MPT WORKSHOP

 An MPT is both a systematic approach and an essay

 As a General Rule: spend 45 minutes reading & outlining and 45 writing

 Develop a strategy by to teach me how to:

o Identify
o Annotate
o Pulling our relevant information from each MPT document
o Pulling out the right information from each MPT document
o Will set me up to analyze the issues correctly
Road Map:
 1) Purpose and goals of the MPT-along with the skills that get tested
 2) Skim the Table of Contents
 3) Dig deep into the Task Memo
 4) Review the law in the Library
 5) Sift through the facts in the File
 6) Outline and write your answer
 7) Time-saving tips for success

What is the MPT Packet:

 All of the client’s facts.
 All of the law you need –someone else has done all of the research for you!
 A document called the Task Memo –this will be your starting place.

What Skills are Tested?

 Problem Solving- Your ability to diagnose a client problem, develop a plan of action,
implement that plan and generate a solution

 2) Legal Analysis and Reasoning- Your ability to make logical connections between the
law and the facts given to craft a sound solution

 3) Analyze Facts- determining what facts are relevant or what facts are irrelevant

 4) Written Communication – Your ability to present a written-on point response to

problems your presented with. Clarity! and academic competence

 5) Organization and Time Management-

 6) Identify and Resolve Ethical Dilemmas- Ethical rules in the library that you will
need to follow

 7) Reading Comprehension- find and follow the instructions you get, clues that will
help you identify enounces and hidden issues

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  The examiners want to know if you can accurately and coherently response
to resolves a client’s problem
 Can you accurately predict the outcome, communicate that prediction effectively,
clearly?
 Practical skills that a newly minted lawyer needs like to follow directions and
using your common sense to problem solve fast and accurately

When Answering in MPT- What Steps to Follow in Order:

 1) Skim the Table of Contents to Identify:

 This will tell you all the documents in the packet and how to divide your time
 Such as: how many cases are there, how many documents
 Predictions about your assignment
 Such as: firms’ guidelines for drafting a brief
 Insight of the sources of law in the Library
 Such as: statutes, codes, rules

 The Table of Contents will Identify:

 1)Your Client
 2)The Type of Document You Are to Draft
 3)The Client's Legal Problem
 4)Any Other Useful Clues About Your Task

 2) Reading the Task Memo

 CALL DR. T:

 C- Client- Who is the client?

 A- Audience- is my audience a lawyer, lay person or both?
 L- Legal Problem- What legal problem does the take memo instruct you
to research and solve to help your client
 L- Limiting Instruction- Are there any instructions that narrow or limit
the scope of my task?
o Does the boss tell you not to address
something even though to you it seems
important and relevant?
 D-Document-What type of document does the Task Memo ask U to draft?
o A memo, letter, brief or something else?
 R- Research Questions- Are there any terms mentioned in the Task Memo
that I want more information about?
 T-Tones- Should you use an objective or persuasive tone when you draft
the assigned document?

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Your Legal Task:

 Break your task down so that your non-legal honey could understand what he or she
needs to do.
 Make your legal words as simple as possible to that your legal honey can understand
them

 PART 1 of the Q’S: For the first part of the task, you will need to set forth the
arguments in favor of the legislation, but you are also going
to have to include counterarguments and explain why such
counterarguments are not persuasive.

 PART 2 of the Q’S: The second part of the task suggest that there is a key legal
argument that could stand in the way of the legislation, and
that this legal argument is different from the likely non-
legal arguments of the first part of your task.

 It seems to suggest that there is a key legal argument that stands

in the way of the legislation and the legal argument is different
from the likely non-legal argument of the first part of the test.

 Draft non-legal argument with legal applications

RESEARCH TERMS RESEARCH QUESTION

LEAVE-BEHIND- What is a leave-behind?

BILL NO. FA 38-  What does FA 38 state about resale royalties?

 What is the argument for FA 38?
 What is the argument against FA 38?
SINGLE LEGAL ISSUE-
 What is the “single legal issue”? Where will I find it?
 Library: in a case or statute
 File: In client letter or transcript of testimony?
 Is this legal issue that stands in the way of the
legislation that would help my client?

