to the appearance of a witness and is an important factor in determining the credibility of that witness.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A form that establishes the ground rules of litigation, including fees, billing rates, retainer, and work to be performed by the law firm is known as a(n) ________.
A) release
B) retainer agreement
C) authorization
D) evidence log
Q3) Which of the following is not an exception to the hearsay rule?
A) Excited utterance
B) Electronically stored information
C) Business records
D) Statements against interest
Q4) The best expert for a case is one who has testified often in court.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: The Complaint
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Sample Questions
Q1) A complaint usually contains allegations showing that the court in which the action is filed has both jurisdiction and venue.
A)True
B)False
Q2) All complaints filed in federal court must expressly state a cause of action.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Service of a complaint and summons on a corporation is accomplished by serving ________.
A) any director of the corporation
B) any employee of the corporation
C) the agent for service of process
D) Both a and c.
Q4) A five-year-old child cannot maintain a lawsuit in his own name because a child ________.
A) is not a real party in interest
B) lacks the capacity to sue
C) does not have status to sue
D) All of these choices.
Q5) The real parties in interest for a partnership are ________.
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Responses to the Complaint
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Sample Questions
Q1) A default judgment against a defendant can be set aside ________.
A) automatically if the defendant files an affidavit within one year showing that the default judgment was entered because of a mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect
B) if the plaintiff stipulates that it may be set aside
C) only if the defendant makes a motion to set aside the default
D) only if the defendant was a minor, incompetent, or in the military at the time the default judgment was entered
Q2) A third-party complaint, unlike the cross-claim and counterclaim, is a separate pleading.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In answering the complaint, Dan's Dealership and the car manufacturer must be represented by the same attorney.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A type of answer, often containing only one paragraph, in which the defendant denies all of the allegations of the complaint is a(n) ________.
Q5) Counterclaims that must be asserted or lost are known as ________.
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Chapter 7: Motion Practice
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Sample Questions
Q1) An order shortening time is often the result of an ex parte motion.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If Salazar's attorney makes a motion to set aside the default, the moving papers should be personally served on Meyers.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If a motion is served by mail, electronically, or by fax, ________ days must be added to the 14-day notice requirement.
Q4) Sometimes, after reviewing all of the papers in support of or in opposition to a motion, a judge will issue a(n) ________ ruling prior to the court hearing.
Q5) If this action is filed in federal court, Salazar's attorney has 21 days from the date default was entered in which to file a motion to set aside the default.
A)True
B)False
Q6) If an attorney makes a frivolous motion, the court will probably issue ________ against the attorney to punish him or her.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Overview of the Discovery Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) Purposes of discovery include ________.
A) preventing one of the parties from winning the lawsuit by surprise or trickery
B) determining the truth or the falseness of the alleged facts that form the basis of the suit
C) examining the facts and weighing the advisability of proceeding with the case or settling early
D) All of these choices.
Q2) Sanderson's former boss may destroy internal personnel records reflecting that Sanderson was an outstanding employee.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The decision to assert the attorney-client privilege belongs to Sanderson's attorney.
A)True
B)False
Q4) ESI includes most computer-generated records but excludes e-mail files. A)True
B)False
Q5) The attorney-client privilege is a privilege that belongs to the ________.
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Chapter 9: Depositions
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Sample Questions
Q1) A paralegal may not be asked to perform which of the following tasks at deposition?
A) Notetaking
B) Witness evaluation
C) Asking the deponent questions
D) Controlling exhibits
Q2) The Federal Rules require that formal notice of a deposition be given to the deponent and to each party.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Mitchell cannot be required to travel more than 30 miles for the deposition.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The legal means for securing the presence of a witness for a deposition is a(n) ________.
Q5) A person who gives a deposition is known as a(n) ________.
Q6) Stein can ask Susie Mitchell questions at deposition that he will not be able to ask at trial.
A)True
B)False
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Interrogatories
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Sample Questions
Q1) Interrogatories may be used to determine an expert witness from the real estate field whom Lancaster intends to call at trial.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Written questions submitted by one party in a lawsuit to another party in that suit are known as ________.
Q3) A disadvantage of interrogatories is that they ________.
