You sit down. The role-player opposite you folds her arms and says: "I've already told three people about this and nobody has done anything. My neighbour has moved the fence two metres into my garden and I want him sued." Then she stops talking and waits. The clock is running. What do you actually say next?
This is the moment that decides most Client Interviewing marks — not your knowledge of adverse possession, not your beautiful attendance note afterwards, but the first ninety seconds in the room. I have watched a lot of candidates over the years dive straight into "So, when did the fence move?" and lose points they never recover. Let's take the station apart properly.
What SQE2 Client Interviewing Is Really Assessing
SQE2 tests five skills: Client Interviewing, Advocacy, Case and Matter Analysis, Legal Research, and Legal Writing/Drafting. Client Interviewing is the only one where a human being reacts to you in real time, and that changes everything about how you should prepare.
Two things are being marked, and candidates routinely forget the second. The first is skills: did you listen, did you structure the meeting, did you use language a non-lawyer understands, did you behave the way a competent solicitor behaves? The second is the application of law: did you ask the questions that a lawyer who understood the underlying legal issue would have asked, and did the advice you gave point in the right direction?
A warm, empathetic interview that never uncovers the limitation problem will not pass. Neither will a forensic cross-examination that leaves the client feeling interrogated. You need both halves.
The interview is delivered orally, with a separate written element that follows on the same facts. Timings and exact station arrangements are set out in the current SRA assessment specification, and you should read that document yourself rather than rely on hearsay from a forum — it does get updated. What has not changed is the underlying demand: a short, pressured conversation, followed by written work that must be consistent with what you said in the room.
The Opening: Rapport, Purpose and the Housekeeping That Earns Marks
Have a fixed opening you can deliver half asleep. Mine looks like this, and it takes under a minute:
- Greet by name, introduce yourself and your role. "Good morning Mrs Ahmed, I'm Sam Patel, one of the solicitors here."
- Offer basic comfort — a glass of water, checking she found the office alright. Small, but it is the human signal the assessor is listening for.
- Set the agenda. "I've got about half an hour with you. I'd like to hear the whole story in your own words first, then I'll ask some questions to fill in gaps, and we'll finish by agreeing what happens next. Does that work?"
- Deal with confidentiality. A single sentence is enough: "Everything you tell me stays between us — I'm under a professional duty of confidentiality." That duty sits in paragraph 6.3 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs, and it continues after the retainer ends.
- Flag costs at some point in the meeting. You do not need a fee estimate to the penny. You need to show you know the client is entitled to information about costs, and that you will confirm it in writing.
Why does this matter so much? Because a client who has been told what is going to happen relaxes, and a relaxed client gives you better information. The housekeeping is not a box-ticking ritual; it changes the quality of the raw material you get.
One more thing. Ask what the client actually wants. Not "what do you want to do", but "what would a good outcome look like for you?" The answer is frequently not litigation. A client in a boundary dispute may want an apology and a quiet street. A client with a failed business relationship may want out cheaply. Advising on a claim the client does not want is a fast way to lose marks for failing to identify the client's objectives.
Questioning Technique: The Funnel That Keeps You in Control
Think of three phases, and consciously move between them.
Phase one — let them talk. Open the door with something genuinely open: "Tell me what's been happening." Then shut up. Nod. Say "mm" and "go on". Resist the urge to interrupt for two or three minutes even if the account is disorganised. You are gathering the shape of the problem, and you are also giving the assessor a clear demonstration of active listening.
Phase two — narrow it down. Now move to focused questions built around the legal issue you have spotted. Dates, documents, names, amounts. This is where legal knowledge earns you marks indirectly. If the facts smell of a personal injury claim, you are asking when the accident happened, because the primary limitation period for personal injury is three years under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980, whereas an ordinary contract or tort claim generally runs for six years under sections 5 and 2. If the client bought faulty goods as a consumer, you want the date of purchase, the seller's identity and whether the goods were of satisfactory quality under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If a business has gone wrong between two people trading together without any paperwork, you want to know how profits were shared, because the Partnership Act 1890 may be quietly governing their relationship whether they realise it or not.
