Legal Skills Assessment Specifications
Explore the final design and assessment specifications for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). Learn about the different assessments, including practical legal skills exercises and assessments for functioning legal knowledge. Dive into the specifics of client interviews, legal analysis, advocacy, legal research, writing, and drafting across various legal contexts.
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SQE final design and SQE2 Assessment Specification Julie Brannan, SRA and Len South, Kaplan
Final SQE design and draft SQE2 Assessment Specification What does the overall design look like? Final draft assessment specification published today highlight key points in this webinar welcome your views on this through our survey
SQE overall assessment design SQE1: 2 x 180-question assessments: Functioning Legal Knowledge 1: Business Law and Practice, Dispute Resolution, Contract, Tort, Legal Systems of England and Wales , Public Law, Legal Services Functioning Legal Knowledge 2: Property Law and Practice, Wills and the Administration of Estates, Solicitors Accounts, Land Law, Trusts, Criminal Law and Practice SQE2: one single assessment, of 16 practical legal skills exercises, which test legal skills and application of the law in the reserved activities and business
SQE2 skills assessment - reminder SQE2 skills: Client interview and attendance note/legal analysis Advocacy Case and matter analysis Legal research Legal writing Legal drafting Unflagged points of ethics and professional conduct to pervade Sampled across these contexts: Criminal Litigation Dispute Resolution Property Practice Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice Business organisations rules and procedures
Assessment Specification Final design - oral skills Day 1 Day 2 Advocacy (Criminal Litigation) Advocacy (Dispute Resolution) Interview and attendance note/legal analysis (Wills and Intestacy, Probate Interview and attendance note/legal analysis (Property Practice) Administration and Practice)
Final design - written skills Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Case and matter analysis x1 Legal drafting x1 Case and matter analysis x1 Legal drafting x1 Case and matter analysis x1 Legal drafting x1 Legal research x1 Legal research x1 Legal research x1 Legal writing x1 Legal writing x1 Legal writing x1 Two of these exercises will be in the context of Property Practice and 2 will be in the context of Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice Two of these exercises will be in the context of Dispute Resolution and 2 will be in the context of Criminal Litigation Candidates will sit all assessments in the context of Business Organisations, Rules and Procedures
SQE2 assessment: negotiation Negotiation case and matter analysis writing Interviewing/attendance note
SQE2 assessment: legal knowledge 50:50 skills and application of the law In demonstrating that they have reached the standard of competency of a Day One Solicitor, candidates will need to demonstrate that they can apply fundamental legal principles in the skills based situations covered by SQE2 in a way that addresses the client s needs and concerns. They will need sufficient knowledge to make them competent to practise on the basis that they can look up detail later. Candidates will not be expected to know or address detail that a Day One Solicitor would look up, unless they have been provided with that detail
SQE2 assessment: legal materials For all stations except legal research, candidates will be provided, as part of their assessment materials, with materials that a Day One Solicitor would look up.
SQE2 assessment: legal materials Candidates will need sufficient knowledge to make them competent to practise on the basis that they can look up detail later. Candidates will not be expected to know or address detail that a Day One Solicitor would look up, unless they have been provided with that detail as part of their assessment materials. However, legal materials will only be provided where it is considered that a Day One Solicitor would need to refer to those materials. Sample questions and indicative answers will be published on the SQE website.
SQE2 assessment: compensation Looked at closely in the pilot No significant problem observed with compensation: good candidates tended to do well; weak candidates tended to do badly Separate pass marks for different elements of SQE2, or lower minimum marks, would create a different risk poor reliability and accuracy of pass/fail decisions
SQE2 assessment: next steps Next steps Survey closes: 28 June 2020 Final assessment specification published July 2020 Sample questions available summer 2020
Keep in touch Subscribe to the SQE Update bulletin sra.org.uk/sqeupdate SQE resources sra.org.uk/sqe Join our SQE LinkedIn group Send queries to sqe@sra.org.uk