A) are limited to the parties in a lawsuit
B) lack spontaneity
C) alert the opposition to the direction of the case
D) All of these choices.
Q4) Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, parties are not permitted to ask more than ________ interrogatories.
Q5) Interrogatories need not be answered under oath.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The act of copying any document in its final form is known as ________.
Q7) Once served with interrogatories under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party has ________ days to respond.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Physical and Mental Examinations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Physical and mental examinations invade the privacy of the person submitting to the examination.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Formal written notification of the intention to request a physical or mental examination is known as a(n) ________.
Q3) The court will decide that good cause exists to order a physical or mental examination only if the same information cannot be found in any other way.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A major criterion in choosing an examining physician is the ________ of the party to be examined.
Q5) Notice is a formal written notification to the person to be examined and to the other parties.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Physical and mental examinations in federal court are controlled by Rule ________ of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
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Chapter 12: Request for Documents
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Sample Questions
Q1) The documents that need not be produced, despite a request for documents, are known as ________ documents.
Q2) Interrogatories are best used at an early stage in the discovery process to help an attorney determine what documents are available for a later document production request.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Documents inadmissible at trial will ________.
A) not be produced
B) be produced
C) be produced if they are reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence
D) None of these choices.
Q4) Federal rules do not permit litigants to scan paper documents for electronic storage.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Desktop PCs, laptops, mobile phones, and PDAs are all included under the term
Q6) Documents protected by a privilege are known as ________ documents.
Q7) A log used to track documents is known as a(n) ________.
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Chapter 13: Request for Admission
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Sample Questions
Q1) Midwest Computer has only two choices in responding to a request for admission-admit or deny.
A)True
B)False
Q2) All confidential communications between a medical practitioner and his or her patient are protected by ________.
Q3) Once an admission is made, ________.
A) it is taken as proven
B) court permission is required in order for a party to withdraw the admission
C) it can be altered or denied when the party takes the witness stand
D) Either a or b.
Q4) According to Rule 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a request for admission may be served on a(n) ________.
Q5) A request for admission can be ignored or overlooked.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Any request for admission that is not denied is ________ admitted.
Q7) The primary purpose of the request for admission is to ________ a lawsuit by reducing the number and nature of the points in controversy.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Settlements, Dismissals, and Alternative Dispute Resolution
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Sample
Questions
Q1) Retired trial and appellate court judges who are hired by parties to preside over trials are called ________ judges.
Q2) A release should include ________.
A) the identities of the parties
B) the action that gives rise to the claim
C) consideration for release
D) All of these choices.
Q3) Generally, an offer to settle originates with the ________.
Q4) Drafting settlement summaries and settlement letters is an important part of the settlement process.
A)True
B)False
Q5) A full and final settlement utilizes a ________ release.
A) general
B) partial
C) mutual
D) Either a or b.
Q6) Probably the most common method of resolving disputes is ________.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Trial Techniques
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Sample Questions
Q1) The paralegal does not assist in the preparation of a trial brief.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to a jury trial in civil lawsuits if the amount in controversy exceeds ________.
A) $20
B) $500
C) $1,000
D) $10,000
Q3) The return of service information on a trial subpoena must be completed and filed with the court before the subpoena is valid.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The trial notebook is a binder that contains, in complete or summary form, everything necessary to prosecute or defend a case.
A)True
B)False
Q5) ________ is the process by which the jurors are questioned to determine bias.
Q6) A trial subpoena must be ________ served on a witness.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Posttrial Practice
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Sample Questions
Q1) A judgment can be entered several weeks or months after a court's decision.
A)True
B)False
Q2) After all briefs are filed, attorneys present the basis for their appeal before the court of appeals in the ________.
Q3) A petition for ________ is a request for a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Q4) After a trial has ended, a dissatisfied party may file ________.
A) a notice of appeal
B) a motion for a new trial
C) Either a or b.
D) None of these choices.
Q5) A motion for a new trial must be served on the opposing party under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ________.
A) within 10 days of the entry of judgment
B) within 20 days after the close of the trial
C) within 20 days after the entry of judgment
D) prior to the entry of judgment
Q6) An appeal filed by the appellee is called a(n) ________.
Q7) The person who opposes an appeal is the ________.
Page 18
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