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Free NALA CP Practice Questions

10 free, exam-style Certified Paralegal (NALA CP) practice questions with answers and explanations. No signup required. Work through them below, then take the full free NALA CP practice test to study every exam domain.

Question 1

A paralegal at a personal injury firm answers the phone while the supervising attorney is in court. A long-time client says, "I just got a settlement offer of $50,000 from the insurance company. I trust your judgment - should I take it?" The MOST appropriate response is to:

  1. Tell the client the offer sounds reasonable based on similar cases the firm has handled
  2. Decline to give an opinion on the offer, explain that only the attorney can advise on settlement, and arrange for the attorney to call back as soon as possible
  3. Review the file and give the client a range based on the firm's settlement history so the client can decide
  4. Advise the client to reject the first offer because insurance companies always start low
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Decline to give an opinion on the offer, explain that only the attorney can advise on settlement, and arrange for the attorney to call back as soon as possible

Question 2

A defendant files an answer to a federal complaint that raises only a Rule 12(b)(6) defense for failure to state a claim. Three months later, after discovery has begun, the defendant moves to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(2). The court will MOST likely:

  1. Grant the motion if the defendant can show minimum contacts are absent
  2. Deny the motion because the personal jurisdiction defense was waived by not raising it in the first responsive pleading
  3. Defer ruling until after discovery on jurisdictional facts is complete
  4. Convert the motion to one for summary judgment under Rule 56
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Deny the motion because the personal jurisdiction defense was waived by not raising it in the first responsive pleading

Question 3

A federal district court is reviewing an Environmental Protection Agency interpretation of an ambiguous provision in the Clean Water Act. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the reviewing court should:

  1. Defer to the EPA's interpretation if it is reasonable, because the agency has expertise in environmental matters
  2. Defer to the EPA's interpretation only if Congress expressly delegated interpretive authority to the agency
  3. Exercise independent judgment to determine the best reading of the statute, without deferring to the agency's interpretation
  4. Remand the matter to the EPA for further proceedings before any judicial review
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Exercise independent judgment to determine the best reading of the statute, without deferring to the agency's interpretation

Question 4

A railroad employee negligently helps a passenger board a moving train. As the passenger boards, a wrapped package the passenger is carrying falls onto the tracks. The package - unmarked and unknown to the railroad employee - contains fireworks, which explode. The shockwave knocks down a heavy scale at the far end of the platform, injuring a woman standing many feet away. In a negligence suit by the woman against the railroad, the railroad's STRONGEST defense is that:

  1. The woman was contributorily negligent for standing too close to the scale
  2. The harm to the woman was not a foreseeable consequence of any negligence by the railroad employee, so no duty was owed to her
  3. The passenger's negligence in carrying fireworks was a superseding cause that broke the chain of causation
  4. The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur does not apply to falling scales
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - The harm to the woman was not a foreseeable consequence of any negligence by the railroad employee, so no duty was owed to her

Question 5

During a deposition, a paralegal hears the witness state, "Right after the crash, the other driver ran up to my car window and screamed, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I just ran that red light!'" Opposing counsel objects on hearsay grounds when the deposing attorney later attempts to use the statement at trial. The statement is MOST likely admissible as:

  1. A statement against interest under FRE 804(b)(3), assuming the declarant is unavailable
  2. A present sense impression under FRE 803(1), because it described an event as it was occurring
  3. An excited utterance under FRE 803(2), because it was made under the stress of a startling event
  4. A statement of then-existing mental state under FRE 803(3), because it reflected the declarant's belief
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - An excited utterance under FRE 803(2), because it was made under the stress of a startling event

Question 6

On January 5, Owner conveys Blackacre to Buyer A by warranty deed. Buyer A does not record. On March 10, Owner - still appearing as record owner - conveys the same parcel to Buyer B, who pays full value and has no actual or constructive knowledge of the prior sale. On March 15, Buyer A finally records. On March 20, Buyer B records. The jurisdiction has a race-notice recording statute. Who has superior title?

