Eversheds Assessment Tests

Eversheds Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a paralegal. The team logs how many files each person has reviewed each week. You spent most of this week on one very large file, so your count is three against a team average of eleven. Your team leader collects the counts on Friday for a report she sends upward. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give her three without comment, since she allocated the large file to you herself and will remember that when she sees the number.
   2. Give her three, and add that the week went on one very large file, so the number goes upward with the reason attached to it.
   3. Certify the count as correct with the large file counted as several, since it was the size of several and the count would then reflect the work rather than an arbitrary way of counting.
   4. Ask her to leave your count out this week, since one number against a team average will look like a problem that is not there and will distract from the rest of the report.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Give her three, and add that the week went on one very large file, so the number goes upward with the reason attached to it.

   Least effective: C. Certify the count as correct with the large file counted as several, since it was the size of several and the count would then reflect the work rather than an arbitrary way of counting.

   A: Relies on somebody else's memory: she is compiling several people's counts on a Friday, and a three next to an eleven does not carry its history with it.

   C: Records one thing as several: the count is of files reviewed, and an entry adjusted to feel fairer stops describing what was reviewed at all.

   D: Removes the awkward figure: a missing name in a short list of counts raises exactly the question it was meant to avoid.

   The most effective response is to give her three, and add that the week went on one very large file. The number is true and one clause is all it takes to stop it being read as a bad week. It beats giving her three without comment because she allocated the file herself, since she is compiling a report rather than reconstructing your week. It beats asking her to leave your count out this week, because a gap is more conspicuous than an explanation. The least effective response is certifying the count with the large file counted as several: it records one file as several, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those report the real count. The principle: report the number with the reason, and never make the number describe something else.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a disclosure assistant. Your team records the number of documents each person reviews per day and reports the totals to the client each Friday. You have been slower this week because a batch you were given is unusually complex. Your team leader asks you for your figures before she sends the report. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Give her the number and tell her why it is lower this week, so that whatever she sends the client carries the reason along with the figure.
   2. Record a higher figure for the last two days than you actually reviewed, since you will make the difference up next week and the client only ever sees the weekly total.
   3. Give her the number without comment, on the basis that she has the same view of the batches as you do and can see for herself why the week looks like this.
   4. Ask her to leave your figures out of this week's report until the complex batch is finished, so that the client sees a fair picture rather than an unusual week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Give her the number and tell her why it is lower this week, so that whatever she sends the client carries the reason along with the figure.

   Least effective: B. Record a higher figure for the last two days than you actually reviewed, since you will make the difference up next week and the client only ever sees the weekly total.

   B: Alters a record: it puts a number into the client's report that describes work nobody has done, and it does so in the one system anybody would later use to check.

   C: Assumes the context is obvious: she is about to send the figure onwards and may not have looked at what was in your batch, so the reason travels only if you send it with the number.

   D: Removes the awkward data: a report with a person missing invites exactly the question it was meant to avoid, and it treats an unusual week as something to be hidden rather than explained.

   The most effective response is to give her the number and tell her why it is lower this week, so whatever she sends the client carries the reason along with the figure. It beats giving her the number without comment because she can see the batches herself, since she is the person sending it on and cannot supply a context she has not been given. It beats asking her to leave your figures out of this week’s report, because leaving a name out is more conspicuous than a low number with an explanation. The least effective response is recording a higher figure for the last two days than you actually reviewed: it changes what the record says happened, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those report a true number badly and this one reports a false one. The principle: send the number with its reason, and never make the number say something else.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a practice assistant. You and a colleague cover each other’s fee earners when either of you is out. Last month you asked him to cover an afternoon and he said no, without giving a reason, and you had to cancel a hospital appointment. He now asks you to cover a whole day next week. You are free. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Agree to cover the day, and ask him beforehand what happened last month, since the arrangement only works if both of you can rely on it and you could not.
   2. Agree to cover the day and let last month go, since raising it will sound like keeping score and the cover arrangement is easier to live with if neither of you does that.
   3. Agree to cover the day, but tell him it is the last time until he explains why he would not cover for you when you had an appointment you could not move.
   4. Refuse to cover the day after that refusal last month, and tell him he can find somebody else, since that is exactly what you were left to do when you needed cover.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Agree to cover the day, and ask him beforehand what happened last month, since the arrangement only works if both of you can rely on it and you could not.

