Abstract
<p>This Article examines whether technological competence, now widely recognized as an ethical obligation of lawyers under the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct and adopted in most U.S. jurisdictions, is meaningfully assessed through the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). Situating the inquiry within developments in the legal profession, legal education, and attorney regulation, the Article first analyzes the continuing debate over the meaning of technological competence and the growing demand for technology-related skills in legal practice. It then evaluates legal education’s response to these demands and considers the MPRE’s role in measuring professional competency. Using a content analysis of MPRE preparation materials from major commercial bar review providers, supplementary professional responsibility publications, and study resources published by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), the Article assesses whether examinees can reasonably expect technology-related issues to appear on the MPRE. The findings indicate that technology competence is tested only in a limited and indirect manner, primarily through issues involving confidentiality, cloud computing, metadata, electronic communications, social media, vendor management, and related professional responsibility doctrines. Although these topics reflect established ethics rules and opinions governing lawyer conduct, they do not amount to a robust assessment of technological competence itself. The Article argues that the MPRE’s incremental approach mirrors the legal profession’s broader tendency to respond reactively to technological change. Given the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence, automation, and other transformative technologies, the Article concludes that both legal education and bar licensing authorities should move beyond a narrow focus on technology as a tool of practice and adopt a more comprehensive approach to educating and assessing lawyers’ understanding of technology’s impacts on clients, legal services, and society.[This abstract was written by Microsoft Copilot, a generative artificial intelligence.]</p>