Understanding SQE2 — Exam Overview and Expectations

1. What SQE2 Is and How It Differs from SQE1

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination stage 2 (SQE2) tests whether you can do the job of a newly qualified solicitor, not merely whether you can recall the law. Where SQE1 examines your Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK) through multiple-choice questions, SQE2 puts that knowledge to work across sixteen practical exercises that mirror real solicitor tasks: interviewing a client, advocating before a judge, analysing a case, researching a problem, writing to a client and drafting a document. This section explains the purpose of SQE2 and how it differs from SQE1, so that you prepare for the right thing — performance under pressure, not perfect recall.

SQE2 is a single, integrated skills assessment delivered in one assessment window. It comprises 16 stations: 4 oral (sat over two half-days) and 12 written (sat over three half-days). There is one pass mark for SQE2 as a whole — there is no separate pass for the oral part and the written part. You qualify in SQE2 by reaching the overall standard of competency of the just-competent Day One solicitor across all 16 stations combined.

Crucially, SQE2 questions test legal skills within the context of the application of fundamental legal rules and principles at the level required of a competent newly qualified solicitor. They are not designed to test specialist practice that is unlikely to be encountered at this level, and they stay within fundamental principles clearly covered by the FLK. You will not be caught out on obscure points — but you must be fluent in the core law and able to deploy it to solve the client's problem.

2. The 16 Stations: Structure, Timing and Schedule

SQE2 is delivered as SQE2 oral (four stations over two half-days) and SQE2 written (twelve stations over three half-days). Knowing exactly what each station involves, how long you have, and how the practice areas are distributed lets you rehearse to time and walk in without surprises. The timings below are taken directly from the SRA Assessment Specification and are fixed for every candidate.

SQE2 oral consists of two advocacy stations and two client-interview-plus-attendance-note stations. SQE2 written consists, on each of three days, of one case and matter analysis, one legal drafting, one legal research and one legal writing task — twelve written tasks in total. Different candidates may sit the stations in a different order, but everyone completes the same set.

The order in which you sit individual stations may differ from the order listed, and you may begin an oral half-day with either the advocacy or the interview. The distribution above is, however, fixed: by the end of the exam you will have performed advocacy in both litigation contexts, conducted interviews in the two private-client contexts, and completed each of the four written skills three times across the five practice areas — with the whole of written Day 3 set in business.

3. The Six Skills and Five Practice Areas Matrix

SQE2 is built on a matrix: six legal skills, each examined within one or more of five practice areas. You cannot avoid any area — every practice area appears, and every skill is tested. Understanding what each skill demands, and that negotiation and ethics run through the matrix, lets you target your preparation efficiently.

Client interview and attendance note / legal analysis — conduct a live interview to win the client's trust and confidence and gather the facts, then record it and give initial legal analysis in a handwritten note (recording all relevant information, identifying next steps and any ethical issues).

Advocacy — make a persuasive 15-minute oral submission to a judge, with appropriate language and courtroom conduct, a clear and logical structure and correct application of law, including all key relevant facts.

Case and matter analysis — produce a written report to a partner giving legal analysis of a case and client-focused advice, on the basis of a case study and documents.

Legal research — investigate a problem using provided sources and produce a note to a partner explaining your legal reasoning, the key sources relied on, and the advice the partner should give the client (no research trail is required).

Legal writing — write a letter or email (to a client, third party, the other side, or a colleague) that correctly and comprehensively applies the law and is pitched appropriately for the recipient.

Legal drafting — draft a legal document or part of one, which may involve drafting from a precedent or amending an existing draft, ensuring it is legally correct, legally comprehensive and appropriately and logically structured.

Criminal Litigation (including advising clients at the police station)

Dispute Resolution

Property Practice (under the headings freehold and leasehold real estate law and practice, and core principles of planning law)

Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice

Business organisations, rules and procedures (including money laundering and financial services)

The skills-versus-practice-area matrix guarantees breadth. The two advocacy stations sit in the litigation contexts (one Dispute Resolution, one Criminal Litigation); the two interviews sit in the private-client contexts (Property and Wills/Probate); and the twelve written tasks spread across all five areas, with the whole of written Day 3 in business. You must therefore be ready to perform any skill in any context — for instance, to draft a contract clause in a business matter and a clause in a will in a probate matter, or to write an advice email in a civil dispute and another in a criminal case.