   Least effective: D. Refuse to cover the day after that refusal last month, and tell him he can find somebody else, since that is exactly what you were left to do when you needed cover.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: it keeps things pleasant and leaves you with an arrangement that works one way, which is what will decide whether you ask him again.

   C: Attaches an ultimatum to the help: it gets next week covered and makes the arrangement conditional, so the conversation that follows is about the condition rather than about what happened.

   D: Withdraws help after the earlier refusal: the fee earners he covers are the ones who go unsupported, so a grievance between two assistants is paid for by people who had no part in it.

   The most effective response is to agree to cover the day, and ask him beforehand what happened last month. Covering costs you nothing this time, and asking is the only thing that makes the arrangement dependable in both directions. It beats agreeing to cover and letting last month go, because an arrangement you no longer trust is one you will stop using. It beats agreeing to cover but telling him it is the last time until he explains himself, because a condition turns the conversation into a negotiation. The least effective response is refusing to cover the day and telling him to find somebody else: it settles the score by leaving his fee earners uncovered, so the cost lands on people who had nothing to do with last month. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which cover the day. The principle: give the cover, then ask the question the arrangement depends on.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a reception coordinator. A journalist calls asking to confirm whether a named company is a client of the firm, saying she already knows it is and just needs it on the record. The firm’s rule is that client identities are never confirmed to anybody outside. She says the story runs tonight either way. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her the firm does not confirm client identities and end the call there, since anything further risks saying something she can use in the story tonight.
   2. Neither confirm nor deny, but tell her she should assume the story is substantially right unless somebody rings her back before this evening.
   3. Confirm that the company is a client, since she says she knows already and a flat refusal will simply make the firm look evasive in a story that is running tonight regardless.
   4. Tell her the firm does not confirm client identities, take her deadline and her number, and get the call to the person who handles press enquiries straight away.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell her the firm does not confirm client identities, take her deadline and her number, and get the call to the person who handles press enquiries straight away.

   Least effective: C. Confirm that the company is a client, since she says she knows already and a flat refusal will simply make the firm look evasive in a story that is running tonight regardless.

   A: Closes the call without passing it on: the refusal is right and nobody in the firm learns that a journalist is running a story about a client this evening.

   B: Confirms by implication: an instruction to assume the story is right is a confirmation dressed as a refusal, and she will report it as one.

   C: Breaches a stated rule about client confidentiality: what she already knows is not the test, and the firm's confirmation is the thing her story needs.

   The most effective response is to tell her the firm does not confirm client identities, take her deadline and her number, and get the call to the person who handles press enquiries. The refusal is not negotiable, and the useful part is that somebody who handles press learns tonight’s deadline while there is still a day to use it. It beats telling her the firm does not confirm client identities and ending the call there, because that leaves the firm unaware. It beats neither confirming nor denying while telling her to assume the story is substantially right, because telling her what to assume is a confirmation. The least effective response is confirming that the company is a client: it gives an outsider the firm’s word on a client identity, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because neither of those does. The principle: hold the line, and pass the deadline to whoever can act on it.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a records assistant in a week when half the team is off. A fee earner has twice raised with your team leader that files are taking too long to retrieve, and this morning said in the corridor, where others could hear, that the records team has stopped bothering. You know the delays are the staffing. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him in the corridor that half the team is off this week, and that his files would come back faster if he stopped complaining and started planning ahead.
   2. Say nothing to him and raise the staffing with your team leader, since she is the one he has complained to twice and the one who can explain it to him.
   3. Prioritise his requests above everybody else's for the rest of the week, so that the complaints stop and he sees for himself that the team has not stopped bothering.
   4. Tell him quietly that the team is at half strength this week, give him a realistic time for his current request, and say you will flag the staffing to your team leader.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell him quietly that the team is at half strength this week, give him a realistic time for his current request, and say you will flag the staffing to your team leader.

   Least effective: A. Tell him in the corridor that half the team is off this week, and that his files would come back faster if he stopped complaining and started planning ahead.

   A: Answers a complaint with a criticism of the complainer: it turns a question about retrieval times into an exchange between two people in a corridor with an audience.

   B: Leaves the wrong account standing: he will carry on believing the team has stopped bothering until somebody tells him otherwise, and nothing says she will.

   C: Rewards the loudest voice: it fixes one person's experience by making everyone else's worse, and it leaves the staffing problem unreported because the symptom has gone quiet.

