SQE2 client interview: a plan for the 25 minutes

What happens

You receive an email from a partner or a secretary saying who the client is and what they want to discuss. There may be documents. You have 10 minutes to read them. Then you have 25 minutes with the client, played by a trained actor who is also the assessor. Straight after the interview you write an attendance note by hand in 25 minutes. The interview is an oral assessment, held at venues in Birmingham, Cardiff, London and Manchester. There are two interview stations: one in Property Practice and one in Wills and Probate.

The SRA describes the aim plainly. You should win the client's trust and confidence, obtain all the relevant information and understand the client's concerns as fully as possible. You do not need to give detailed advice in the room, but you do need to give enough preliminary advice to keep the client's confidence.

What the actor marks

The interview is marked on skills only. These are the five criteria, in the SRA's words.

1. "Listen to the client and use questioning effectively to enable the client to tell the solicitor what is important to them."
2. "Communicate and explain in a way that is suitable for the client to understand."
3. "Conduct themselves in a professional manner and treat the client with courtesy, respect and politeness including respecting diversity where relevant."
4. "Demonstrate client-focus in their approach to the client and the issues."
5. "Establish and maintain an effective relationship with the client so as to build trust and confidence."

The SRA explains client focus as understanding the problem from the client's point of view and what they want to achieve, "not just from a legal perspective". The actor marks how the interview felt from the chair opposite you. A legally perfect interview in which the client did not get a word in can still score poorly.

A plan for the 25 minutes

1. Minutes 0 to 2. Greet the client, introduce yourself and agree how long you have. Confirm who they are and whether anyone else is involved.
2. Minutes 2 to 8. Ask an open question ("Tell me what has happened") and let the client talk. Do not interrupt; note facts under the headings you prepared.
3. Minutes 8 to 15. Fill the gaps with focused questions: dates, amounts, documents, who owns what, what the client wants.
4. Minutes 15 to 17. Summarise back what you have heard and ask whether you have missed anything.
5. Minutes 17 to 22. Give preliminary advice on the main concerns, in plain words, and say what you need to check.
6. Minutes 22 to 25. Agree next steps for both of you, explain costs if they are raised, and ask whether the client has any other questions.

Use the 10 minutes before the interview to list the questions the file raises and to set out the attendance note headings. Then you will not have to stop the client to find a page.

A short annotated example

This is our own excerpt, not an SRA sample. The client is buying a leasehold flat for £300,000.

• [1] Earns credit (listening and questioning). The solicitor acknowledges the client's aim and asks open, then specific, questions before giving a view.
• [2] Earns credit (professional conduct; explaining clearly). Apportioning a genuine value to items left behind is lawful. Inflating it to reduce Stamp Duty Land Tax is not. The refusal is clear and is explained in terms of the client's interest.
• [3] Earns credit (building trust). The solicitor repairs the relationship after unwelcome news and offers something useful.

Check your own interview

A paraphrase of what the five criteria reward. The SRA publishes interview performance indicators and a sample video with its SQE2 sample questions.

• Did the client tell their story before I asked narrow questions?
• Did I check my understanding by summarising it back?
• Did I explain each point without legal jargon, and check the client understood?
• Did I stay courteous and calm, including when the client was upset or asked for something improper?
• Did I find out what the client wants, and not only what the law says?
• Did the client leave knowing what happens next?

Common mistakes

• Running out of time before advice and next steps. Watch the clock at minute 15.
• Questioning like a cross-examination: a list of closed questions with no space for the client.
• Giving long legal explanations the client cannot follow.
• Missing a vulnerable client's needs, such as a recent bereavement or difficulty understanding.
• Forgetting that the note decides the law marks, so not collecting the facts the law depends on.

Practising on SQE Practice

Live interview practice is not available yet. It is planned for a later stage, and we will not describe it until it exists. You can practise the attendance note now as a written task: the marked note at the top of this page shows how it is graded. The attendance note guide has a template, and the advocacy guide covers the other oral skill. The SQE2 hub and plans and prices describe the written practice available today.