4. Functioning Legal Knowledge in Context

SQE2 is a skills exam, but legal knowledge underpins every station. The FLK for SQE2 (Annex 1) is a sub-set of the SQE1 FLK. You are not asked to recite textbook definitions; you must recognise which legal principles are engaged by the scenario and use them to solve the client's problem. This section maps the underlying black-letter law to each practice area and explains how much legal detail you are actually expected to carry in your head.

Note the legal research station's distinctive scope: while its subject matter sits within the broad heading of the practice area, it may fall outside the FLK and therefore genuinely require research. You are given sources (primary and secondary), some of which are deliberately irrelevant, and you must identify and use the relevant ones. This is the one station where you are expected to find, cite and apply authority you may not already know.

A final dimension: although Wales is part of the single legal jurisdiction of England and Wales, the laws that apply in England may differ from those in Wales, and the Welsh language has official status and can be used in proceedings in Wales. At the level of a newly qualified solicitor you may be required to apply your knowledge that, in relation to certain topics, the law differs in the two territories. Refresh the core principles in each area, keep ethics in scope at all times, and aim for the confidence to recognise which legal topics are in play and to apply or research them — not law-school essay depth.

5. The Day One Solicitor Standard and How SQE2 Is Marked

SQE2 is calibrated to a single benchmark: the just-competent Day One solicitor, defined as Level 3 of the SRA's Threshold Standard for the Statement of Solicitor Competence (SoSC). Understanding this standard — and exactly how stations are graded, combined and scaled — tells you what 'good enough' looks like. You are aiming to meet a competency threshold, not to produce a model answer fit for a senior partner.

Identifying relevant legal principles

Applying legal principles to factual issues so as to produce a solution that best addresses the client's needs and reflects their commercial or personal circumstances, including as part of a negotiation

Interpreting, evaluating and applying the results of research

Ensuring advice is informed by appropriate legal analysis and identifies the consequences of different options

Drafting documents which are legally effective

Applying understanding, critical thinking and analysis to solve problems

Assessing information to identify key issues and risks, and recognising inconsistencies and gaps in information

Evaluating the quality and reliability of information and using multiple sources to make effective judgments

Reaching reasoned decisions supported by relevant evidence

Each station is graded against published assessment criteria. Every criterion is scored A to F by a trained assessor making a global professional judgment against the competency standard, and the letters convert to numbers: A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1, F=0. The criteria are divided into marks for skills and marks for application of law; across all assessments these two are weighted equally to give a station percentage, and your overall mark is built from your 16 station scores. Equal weighting deliberately protects the quality of the advice you give.

Results are released a few weeks after the assessment window. You will see whether you passed, your scaled score out of 500, a breakdown of marks by station, and your quintile — which fifth of candidates your score fell into (1 = the highest-scoring fifth, 5 = the lowest-scoring fifth). The quintile and breakdown help you see strengths and weaknesses; if you do not pass, they help you target a resit.

6. Exam-Day Logistics and Conditions

SQE2 is unusual in combining computer-based written assessments with live, role-played oral assessments. Knowing the practicalities — venues, security, timings, and how the rooms work — removes a layer of anxiety so that on the day you can focus entirely on performing. The SRA publishes a video walkthrough of the test-centre process and sample questions; review them well before the exam.

Venues: written stations are sat at Pearson VUE test centres; oral stations are held at designated assessment centres in cities such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Cardiff. You receive your centre, reporting time and schedule after booking.

Arrive early. You go through ID verification and security checks each day, and oral candidates may wait in a holding area between sittings to preserve exam confidentiality.

No personal items in the testing room: no phones, notes, books or smartwatches. Everything goes into a secure locker. Books and notes cannot be brought into or used during the assessments.

Dress in business attire — the SRA recommends clothing suitable for a business environment. It helps you inhabit the role and makes a professional impression in the oral stations.

You work at a computer terminal using a word-processor interface, with the case materials and any provided legal materials on screen. There is no internet or outside resource.