Write A Task Statement:

 Is a sentence written in your own words that concisely summarizes your task?
 It is used as a compass as you move through the remaining MPT documents

 Example: “My task is to draft a leave-behind that addresses the pros and
explains away the cons of Bill FA 38 and that convincingly
addresses the legal argument that stands in the way of the Bill.

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Standard Memorandum:

MEMORANDUM:
TO:
FROM: Applicant
Issue 1- Make case for the legislation (discuss pros/explain away cons)
Issue 2- Discuss single legal issues

 3) Go Directly from the Task Memo to the Library

 Exception: Preview document that is referred in the Task Memo
o “Like the leave behind”
o Write the subtitles like the leave behind
Why the Library Next?
 1)The Franklin law will be the backbone of your analysis.
 2)You don’t yet know what the Franklin law says about your client’s problem.
 3)You won’t know which facts in the File are important without reading

What is the Jurisdiction in Franklin? How about Constitutional Law?

 Your MPT is always set in the fictional jurisdiction of Franklin, located in the 15th fictional
circuit of Franklin
 You don’t know the law of Franklin! You have to rely on Franklin law which is what you
find in the book. Make sure you don’t let your outside knowledge of the law get in the way
of reading and interpreting Franklin line. No outside sources
 This helps level the playing field. No one can get an unfair advantage because they had
prior experience with any one type of law. Everyone is exposed to this particular area of
Franklin law for
 Even if you think you know the area of law well, Franklin is, at times, offbeat –following a
minority or novel approach.
 So, do not count on your prior knowledge of the rules.

What will you find in the Library?

 L is for law.

 The Library is where you will find ALL of the law you need to complete your task.
 The Library may contain cases, statutes, regulations, administrative rules, rules of
professional conduct, or even other sources, such as excerpts from a Restatement

How do I Read Library?

 Hierarchy of authority- Supreme Court Vs. Appellant Court

 Cases will often interpret Statues- Read statues first
 Other Jurisdictions- Federal Vs. State Statute
 Franklin V Olympia
 Second, read the cases first.
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Where do I Start?

First, quickly skim the Library to refresh your mind about the items that have been included.
 Speculate about their purposes –just like we did when we skimmed the

Second, read the cases first

 Start with the newest case.
 When reading the case, begin with the last paragraph of the case first to get a quick
summary of the holding.
 Return to the beginning of the case and quickly skim the
 Pay careful attention
 Pay attention to cases within cases (footnote both of the cases)

Third, read any statutory materials or other sources of law and try to discern how these connect
to the case(s).
 Because cases often interpret statutes, there is no need to wrestle with the statutes until
you have read the cases first to see if someone else has done some of the interpreting for
you!

Fourth, pay careful attention to how the law is evolving.

 Often, a more recent case may change or add to a rule from an older case.

Fifth, extract and synthesize the rules from the legal materials to get a complete picture of the
Franklin law.

Sixth, look for explanations of your rules.

 Finally, after reading the law, you should be in a good position to determine the correct
solution to your

What are we looking for in the Library?

 RHIP FRE acronym:

 R- stands for Rules

 H- stands for Holding
 I- stands for Issues
 P- stands for Parties
 F- stands for Facts
 R- stands for Research Terms and Questions
 E-stands for Explanation

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 LIBRARY REASEARCH SYSTEM:

R-stands for Rules Identify the rule: Find the rule name and write out a complete rule
statement. Speculate: How will this rule impact my client’s matter?
H-stands for Holding Recap courts decision. Speculate: Any impact on my client?
I-stands for Issues Summarize issue(s) before the court. Speculate: How might these
issues connect to my client's case?
P-stands for Parties Identify parties is my client similar or dissimilar to the parties?
F-stands for Facts Harness the court’s recitation and analysis of facts. Speculate: Are
these facts similar to (analogize) or different from my client’s facts
(distinguish)? What, if any, is the connection?
R-stands for Research Find information responsive to your Task Memo research questions
Terms & Questions and circle new research terms.
E-stands for Digest the court’s rule interpretation (explain what it means) and
Explanation/Reasonin scrutinize how it applies the rule to the facts. Speculate: on
g connections to your client’s matter.

 Preempted- The law takes precedence over/greater value/ greater power

 Case Holdings: Common law cause of action can move forward and is not
preempted or prevented by federal law. Given that our task is to persuade
legislature to pass legislation then we will want to adopt the same position to our
bill that is not preempted.

