BAR ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
PROFESSIONAL LEGAL BAR EXAM PREP
QUESTIONS AND ACCURATE ANSWERS
GRADED A+
●● A lawyer may
Answer: May never reveal information gained for a client in the course
of the representation of that client with some limited exceptions
●● The procedures for informal rulemaking are found in the APA at
Answer: 5 USC § 553
●● The exceptions to the professional obligation of a lawyer not to
reveal information gained for a client in the course of the representation
of that client is controlled by
Answer: Rule 1.6 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
●● A rulemaking involves
Answer: An agency decision with future effect that prescribes law and
policy
●● The Chief's Counsel's memorandum was not a legally binding rule
because
,Answer: The Corps did not issue the rule using the procedures at 5 USC
§ 553
●● Jay's letter in Hypo 1-3 is an informal adjudication because
Answer: Jay's letter in Hypo 1-3 is an informal adjudication because
●● Agencies are required to respond to a petition with a reasonable time
period by:
Answer: Section 555(e)
●● EPA's reason for rejecting the rulemaking petition in Massachusetts
v. EPA was arbitrary and capricious because
Answer: It did not have a basis in the statute
●● If the D.C. Circuit decides that a rule is a procedural rule, it will
Answer: require notice and comment rulemaking if it is necessary to
preserve the intent of the APA require notice and comment rulemaking
●● The APA does not ban ex parte contacts in informal rulemaking
because
Answer: It is not an on-the-record proceeding
●● If an agency is subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Reg-Flex),
it is engaged in
,Answer: Hybrid rulemaking
●● In Loper Bright, the Supreme Court
Answer: Required judges to defer to an agency's statutory interpretation
when Congress authorized the agency to regulate subject to the limits
imposed by a term or phrase such as "appropriate" or "reasonable"
●● State Farm establishes an obligation for an agency to
Answer: Explain sufficiently how the agency reached its conclusion
based on the facts and arguments available to it.
●● A judge
Answer: Can affirm an economically and political significant rule which
claims broad authority to regulate in cases where the agency has not
previously claimed that authority if there is clear textual basis in the
agency's mandate that it has that authority.
●● Absent any exception or exemption, which of the following are
required in informal rulemaking under the APA and cases construing it?
(1) Notice of the proposed rulemaking;
(2) At least 60 days within which interested persons may comment on
the proposed rule;
(3) An opportunity to testify orally concerning the proposed rule;
, (4) A decision based on the information that was before the agency at the
time of the rulemaking.
Answer: 1.
●● (1) Ralph Nader meets with the Director of NHTSA and provides
him with a draft proposed rule, suggesting NHTSA adopt it;
(2) The Director meets with the President of the Automobile
Manufacturer's Association to discuss Nader's draft proposal;
(3) After the close of the public comment period, the Chair of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee calls the Director to a committee
hearing regarding the development of the rule, in which the Chair is very
critical of the rule as proposed;
(4) The President discusses the proposed rule with the Director and tells
him to accommodate the view of the Chair to the maximum degree
permissible.
NHTSA then publishes the final regulation. Which of the above events
were an unlawful ex parte communication unless the substance of the
communication is reflected in the record?
Answer: None of the above.
●● Which of the following statements is true about former President
Clinton's Executive Order on Regulatory Planning and Review
(E.O.12866) which is currently still in effect?
(1) E.O. 12866 requires agencies before they decide to regulate to
consider not only quantifiable costs and benefits but also non-
quantifiable costs and benefits;
PROFESSIONAL LEGAL BAR EXAM PREP
QUESTIONS AND ACCURATE ANSWERS
GRADED A+
●● A lawyer may
Answer: May never reveal information gained for a client in the course
of the representation of that client with some limited exceptions
●● The procedures for informal rulemaking are found in the APA at
Answer: 5 USC § 553
●● The exceptions to the professional obligation of a lawyer not to
reveal information gained for a client in the course of the representation
of that client is controlled by
Answer: Rule 1.6 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct
●● A rulemaking involves
Answer: An agency decision with future effect that prescribes law and
policy
●● The Chief's Counsel's memorandum was not a legally binding rule
because
,Answer: The Corps did not issue the rule using the procedures at 5 USC
§ 553
●● Jay's letter in Hypo 1-3 is an informal adjudication because
Answer: Jay's letter in Hypo 1-3 is an informal adjudication because
●● Agencies are required to respond to a petition with a reasonable time
period by:
Answer: Section 555(e)
●● EPA's reason for rejecting the rulemaking petition in Massachusetts
v. EPA was arbitrary and capricious because
Answer: It did not have a basis in the statute
●● If the D.C. Circuit decides that a rule is a procedural rule, it will
Answer: require notice and comment rulemaking if it is necessary to
preserve the intent of the APA require notice and comment rulemaking
●● The APA does not ban ex parte contacts in informal rulemaking
because
Answer: It is not an on-the-record proceeding
●● If an agency is subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (Reg-Flex),
it is engaged in
,Answer: Hybrid rulemaking
●● In Loper Bright, the Supreme Court
Answer: Required judges to defer to an agency's statutory interpretation
when Congress authorized the agency to regulate subject to the limits
imposed by a term or phrase such as "appropriate" or "reasonable"
●● State Farm establishes an obligation for an agency to
Answer: Explain sufficiently how the agency reached its conclusion
based on the facts and arguments available to it.
●● A judge
Answer: Can affirm an economically and political significant rule which
claims broad authority to regulate in cases where the agency has not
previously claimed that authority if there is clear textual basis in the
agency's mandate that it has that authority.
●● Absent any exception or exemption, which of the following are
required in informal rulemaking under the APA and cases construing it?
(1) Notice of the proposed rulemaking;
(2) At least 60 days within which interested persons may comment on
the proposed rule;
(3) An opportunity to testify orally concerning the proposed rule;
, (4) A decision based on the information that was before the agency at the
time of the rulemaking.
Answer: 1.
●● (1) Ralph Nader meets with the Director of NHTSA and provides
him with a draft proposed rule, suggesting NHTSA adopt it;
(2) The Director meets with the President of the Automobile
Manufacturer's Association to discuss Nader's draft proposal;
(3) After the close of the public comment period, the Chair of the House
Energy and Commerce Committee calls the Director to a committee
hearing regarding the development of the rule, in which the Chair is very
critical of the rule as proposed;
(4) The President discusses the proposed rule with the Director and tells
him to accommodate the view of the Chair to the maximum degree
permissible.
NHTSA then publishes the final regulation. Which of the above events
were an unlawful ex parte communication unless the substance of the
communication is reflected in the record?
Answer: None of the above.
●● Which of the following statements is true about former President
Clinton's Executive Order on Regulatory Planning and Review
(E.O.12866) which is currently still in effect?
(1) E.O. 12866 requires agencies before they decide to regulate to
consider not only quantifiable costs and benefits but also non-
quantifiable costs and benefits;