  1. Buyer A, because Buyer A received the deed first in time
  2. Buyer A, because Buyer A recorded before Buyer B
  3. Buyer B, because Buyer B was a bona fide purchaser without notice and recorded first as between the two purchasers without prior recordation
  4. Buyer B, because under any recording act a subsequent purchaser for value defeats a prior unrecorded interest
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Buyer A, because Buyer A recorded before Buyer B

Question 7

A paralegal at Firm A worked extensively on a trade-secret case representing Plaintiff Corp. Six months after that case settled, the paralegal accepts a position at Firm B. Firm B is currently defending Defendant Corp. in a new trade-secret case brought by Plaintiff Corp. - the paralegal's former client. To avoid disqualification of Firm B from the new matter, Firm B should:

  1. Do nothing, because conflicts of interest are not imputed to a firm when the migrating employee is a paralegal rather than a lawyer
  2. Obtain a waiver from Defendant Corp., the current client, since Defendant Corp. is the only client Firm B currently represents
  3. Implement timely and effective screening procedures isolating the paralegal from the matter, prohibit fee sharing on the matter, and provide written notice to Plaintiff Corp.
  4. Terminate the paralegal's employment, since the conflict cannot be cured while the paralegal remains at Firm B
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: C - Implement timely and effective screening procedures isolating the paralegal from the matter, prohibit fee sharing on the matter, and provide written notice to Plaintiff Corp.

Question 8

A testator executes a typed will leaving her entire estate to her three children equally. The will is signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses, both of whom also sign. Witness One is a neighbor with no interest in the estate. Witness Two is the testator's daughter - one of the three named beneficiaries. The jurisdiction follows the Uniform Probate Code. The MOST likely effect at probate is that:

  1. The entire will is invalid because an interested person witnessed it
  2. The will is valid and the daughter takes her full one-third share, because the UPC has abolished the interested-witness rule
  3. The will is valid but the daughter forfeits her entire bequest because she witnessed the will
  4. The will is valid but the daughter's bequest is reduced to what she would have received under intestacy, the difference passing to the residuary
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - The will is valid and the daughter takes her full one-third share, because the UPC has abolished the interested-witness rule

Question 9

A debtor files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. Among her debts are: (1) $40,000 in federal student loans, (2) $8,000 in credit card debt incurred over the past two years for ordinary living expenses, (3) $12,000 in past-due child support, and (4) $5,000 in unpaid federal income tax for a return that was due eighteen months before the petition was filed. After completion of the case, which of these debts will MOST likely be discharged?

  1. All four, because Chapter 7 provides a fresh start by discharging all unsecured debt
  2. Only the credit card debt; the student loans, child support, and recent tax debt are presumptively non-dischargeable absent specific showings
  3. Only the credit card debt and student loans; child support and taxes are non-dischargeable
  4. The credit card debt and the tax debt; only student loans and child support are excluded from discharge
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - Only the credit card debt; the student loans, child support, and recent tax debt are presumptively non-dischargeable absent specific showings

Question 10

On June 1, a wholesaler (a merchant) sends a signed letter to a retailer offering to sell 1,000 units of a particular item at $7.50 each, stating: "This offer will remain open until July 15." On June 20, before the retailer responds, the wholesaler sends a second letter purporting to revoke the offer. On June 25, the retailer sends a signed acceptance. No consideration was paid for the offer to remain open. Under UCC Article 2, the offer was:

  1. Validly revoked on June 20, because an offer can be revoked any time before acceptance unless consideration was given
  2. A firm offer that was irrevocable until July 15; the purported revocation was ineffective and the retailer's June 25 acceptance formed a contract
  3. A firm offer, but only irrevocable for a maximum of three months from June 1, and the revocation was effective because it occurred within that period
  4. A firm offer that became revocable on June 20 because the wholesaler is a merchant who can withdraw any merchant offer at will
Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: B - A firm offer that was irrevocable until July 15; the purported revocation was ineffective and the retailer's June 25 acceptance formed a contract

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