CO LPC Jurisprudence study plan
CO LPC Jurisprudence · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct: scope, duties to clients, and conflicts of interest
Outline the scope-of-representation and allocation-of-authority provisions of the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct (Colo. RPC) 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3, stating each duty as a one-line test you can recite
Build a decision tree for concurrent conflicts under Colo. RPC 1.7 that separates directly adverse conflicts from material-limitation conflicts and states when consent is available
Draft a client-consentability checklist for former-client conflicts under Colo. RPC 1.9, distinguishing personal-interest conflicts from positional ones
Work 25 self-written hypotheticals on prospective-client and government-lawyer conflicts under Colo. RPC 1.11 and 1.18, and score your answers against the rule text
Your checkpoint
A 6-8 page conflicts flowchart plus a written answer key to 25 self-drafted conflict hypotheticals, each citing the controlling Colo. RPC provision
Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct: scope, duties to clients, and conflicts of interest & Trust accounting and client funds under the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct
Analyze the imputation rules of Colo. RPC 1.10 and the screening (timely and effective) conditions that allow a firm to avoid disqualification
Map the business-transaction and third-party-payment rules in Colo. RPC 1.8(a) and (f), listing every writing, disclosure, and consent element in order
Reconcile the Colorado trust-accounting rules (Colo. RPC 1.15) with the conflict framework by tracing how a disputed or third-party fund is held and disbursed
Draft a short memo on when a lawyer may withdraw under Colo. RPC 1.16 and how withdrawal interacts with a pending conflict
Your checkpoint
A 1,200-word memo on imputed disqualification and screening, with a table pairing each Colo. RPC 1.8 business-transaction element to its trust-accounting counterpart
Confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and the regulation of the practice of law
Distinguish confidentiality under Colo. RPC 1.6 from the attorney-client privilege, and list the Colorado exceptions to each in separate columns
Explain the crime-fraud exception and the self-defense exception, and identify when disclosure is permitted versus required
Apply the fiduciary and confidentiality duties to prospective clients, former clients, and organizational clients, including the Colo. RPC 1.13 up-the-ladder reporting requirement
Analyze the ethical duties triggered by inadvertent receipt of privileged material and by a client's intent to commit a fraud on a tribunal
Your checkpoint
A two-column comparison chart of confidentiality and privilege, each side listing at least 8 triggers, exceptions, and waiver points with a one-sentence Colorado-specific note
Colorado Supreme Court and Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel structure, admissions, and discipline & Confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and the regulation of the practice of law
Diagram the Colorado Supreme Court's disciplinary structure, placing the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, the presiding disciplinary judge, the Attorney Regulation Committee, and the grievance process in sequence
List the admission pathways in Colorado, including the bar examination, motion admission, and the requirements for admission without examination
Sequence the disciplinary process from grievance intake through investigation, formal complaint, hearing, and sanction, naming the standard of proof and the appeal route
Classify the categories of discipline and the aggravating and mitigating factors applied in Colorado sanction analysis
Your checkpoint
A one-page process diagram of the Colorado discipline system plus a 500-word written walkthrough of a hypothetical grievance from intake to sanction
Trust accounting and client funds under the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct
Reconstruct the Colo. RPC 1.15 trust-accounting requirements: trust versus operating accounts, required records, three-way reconciliation, and the prohibition on commingling
Apply the advance-fee and flat-fee rules, distinguishing earned fees from unearned client funds and stating when funds must be deposited and when they may be withdrawn
Practice a three-way reconciliation on a self-created ledger of 12 transactions, including a client cost advance, a settlement deposit, a disputed third-party lien, and a bank service charge
Identify the reporting and self-reporting duties triggered by a trust-account shortage and the record-retention period under Colorado rules
Your checkpoint
A completed three-way reconciliation worksheet for a mock trust ledger, balanced to the penny, with a short note explaining each adjustment
Advertising, solicitation, fees, and client communication & Civil procedure and practice in Colorado courts
Analyze the Colorado advertising and solicitation rules, separating permissible informational advertising from prohibited solicitation, and state the filing and disclaimer requirements
Evaluate fee arrangements under Colo. RPC 1.5, including reasonableness factors, contingency-fee writing requirements, and division of fees between lawyers
Apply the client-communication duties in Colo. RPC 1.4 to a set of 10 scenario prompts, identifying the required response and timing
Outline Colorado civil procedure essentials: commencement, service, responsive pleading deadlines, amendment, and the standards for summary judgment and dismissal
Your checkpoint
A 10-item scenario set on advertising, fees, and client communication with written answers, plus a one-page deadline cheat sheet for Colorado civil filings
Professionalism, civility, and the Colorado Attorney's Oath & Unauthorized practice of law, pro bono obligations, and access to justice
Recite the Colorado Attorney's Oath and explain how each commitment translates into an enforceable professional duty
Apply the professionalism and civility standards to hard scenarios: uncivil opposing counsel, discovery abuse, and a tribunal-directed misstatement
Distinguish the practice of law from unauthorized practice, and identify the reporting duties and the role of the unauthorized-practice committee
State the pro bono expectations under Colo. RPC 6.1 and identify Colorado access-to-justice programs and their eligibility criteria
Your checkpoint
A written response to 8 professionalism and unauthorized-practice scenarios, each citing the applicable oath clause, rule, or Colorado standard
Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct: scope, duties to clients, and conflicts of interest & Confidentiality, attorney-client privilege, and the regulation of the practice of law & Colorado Supreme Court and Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel structure, admissions, and discipline & Trust accounting and client funds under the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct & Advertising, solicitation, fees, and client communication & Civil procedure and practice in Colorado courts & Professionalism, civility, and the Colorado Attorney's Oath & Unauthorized practice of law, pro bono obligations, and access to justice
Complete a full-length timed practice examination of 100 self-written mixed questions weighted to the domain percentages
Review every missed question, tagging the error as rule-recall, rule-application, or reading error, and rewrite the underlying rule for each
Re-drill the three highest-error domains with 20 new questions each, focusing on trust accounting and conflicts
Consolidate all deliverables into a single indexed outline keyed to the eight domains
Your checkpoint
A scored 100-question practice examination with an error log and a final indexed outline covering all eight domains
Milestones
Week 2: Score at least 80% on a 20-question self-test on conflicts of interest, and confirm the conflicts flowchart covers Colo. RPC 1.7, 1.9, 1.10, and 1.11
Week 4: Explain the Colorado disciplinary process from grievance to sanction aloud in under 5 minutes without notes, and score at least 80% on a 15-question confidentiality and privilege quiz
Week 6: Reconcile the mock trust ledger to zero variance twice in a row, and score at least 75% on a 20-question mixed quiz covering advertising, fees, and civil procedure
Week 8: Score at least 80% overall on the 100-question practice examination, with no single domain below 70%