 If Federal law & Franklin law is to determined, if Franklin law is

preempted? Franklin’s common law of misappropriation is preempted by the
1976 Copy right Act

What is the Court saying in?

 “The rights involved in a state statute are not the same as those protected by the 1976
Copyright Act, if an element required to prove a violation of the statute is additional
to or different from those necessary to protect the copyright under the Copyright Act.
In that case, the state statute will not be preempted by the Copyright Act.”

 IF an element to prove a violation of a Statute is addition to or different from the

elements to protect the copy right under the copy right act. Therefore, the state statute
will not be preempted by the copy right act. The additional elements make the state
statute different from the copy right act and if we have a different statute then the copy
right cant preempt it when they are 2 different regulations.

 Copy right protects the expression of ideas not the ideas themselves.

 Poof of common law misappropriation involved rights different from the exclusive rights
granted by the copy right owner, therefore proof of additional and different elements

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Samuelsson. Rogers case from 1977
 The art dealer is challenging the Columbia Resale Royalties Act, claiming that it is
preempted by the 1909 Copyright Act (which is older than the Copyright Act of 1976
included in our Library).
 So, one of the first questions that should be circulating around in your head is, how is the
1909 Copyright Act different from
 The fact that, under the Columbia Act, a resale may create a liability to the artist (in that
royalties may be owed) and at the same time constitute an exercise of a right under the
1909 Copyright Act does not make the former a legal restraint on the latter, whatever the
economic applications of the Columbia
 “A simple requirement to pay a small portion of the royalties to the Artist is not the
equivalent of a legal restraint on the owner’s right to sell.”

THE FILE:
 You have to know the law(library) before you apply it to the facts
 Always go from Task Memo to Library UNLESS (leave behind)
 The File contains the facts you need to analyze your client’s problem.
 These facts will be strategically placed in various File documents.
 This represents how the client might tell you her story and how you might have to
go through different documents to get a full picture of the facts.
 You are simply trying to match up the law pieces you pulled out of the Library –
the elements or factors that make up the rule –with the fact pieces

THE FILE CAN INCLUDE:

 Contains factual documents information about the client’s case/matter that you are working on.
 Documents such as:
 •Transcripts of interviews
 •Interrogatories
 •Depositions
 •Trial or hearing recordings
 •Court pleadings
 •Contracts/other legal documents
 •Correspondence with the client and other attorneys
 •Medical records/police reports
 •Receipts
 •Newspaper articles

In the File, you are Looking for Facts to Fill in Your Analysis.
 •Are my client’s facts similar or dissimilar to the facts or issues of the parties in the
Library cases?
 •What comparisons can I make? Can the client make any of the same arguments that
were made in the cases?
 •What distinctions can I make?

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Leave Behind
 First, identify why the Franklin royalty’s legislation is necessary (not the legal argument part) &
 Second, articulate and annihilate any legal objection to the legislation, discuss why those
who claim that the Franklin legislation is preempted by the Copyright Act are WRONG!

By Reading the Three Testimonies:

 •Quickly designate the parts of the testimony that align with law you pulled out
from the Franklin cases and statutes.
 •For example, find the testimony that addresses the two criteria for preemption
to apply (or not apply).
 •Be on the lookout for the arguments stating that the legislation is necessary and
appropriate

CAROL WHITFORD TESTIMONY:

 Use her testimony to support the legislation
 Artists in fields such as music, literature, and drama receive royalties through the
continued commercial use of their works. In contrast, because most paintings and
sculptures are never reproduced, visual artists rarely receive anything from their
copyrights. Rather, they are only compensated for the original sale of their work.
Resale royalties would remedy this imbalance.

 Art often increases in value as its ages. Therefore, resales can be far more profitable
than initial sales. The current system is unfair because it allows dealers and
collectors to collect enormous profits from resales of artists’ works without ever
compensating the artist.

 For example, Lawrence Huggins of Olympia initially sold one of his sculptures for
$45. It was recently sold at auction for $780,000 and Huggins’s widow, who lives
in poverty, received nothing for the auction resale of this work. The proposed
legislation will provide artists and their heirs with some modest compensation –just
five percent of profits –while still allowing dealers and collectors to conduct their
business at a profit.

