A student emailed us in the week before her FLK1 sitting with one line: "I understand negligence. I understand breach of contract. But when the question says the defence was filed on day 27 and asks what the claimant should do next, my mind goes blank." That is Dispute Resolution in a nutshell. The law you already know from Contract and Tort is only the raw material — this subject tests what a solicitor actually does with it, on the clock, under the Civil Procedure Rules.
And there is no hiding place. From the January 2027 sitting, Dispute Resolution sits in FLK1 Session 1 alongside Business Law and Practice and Legal Services, with 85 questions in that session and roughly 1.8 minutes per question. You will not have time to reason a procedural timetable from first principles. You need it recalled, not reconstructed.
Why Dispute Resolution feels harder than the rest of FLK1
Most FLK1 subjects reward conceptual understanding. Dispute Resolution rewards sequence and number recall. Deadlines, thresholds, financial limits, who bears which burden, which form does what. The single best answer format is brutal here because all four distractors will be procedurally plausible; only one is correct on the facts and the day count given.
Everything sits under the overriding objective in CPR 1.1 — dealing with cases justly and at proportionate cost. Examiners love this because it explains why a rule bites. When a question asks whether the court will grant relief from sanctions, the answer is not vibes; it is the three-stage test in Denton v TH White Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 906: is the breach serious or significant, why did it occur, and what do all the circumstances of the case require, including the need to litigate efficiently and enforce compliance.
Rule of thumb we give every cohort: if a Dispute Resolution question gives you a date, the date is the answer. Count the days before you read the options.
Before proceedings: limitation, pre-action conduct and ADR
Limitation is the cheapest set of marks in the syllabus, so learn it cold. Under the Limitation Act 1980, simple contract claims run six years from breach (s.5) and tort claims six years from when damage is suffered (s.2). Personal injury is three years from the later of accident or date of knowledge (s.11). Latent damage in negligence gets the s.14A extension of three years from knowledge, subject to the fifteen-year longstop in s.14B. Fraud, concealment and mistake postpone the clock under s.32.
Pre-action behaviour matters too. The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols expects parties to exchange information and to consider settlement before issuing. Non-compliance is a costs risk, not a bar to the claim — a distinction worth holding onto, because distractors often overstate the consequence.
On ADR, the modern position moved. Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust [2004] EWCA Civ 576 established that an unreasonable refusal to mediate can attract costs sanctions. Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 went further, confirming the court may lawfully stay proceedings and order parties to engage in non-court dispute resolution, provided the order does not impair the right to a judicial hearing. Know the difference between mediation (facilitative, non-binding until settlement is signed), arbitration (binding award, Arbitration Act 1996) and litigation.
Issuing and responding: the fourteen-day rhythm you must memorise
This is the part that unlocks a surprising number of FLK1 questions. Learn it as one continuous story.
A Part 7 claim starts with a claim form. Personal injury claims must be issued in the County Court unless valued at £50,000 or more; other money claims belong in the High Court only where the value exceeds £100,000 or the case is genuinely complex or important. The claim form must be served within four months of issue for service within the jurisdiction, six months outside it (CPR 7.5). Particulars of claim follow within fourteen days of service of the claim form, but never later than the last date for serving the claim form itself.
Then the defendant's clock starts. Fourteen days from service of the particulars to file a defence — or an acknowledgment of service, which buys an extension to 28 days from service of the particulars. Parties may agree a further extension of up to 28 days, with the court notified. Miss it entirely and the claimant can apply for default judgment under Part 12.
Two applications regularly appear as the "correct next step". Summary judgment under Part 24 applies where a party has no real prospect of succeeding and there is no other compelling reason for trial — available to claimant or defendant. Strike out under CPR 3.4 targets the statement of case itself: no reasonable grounds, abuse of process, or failure to comply with a rule or order. A weak-but-arguable case is a summary judgment point; an incoherent pleading is a strike out point.