A highlighter function is available on the Pearson assessment platform. A spell-check tool has been added to the platform and is being trialled in the July 2026 written assessments; while it is being trialled the existing guidance on spelling and grammar still applies until further notice.

Spelling, grammar and formatting: you should not lose marks for spelling or grammatical errors that do not affect the legal accuracy, clarity or certainty of the text and do not make it inaccessible to the reader, nor for poor formatting (given the lack of formatting support and the time pressure). Note that errors of tense can affect meaning and so may cost marks.

You may be given an erasable noteboard or scratch paper for rough work where provided.

Advocacy: 45 minutes in a preparation room with the case file, then you are escorted to a room where a solicitor of England and Wales role-plays the judge; you make a 15-minute submission and may be asked questions, which you must answer.

Interview: 10 minutes to read the partner's email and any documents, then 25 minutes interviewing the actor-client (who is the assessor for the interview), then 25 minutes back in the base room to handwrite your attendance note.

Timing is tightly controlled by a marshal, and clocks are provided. You cannot bring your own watch, so watch the warnings.

Conduct yourself professionally: greet the client or judge courteously, stand when making submissions (unless an adjustment applies), and use appropriate forms of address ('Your Honour', etc.). Physical contact such as handshakes is not required.

7. Answering Frameworks and Templates

Although every station differs, strong candidates approach each one with a reusable structure. A clear structure does not make your answers robotic — it makes them complete and easy to mark, and it directly earns marks under criteria such as 'logical structure', 'identify relevant facts', 'client-focused advice' and the correct and comprehensive application of law. The frameworks below are introduced here and developed in the skill-specific chapters.

Heading / opening: orient the reader (e.g. 'To: Partner. Re: [matter] — advice on [issues]', or 'Dear [Client], Thank you for your email...').

Relevant facts (brief): summarise only the facts you will actually use in the analysis.

Issues: state the legal questions to be resolved, numbered if there are several, and answer the question actually asked — no more, no less.

Law: for each issue, state the rule, test or elements concisely (enumerate elements where helpful, e.g. duty, breach, causation, loss).

Application: apply each rule to these facts; discuss options and consequences ('if X, then Y; however if A, then B'), and weave in any ethical issue you spot.

Advice / conclusion: give a clear, client-focused answer and recommended next steps tailored to the client's commercial or personal priorities.

Introduce yourself and your role; confirm the client's identity and the purpose of the meeting.

Use open questions first to let the client tell you what is important to them; listen actively and do not interrupt.

Probe with focused questions to fill gaps; reflect back to confirm your understanding.

Identify the client's goals, concerns and priorities — show client focus, understanding the problem from the client's point of view, not just a legal view.

Give enough preliminary advice and address enough of the client's concerns to build trust and confidence (detailed advice can follow later).

Agree next steps, check whether the client has questions, and close professionally.

Open with the correct formal address to the judge and introduce yourself and whom you represent.

State the application/matter and the order you seek.

Outline the issue, then present persuasive arguments clearly with signposting ('I make three submissions; first...').

Support points with the correct law and the key relevant facts.

Anticipate and address the weaknesses and the opponent's likely arguments.

Respond directly to questions from the bench, then conclude by restating the specific relief sought.

8. Candidate Tips and Common Pitfalls

SQE2 is rigorous and time-pressured, but it is passable — and a strategic, resilient approach makes a real difference. The advice below distils what successful candidates and instructors consistently report, and aligns it with how the SRA actually marks.

Plan, don't wing it. Build a timetable that touches every practice area (Criminal Litigation, Dispute Resolution, Property, Wills/Probate, Business) and every skill each week; SQE2's breadth defeats last-minute cramming.

Practise actively, not passively. Do timed mock stations, interview aloud with a partner, draft and write against the clock, and use active recall for the core law. Reading model answers will not teach you to perform under pressure.

Know the specification and the criteria. Read the SRA assessment criteria for each skill and turn them into checklists. Candidates lose easy marks by omitting things the criteria expressly reward — a client-focused conclusion, a logical structure, all relevant facts, an unprompted ethics point.

Build stamina and manage stress. The week is a marathon: sleep, hydrate, eat, and have a reset routine (a slow breath, a brief pause) for when your mind blanks. Treat each station as a fresh start.