Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) SQE2 Practical Legal Skills Syllabus

SQE2 Practical Legal Skills syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for SQE2 Practical Legal Skills in Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Client Interviewing and Attendance Note

   3 topics

   • Conducting the client interview
     • Establishing rapport and eliciting information
     • Questioning techniques and active listening
     • Identifying the client's objectives and concerns
   • Advising the client
     • Explaining options and consequences
     • Managing client expectations
   • The attendance note and follow-up
     • Recording the interview accurately
     • Identifying further action and next steps
2. 2

   Advocacy

   3 topics

   • Preparation for a hearing
     • Analysing the case and identifying issues
     • Structuring submissions
   • Oral advocacy skills
     • Making and responding to applications
     • Persuasive presentation and court etiquette
     • Dealing with questions from the bench
   • Civil and criminal contexts
     • Interim applications in civil proceedings
     • Bail applications and pleas in mitigation
3. 3

   Legal Research and Written Advice

   3 topics

   • Legal research methodology
     • Identifying and analysing the legal issue
     • Using primary and secondary sources
     • Applying the law to the facts
   • Producing a research report
     • Structuring findings and conclusions
     • Citing authority accurately
   • Written advice to the client
     • Clear and tailored advice
     • Practical recommendations and risk
4. 4

   Legal Writing and Drafting

   3 topics

   • Legal writing
     • Letters and emails to clients and third parties
     • Clarity, tone and appropriate register
   • Legal drafting
     • Drafting from precedents and amending documents
     • Drafting contracts, notices and statements of case
     • Precision, completeness and avoiding ambiguity
   • Quality, accuracy and review
     • Proofreading and checking against instructions
     • Use of plain English and consistent formatting
5. 5

   Application of Skills Across Practice Areas

   3 topics

   • Assessed practice contexts
     • Criminal litigation
     • Dispute resolution
     • Property practice
     • Wills and intestacy, probate administration and practice
     • Business organisations, rules and procedures
   • Integration of legal knowledge and skills
     • Applying FLK to practical scenarios
     • Embedding ethics and professional conduct throughout
   • Assessment format and standards
     • Oral stations and written tasks
     • Threshold standard and competence statement

SQE2 Practical Legal Skills flashcards for Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)

19 of 51 cards from the SQE2 Practical Legal Skills deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What are the five practical legal skills assessed in SQE2?

   Client interview and attendance note/legal analysis; Advocacy; Case and matter analysis; Legal research; Legal writing; and Legal drafting (the five skills are: Interview & attendance note, Advocacy, Legal writing, Legal drafting, Legal research, and Case analysis).

2. In the SQE2 client interview station, what three connected components is a candidate assessed on?

   (1) Conducting the interview itself, (2) producing a written attendance note recording the interview, and (3) completing a piece of legal analysis/follow-up (case analysis) arising from it.

3. What does the WASP model stand for as a structure for conducting a client interview?

   W – Welcome (greet and put the client at ease), A – Acquire information, S – Supply advice/information, P – Part (close the interview and agree next steps).

4. Name the three core listening and questioning techniques used to obtain a full account from a client.

   Open questions (to obtain a free narrative), closed questions (to clarify specific facts), and active listening (using silences, reflecting back, and summarising).

5. Why should a solicitor generally avoid leading questions during the information-gathering phase of a client interview?

   Leading questions suggest the desired answer, can distort or contaminate the client's account, and reduce the reliability of the information obtained; an unprompted free narrative is more accurate.

6. What is the 'funnel' technique in client interviewing?

   Beginning a topic with broad open questions to elicit a free narrative, then progressively narrowing to closed questions to probe and clarify specific details.

7. List the essential elements a competent client interview must cover before advice is given.

   Establishing rapport, obtaining a full and accurate account of the facts, identifying the client's objectives/concerns, dealing with costs and funding, and confirming/clarifying instructions.

8. In advising a client, what must competent advice be based upon and address?

   It must be based on the correct legal principles applied accurately to the client's facts, address the client's actual objectives, set out the available options with their consequences/risks, and be given in clear, jargon-free language.

9. When advising, how should a solicitor present options to the client and who decides?

   The solicitor explains the realistic options, with advantages, disadvantages, risks and likely costs/outcomes of each, and gives a clear recommendation, but the client makes the final decision on the course of action.

10. What is an attendance note and what is its primary purpose?

    A contemporaneous written record of a meeting, call or interview with (or about) a client, recording who was present, when, the advice given, decisions made and next steps; it provides a reliable record for the file, evidences advice given, and protects the firm.

11. What core details should always appear at the top of an attendance note?

    The client/matter name and reference, the fee earner, the date and time, the duration (for time recording/billing), the method (e.g. attendance/telephone), and who was present.

12. In SQE2, what is assessed in the attendance note/legal analysis that follows the interview?

    The candidate's ability to accurately record the interview and the advice given, and to demonstrate correct case analysis — identifying the client's options and the relevant law and next steps arising from the facts gathered.

13. What are the typical 'next steps' (follow-up) recorded at the end of a client interview and attendance note?

    Action points with responsibility allocated (who does what), deadlines, further information/documents to be obtained, advice to be confirmed in writing, and the client's agreed instructions/decisions.

14. In preparing for a hearing, what are the key tasks an advocate must complete beforehand?

    Mastering the facts and the client's objective, identifying the relevant law and procedure, anticipating the opponent's arguments, preparing submissions/questions, organising documents/authorities, and clarifying the precise application or order sought.

15. What is the standard logical structure of an oral submission to a court?

    Introduction (introduce self/parties and the application), outline of the relevant facts, statement of the relevant law, application of the law to the facts (the argument), and a clear conclusion stating the order sought.

16. Name the core competencies assessed in the SQE2 advocacy station.

    Identifying the client's objective and the order sought, presenting a coherent and persuasive submission, applying law to fact, appropriate court etiquette/conduct, responding to questions from the bench, and dealing with points raised by the opponent.

17. How should an advocate respond when interrupted by a judicial question during submissions?

    Stop and listen to the question, answer it directly and concisely, deal with it before continuing, and then return to the planned structure of the submission — never ignore or talk over the bench.

18. What are the correct modes of address for a District Judge and a Circuit Judge in court?

    A District Judge (including in the magistrates' court) is addressed as 'Judge' (or 'Sir/Madam'); a Circuit Judge is addressed as 'Your Honour'.

19. What is the difference in the standard of proof between civil and criminal contexts that an advocate must keep in mind?

    In criminal cases the prosecution must prove guilt 'beyond reasonable doubt' (so the magistrates/jury are sure); in civil cases the claimant must prove the case 'on the balance of probabilities' (more likely than not).

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