Track allocation and case management in modern civil procedure
Since the October 2023 reforms there are four tracks, and candidates who revised from older materials lose easy marks here. Small claims covers most disputes up to £10,000, with a lower limit of £1,000 for general damages in personal injury. Fast track runs from £10,000 to £25,000, with a trial expected to last no more than one day and oral expert evidence limited to one expert per party per field, across a maximum of two fields.
The intermediate track sits between £25,000 and £100,000 where the trial will not exceed three days, with complexity bands driving the costs consequences. Everything else — higher value, greater complexity, longer trials — goes to the multi-track. Fixed recoverable costs now apply across the fast and intermediate tracks, which is precisely why allocation questions often end with a costs twist.
Allocation follows directions questionnaires. On the multi-track, costs budgeting via Precedent H is the norm for claims below the high-value threshold, and a costs management order will fix the phases going forward. Ask yourself on every allocation question: what is the value, how long is the trial, and how many experts?
Disclosure, evidence and privilege for SQE1 FLK1
Standard disclosure under CPR 31.6 covers documents a party relies on, plus those that adversely affect its own case, adversely affect another party's case, or support another party's case — coupled with a reasonable and proportionate search under CPR 31.7. In the Business and Property Courts a separate disclosure regime operates with staged models, so read the question's court carefully.
Privilege is a favourite. Legal advice privilege protects confidential lawyer–client communications for the purpose of giving or receiving legal advice. Litigation privilege is wider but needs litigation in reasonable contemplation and a dominant purpose of that litigation — which is how it reaches third-party documents such as expert reports and witness proofs. Without prejudice protection sits separately and covers genuine settlement negotiations.
On experts, remember the discipline in CPR 35: an expert's duty is to the court and overrides any obligation to the instructing party, permission is required for expert evidence, and the lower tracks lean heavily on a single joint expert. Witness statements stand as evidence in chief and must contain the witness's own words, with a statement of truth.
Part 36, costs and enforcement — where marks are won
Part 36 is self-contained and mechanical, which makes it ideal MCQ material. An offer must specify a relevant period of at least 21 days. If a defendant's offer is not beaten at trial, the claimant normally pays the defendant's costs from expiry of the relevant period, plus interest on those costs. If a claimant's own offer is matched or beaten, the claimant may receive indemnity costs from expiry, enhanced interest, and an additional amount calculated on the damages and subject to a statutory cap.
General costs follow CPR 44.2 — the unsuccessful party usually pays, but conduct and partial success can shift it. On the standard basis, costs must be proportionate and any doubt is resolved in favour of the paying party. On the indemnity basis, proportionality drops away and doubt favours the receiving party. That single contrast answers more questions than most candidates expect.
Judgment is not the end. Know the main enforcement routes: a writ or warrant of control, a third party debt order, a charging order over land, and an attachment of earnings order. Match the method to the asset in the facts — a judgment debtor with a salary and no property is not a charging order case.
What to actually do this week
Build a one-page timeline from letter of claim to enforcement and redraw it from memory every other day until it is automatic. Make a second card of numbers only: 4 months, 14 days, 28 days, £10,000, £25,000, £100,000, 21 days, six years, three years. Then practise questions in timed blocks of twenty rather than open-ended sessions, because pacing is half the battle in a 2 hour 33 minute session.
One habit that transfers straight to SQE2: after every wrong answer, write the rule as an instruction to a client, not a note to yourself. "You must file a defence by 3 March" sticks far better than "CPR 15.4".
How CELE SQE can help
We have been teaching Dispute Resolution since the very first SQE sitting in 2021, and our materials are rewritten each cycle to reflect the current tracks, costs rules and session structure. If you want structured support across all 13 subjects, the CELE SQE long-term course is £3,720, the mid-term £2,750 and the short-term £1,750, with a single FLK at half those prices and £150 off for early bookings or bookings within three months of your exam. Prefer to drill rather than be taught? The SQE1 question bank runs at £575 per month, and full textbook sets are £950 (£570 for a single FLK). Questions are always welcome at [email protected], WeChat SQE100, or celebar.com.