Phase three — close the loop. Summarise back. "Let me check I've got this right — you signed the lease in March, the leak started in June, and you've emailed the landlord four times without a reply. Have I missed anything?" This single technique does three jobs at once: it corrects errors, it shows the assessor you listened, and it gives you the spine of your attendance note.
Avoid the classic traps. Do not ask two questions in one breath — the client will answer whichever they prefer. Do not lead ("So you never agreed to that, did you?"). Do not use words like "quantum", "tortious", "without prejudice" or "pre-action protocol" without translating them immediately.
Difficult Clients: Crying, Rambling, and "Will I Win?"
Role-players are briefed to behave in a particular way, and the behaviour is usually the test. Recognise the type and respond deliberately.
The upset client. Someone whose partner has died, or who has just been dismissed, may become tearful. Do not plough on with your question list. Pause. Acknowledge it plainly: "I'm sorry — this is clearly very difficult. Take a moment." Then offer a choice: continue, or come back to that point later. Empathy without collapsing the meeting is exactly what is being marked.
The rambler. Twelve minutes on the neighbour's dog when you need the deeds. Interrupt courteously and use a signpost: "That's helpful background, and I may come back to it. Can I take you to the fence itself, because that's the part I most need to understand today?" Interrupting is not rude. Running out of time with half the facts is worse.
The client who wants a guarantee. "Will I win?" Never say yes. Give a calibrated answer: what looks strong, what is uncertain, what evidence would change your view, and what you need to check. Something like: "On what you've told me, you have a reasonable argument, but a lot turns on the wording of the contract and I haven't seen it. Once I have, I'll write to you with a proper view." That is honest, professional and marks well.
The client who mentions something troubling. Occasionally a fact appears that raises a conflict of interest, or suggests you are being asked to do something improper. You are not expected to deliver a lecture on the Code. You are expected to notice, to slow down, and to say that you need to check the position before advising further.
Advice and Next Steps Without Over-Promising
Finish with structure, not with a shrug. A reliable closing sequence: summarise the issue in one sentence; outline the realistic options, including the non-litigious ones such as negotiation or mediation; flag any urgent deadline; state clearly who is doing what and by when.
Give the client at least two options wherever the facts allow. A single option looks like a solicitor who has stopped thinking. And be concrete about actions: "I'll write to you within three working days confirming our costs and the advice we've discussed. Could you send me the tenancy agreement and those four emails by Friday?" Then thank them and invite final questions.
Whatever you say in the room must match what you write afterwards. If you told the client the limitation deadline was tight, your written work has to reflect that. Inconsistency between the oral and written elements is one of the most avoidable ways to lose marks.
How to Practise in the Weeks Before the Exam
Reading about interviewing improves interviewing about as much as reading about swimming improves swimming. You need reps.
- Record yourself on your phone doing the full interview against the clock. Watch it back once. It is uncomfortable and it works.
- Recruit a non-lawyer — a flatmate, a partner, a friend — and give them a one-paragraph brief. Non-lawyers make better role-players because they ask the questions real clients ask.
- Drill the opening until it is automatic, so that your thinking capacity is free for the law.
- Build a mental checklist for each SQE2 practice area: three or four facts you would always need. For an employment matter, the dismissal date and length of service. For a residential property matter, whether the title is registered.
- Time yourself moving from open questions to closed ones. Most failing interviews spend far too long in phase one.
Rehearse until the structure disappears and you simply sound like a solicitor having a sensible conversation. That is the whole target.
How CELE SQE Can Help
If you would like structured practice rather than guesswork, the CELE SQE SQE2 Course is £1,450 and includes 61 full mock questions built 1:1 to the official SRA format — interviewing stations included, with model approaches and feedback so you can see exactly where marks are won. Candidates still working through SQE1 across FLK1 and FLK2 can look at the long-term (£3,720), mid-term (£2,750) or short-term (£1,750) courses, with a £150 early bird discount. Questions are welcome any time: WeChat SQE100, [email protected], or celebar.com.