SQE2 explained: written and oral skills stations

SQE2 assesses practical legal skills. Instead of recognising the best answer from a list, you produce work: you interview a client, make a submission, write an advice email or draft a document.

The skills

SQE2 combines oral and written assessments.

• Oral: client interview (together with an attendance note or legal analysis) and advocacy.
• Written: case and matter analysis, legal research, legal writing and legal drafting.

These skills are assessed in realistic client scenarios across a set of practice areas. The SRA's specification lists the areas; at the time of writing they include criminal litigation, dispute resolution, property practice, wills and intestacy, probate administration and practice, and business organisations, rules and procedures. Ethics and professional conduct run through the scenarios rather than appearing as a separate task.

Why preparation looks different

Legal knowledge still matters, but you are marked on how well you use it. Assessors look at things like whether you identified the client's real objective, spoke or wrote at the right level for the audience, structured your answer and applied the law accurately to the facts. Each skill has published assessment criteria, and the sensible way to prepare is to practise against them.

A workable routine:

1. Read the assessment criteria for one skill and put them into your own words.
2. Attempt a realistic task to time.
3. Compare your work against the criteria and any model material, noting where marks would plausibly be lost.
4. Repeat the same skill in a different practice area so you are not relying on one familiar scenario.

Feedback matters more than volume

Ten tasks with careful reflection usually teach more than thirty done quickly. Whether feedback comes from a tutor, a study partner or a tool, check it against the criteria yourself. Automated feedback in particular is educational guidance only; it is not an official mark and it can be wrong.

Confirm the details

Station numbers, timings, locations and the practice areas assessed are set by the SRA and can change. Always use the current SRA specification as the source of truth for your sitting.

General educational information only. It is not legal advice, it does not predict any exam result, and UK SQE Course is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Check the SRA website for current exam information.