   The most effective response is to tell him quietly that the team is at half strength this week, give him a realistic time for his current request, and say you will flag the staffing to your team leader. He is missing one fact, he needs a time he can work with, and the staffing belongs in front of the person who can act on it. It beats saying nothing to him and raising the staffing with your team leader, because he will otherwise keep the wrong account. It beats prioritising his requests above everybody else’s for the rest of the week, because moving him to the front hides the cause. The least effective response is telling him in the corridor that his files would come back faster if he stopped complaining: it answers his complaint by criticising him, in front of whoever is there. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, neither of which makes it about him. The principle: give the missing fact quietly, give a real time, and send the cause upward.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a bundle coordinator in the fourth week of a review that has run late every week. Your team leader has told the client the delay is caused by the coding team’s inexperience. You know the real cause is that documents keep arriving in batches nobody scheduled. The client has asked for a call tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Go to your team leader today with the arrival dates of each batch, and ask her to put the scheduling problem to the client tomorrow alongside whatever else she wants to say.
   2. Say nothing before the call, and start keeping your own record of when batches arrive so that there is evidence the next time the question of the delay comes up.
   3. Tell the coding team what your team leader has been saying about them, since they are the ones being blamed and have a right to know where it is coming from.
   4. Ask to join the call tomorrow so that you can set out the batch arrival pattern yourself if the client asks what has caused the review to run late.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Go to your team leader today with the arrival dates of each batch, and ask her to put the scheduling problem to the client tomorrow alongside whatever else she wants to say.

   Least effective: C. Tell the coding team what your team leader has been saying about them, since they are the ones being blamed and have a right to know where it is coming from.

   B: Delays the correction: the record will be useful eventually and the client will hear the wrong explanation tomorrow, after which it becomes the agreed account of what went wrong.

   C: Personalises the problem: it moves a factual dispute about scheduling into a dispute between two groups of colleagues, and it does nothing at all about what the client will be told.

   D: Waits for the question to be asked: it puts you in the room and leaves the correction to chance, and it also lets your team leader walk into the call still holding the wrong explanation.

   The most effective response is to go to your team leader today with the arrival dates of each batch, and ask her to put the scheduling problem to the client tomorrow. The dates settle the question without anybody having to be wrong in front of the client, and giving them to her today lets her change the account before she gives it. It beats saying nothing before the call and starting your own record of arrival dates, because tomorrow is when the wrong explanation becomes the record. It beats asking to join the call so you can set out the pattern yourself, because she should not learn this on the call. The least effective response is telling the coding team what she has been saying about them: it tells them they are being blamed and changes nothing about the client, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those keep the problem where the work is. The principle: correct the explanation before it is given, and give the correction to the person giving it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a billing assistant. A fee earner asks whether a client has paid an invoice from last month. The accounts system shows a payment of the right amount but not which invoice it was for, and the person who allocates payments is off today. He wants to open a further piece of work on the strength of it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him the payment is showing and that it has not yet been matched to an invoice, and offer to get the bank reference checked this morning so he has something definite.
   2. Tell him you cannot confirm it until the person who allocates payments is back tomorrow, since matching a payment to an invoice is her job rather than yours.
   3. Tell him it has been paid and state it as confirmed, since the amount matches exactly and no other invoice on the account is anywhere near that figure.
   4. Tell him a payment is showing, and note on the account that he asked, so there is a record of the query for whoever picks up the allocation tomorrow.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell him the payment is showing and that it has not yet been matched to an invoice, and offer to get the bank reference checked this morning so he has something definite.

   Least effective: C. Tell him it has been paid and state it as confirmed, since the amount matches exactly and no other invoice on the account is anywhere near that figure.

   B: Answers with the obstacle: it is accurate about who does what and it leaves him a day behind, when the bank reference could settle it in half an hour.

   C: Asserts a fact the record does not carry: the system shows money in and not what it was for, and he is going to open new work on the strength of your answer.

   D: Records the question instead of answering it: the note helps tomorrow and he is making a decision today with half a fact.