 Visual artists such as painters and sculptors must buy expensive equipment and
tools in order to create works of art. Most other creative artists do not bear such
costs. Resale royalties will help defray these costs.

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JEROME KRIEGER TESTIMONY:
 Tear down each and every one of Kriegers assertions in his testimony
 Resale royalties will not hurt the visual market. In opposition to the Olympia Bill,
those against it testified that resale royalties will hurt the art market because galleries
and auction houses operate on thin margins and paying royalties would cause them to
take their business elsewhere. The basis of this contention is that the art market in
Columbia suffered after Columbia enacted resale royalty’s legislation.

 This argument is shortsighted. The Olympia Art Collectives study showed that while
sales dropped immediately after the legislation was enacted, the market recovered
and the market is now close to where it was before the legislation. Therefore, there is
not a legitimate reason to believe that galleries and auction houses in Franklin will be
adversely affected in the long run.

 Use C. Whitefords arguments to counterargue J. Kriegers points

GENERAL WRITING TIPS:

 A well-written and organized answer can help you rack up some points even if your
analysis is not exactly what the examiners are looking for.
 If you aren’t sure how to organize your MPT answer, default to the IRAC
 I.R.A.C- Identify the legal issue, set forth and explain the applicable rules,
analyze the client’s facts using those rules, match the right rule/right
part of the rule to the right facts and then reach a conclusion
 Avoid using slang or overly complex abbreviations.
 Don’t be funny and/or leave notes for the grader.
 Come to a clear conclusion- that will always help the client succeed
 You are almost always going to be able to help the client in some way.
 Don’t forget to use your common sense and knowledge. If you need a “yes” answer to get
from the first issue to the second, the answer is probably yes. If you think the answer is
no, you can write assuming the answer is yes and then going on to analysis the second
issue. The reason they give you a second issues before getting a result is because it is a
yes.
 Don’t forget about your tone. Are you supposed to be writing objectively or
persuasively? Don’t forget to distinguish cases that do not support your view
 Remember to use the specific facts

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TIME MANAGEMENT:
 Start with a 22 minutes time division of each question. 22 minutes reading and 22
minutes writing. Then if you have time you can edit. Or shorten each part to 20
minutes each and then 5 minutes to edit. Some questions might take longer

 Go to the Library right after the Task Memo; read cases in the Library before other
legal materials; read the holding of the case first; & skim the first few paragraphs of
facts.
 Smaller threshold issues will not require as much time, you can tell which issues will
require more time by the number of corresponding facts that
 Don’t spend time over-formatting your answer, unless the instructor tells you
otherwise
 You do not have to repeat the information again if you can refer the reader to the
discussion in the prior section.
 Taking too many notes or too few notes can suck away your time.
 You don’t need Bluebook-level citations! You can site the case by just using the name
of the case (Sam v. Rogers), you don’t to cite the year. For Law the abbreviation,
section number is enough you don’t need the year (UCC s.5). After you cite the case
the first time you can then just use Sam or just be the s.5.
 If it is clear you will not finish writing in time, write out the headings/main points in
your outline as bullet points. Try to fill in some analysis for the remaining issues even
if it is not as complete a discussion as you had planned
 Practice MPT’s using exam conditions, by practicing 2 of them at the same time
 Practice 1-2 MPT’s a week from the book.
 Don’t expect your answer to be like the Barbri answer
 Your Personal Study Plan will recommend practice MPTs for you to complete,
including an assignment you will submit for grading.
 Take advantage of this opportunity for feedback!

FRANKLINE RESALE ROYALTIES ANSWER

 The File provided us with a template for a leave-behind and specific instructions to
only complete the portions indicated in brackets.

SO, OUR ANSWER WILL HAVE THREE SECTIONS:

 1) A brief introduction,
 2) An explanation of why the legislation is necessary and appropriate &
 3) A response as to why any legal objection is not valid.

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INTRODUCTORY SECTION:
 The leave-behind template instructs us to describe the proposed legislation in a
few sentences.

 There is a fairly good description in the Task Memo that we can modify and use a
as a starting point
 When visual works of art are resold in Franklin, the artists and their heirs do not
receive a share of the seller’s profits, even when profits are substantial. Franklin
Assembly Bill 38 would remedy this unfair situation by allowing artists and their
heirs to receive five percent royalties from the profits of certain resales.
 The legislation is necessary and appropriate because it will put visual artists on
the same equal footing as other creative artists.
 The legislation will make visual arts a more economically viable career.
 The legislation will level the playing field between artists and art
dealers/collectors.
 Mr. Krieger argues that it often takes years for art to develop value and that sales
are often made among art dealers before the work is ever sold to the public.
 You can use language from the Franklin
 “Under Section 986(c) of the Franklin Assembly Bill, resales within the first 10
years after the initial sale will not be subject to royalties as long as all the
intervening

PREEMPTION SECTION:
 Discuss why any legal objection is not valid. This is the single legal issue raised in the
Library and by the testimony in the File.

 Explain preemption and then use the cases to explain why the Copyright Act of 1976
does not preempt the Franklin Resale Legislation.

USING I.R.A.C TO ANSWER THE MPT

 ISSUE:
 The only legal objection that the bill’s opponents have raised is that the resale
royalty statute has been preempted by the Federal Copyright Act of 1976.

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 RULE/RULE EXPLANATION:
 A state statute is preempted when it conflicts with federal law. In Samuelston v.
Rogers, the court held that nearly identical legislation was not preempted by the
Copyright Act of 1901.
 Although the Franklin Bill opponents contend the 1976 Copyright Act is different
because it contains an express preemption provision, that provision simply does
not apply here
 The 1976 Copyright Act preempts state statutes only if the state statute (1) comes
within the subject matter of copyright and (2) grants the same rights as those
protected by the Copy Right Act
 According to Franklin Press Service, the rights involved in a state statute are not
the same as those protected by the 1976 Copyright Act if an element of proof is
additional to or different from those necessary to protect against copyright
infringement.

 ANALYSIS/ APPLICATION
 Here, although the first requirement is met because visual arts clearly fall within
the subject matter of copyright, the second requirement is not met. The 1976
Copyright Act protects the copyright owner’s right to distribute copies of works
of art. That right is limited to the first sale of any particular copy. In contrast, the
Franklin legislation explicitly does not apply to first sales…
 Here, although the first requirement is met because visual arts clearly fall within
the subject matter of copyright, the second requirement is not met. The 1976
Copyright Act protects the copyright owner’s right to distribute copies of works
of art. That right is limited to the first sale of any particular copy. In contrast, the
Franklin legislation explicitly does not apply to first sales…

 CONCLUSION:
 In sum, the elements of proof required for an action under the resale royalty’s
legislation differ from those that are required in a copyright infringement action.
Because the Franklin legislation concerns a completely different right than that
protected by the 1976 Copyright Act, it would not be preempted

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FINAL POINTS:

 The Task Memo is your new best friend. Use CALL DR T to pull out the
essential items.
 Don’t copy the arguments word for word, write it in your own words and explain
them, why they are weak
 As a general rule of thumb, use 22 minutes to read and 22 minutes to write. Learn
what you can simply skim.
 Unless an exception is triggered, after reading the Task Memo, go to the Library!

 Read the cases first, starting with the most recent case and starting with the
holding of that case, and then read the remaining legal materials.
 Remember to “honey test” any complicated rule statements or facts.

 Use RHIPFRE to extract the key information from the cases.

 Outline as you move through the MPT materials.

 Don’t use Bluebook citations –the parties’ names for a case or the section number
and abbreviation for a statute are sufficient.
 Remember to follow instructions! Draft your answer according to your
supervisor’s instructions and adhere to any limiting instructions
 Don’t strive for perfection. You don’t have time for it.

 Your goal should be to get down the core of an answer in the time that you have.

 Practice makes perfect, so be sure to answer several practice MPTs, and if you are
in an UBE jurisdiction, put yourself through a back-to-back simulation.

SAMPLE MPT ANSWERS:

 Treat them as a guideline for organization, rules and the analysis is written by a
professional with no time limit, the answers are ambiguous
 Use it to see if you missed an issue, or forgot to include several rules or how many facts
did you use compared to the model answer
 Outlining answers helps you to outline the legal issues, full sentences that a good answer
requires. The mechanics of identifying legal issues require recalling the right rules and
connecting the right facts to the right analysis

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