   The most effective response is to tell him the payment is showing but not yet matched to an invoice, and offer to get the bank reference checked this morning. He needs to know what the record does and does not show, and the reference can turn that into a definite answer within the morning. It beats telling him you cannot confirm it until the person who allocates payments is back tomorrow, because a day’s wait is not necessary. It beats telling him a payment is showing and noting the query on the account, because a note does not reach the decision he is about to make. The least effective response is telling him it has been paid and stating it as confirmed: he is given something the system does not support, and he will commit the firm to further work on it. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which are clear about what is unmatched. The principle: say exactly what the record shows, and go and get the rest.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a legal assistant. A client has emailed to say that the other side rang him directly and made an offer, and asks whether he should accept it. Your supervisor is with a client until four. The email says the other side wants an answer by the end of the day. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the client the offer sounds reasonable and that he can accept it if he is happy, since the decision is his and he has asked you plainly what you think.
   2. Reply that you cannot advise on offers and that his supervisor will be free after four, so he should wait until then before doing anything about the deadline.
   3. Reply that you cannot comment, and forward the email to your supervisor so it is at the top of her messages when she comes out of her meeting at four.
   4. Reply at once telling the client not to respond to the other side until he has spoken to his solicitor, get a message to your supervisor now, and tell him when she will call.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Reply at once telling the client not to respond to the other side until he has spoken to his solicitor, get a message to your supervisor now, and tell him when she will call.

   Least effective: A. Tell the client the offer sounds reasonable and that he can accept it if he is happy, since the decision is his and he has asked you plainly what you think.

   A: Gives an assurance you are not able to give: a view on an offer is the one thing your role cannot supply, and he will treat it as the firm's view because it came from the firm.

   B: Answers with the constraint rather than the problem: it is correct about your role and it leaves the client alone with somebody else's deadline for four hours and no plan.

   C: Fails to reflect the urgency: forwarding is right and it treats a deadline today as ordinary post, so nothing happens for four hours and nobody has told the client that.

   The most effective response is to reply at once telling the client not to respond to the other side until he has spoken to his solicitor, get a message to your supervisor now, and tell him when she will call. It protects him from doing something irreversible in the next four hours, moves the message to the person who can advise, and gives him a time. It beats replying that you cannot advise and that his supervisor is free after four, because telling somebody to wait is not the same as telling them not to act. It beats replying that you cannot comment and forwarding the email for her return, because an email at the top of a pile is not a message to somebody in a meeting. The least effective response is telling him the offer sounds reasonable and he can accept it: it gives a view nobody in your role can give, and he will act on it as though it were advice. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, which decline correctly and then handle the urgency badly. The principle: say what must not happen, move the decision to whoever owns it, and put a time on it.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a trainee solicitor sharing a research task with another trainee. You have each done half and the two halves reach opposite conclusions. Neither of you can see where the difference comes from. The note is due to your supervisor at midday tomorrow and you both have other work today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Sit down with him for half an hour today, work back through both halves until you find where the difference arises, and put the answer and the reasoning in the note.
   2. Send both halves to your supervisor now with a note that the two of you disagree, and ask her to tell you which conclusion is right before you write it up.
   3. Hand your half to someone in the department who knows the area, and ask them to reconcile the two halves while the pair of you get on with your other work today.
   4. Put both conclusions in the note with the arguments for each, so your supervisor can see the two positions and decide which one she prefers.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Sit down with him for half an hour today, work back through both halves until you find where the difference arises, and put the answer and the reasoning in the note.

   Least effective: C. Hand your half to someone in the department who knows the area, and ask them to reconcile the two halves while the pair of you get on with your other work today.

   B: Escalates before diagnosing: she is being asked to do the work of finding the difference, which is the whole task, and neither of you has yet spent half an hour looking.

   C: Passes the work to a colleague: the two people who did the research give the reconciling to somebody who did not, so the one part nobody else can do quickly is the part that gets handed away.

   D: Delivers the disagreement instead of resolving it: a research note that ends in two answers is not a research note, and the difference between them is probably one step neither of you has found.

   The most effective response is to sit down with him for half an hour today and work back through both halves until you find where the difference arises. The gap between two halves of one question is nearly always a single step, and the two people who did the work are the fastest to find it. It beats sending both halves to your supervisor with a note that you disagree, because she is being asked to do your task. It beats putting both conclusions in the note with the arguments for each, because a note with two answers has not answered anything. The least effective response is handing your half to someone in the department to reconcile the two: the reconciling goes to somebody with none of the working, so a half-hour job becomes a long one for a person who has not agreed to it. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which keep the work with people who have done it. The principle: find where two answers diverge before asking anybody else to choose between them.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a billing assistant. Your team reports to the partners each month how many bills went out within five days of the month end. Two of yours went out on the seventh day because a fee earner was away. Your team leader asks you for your figures for the report this afternoon. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Record the two bills as sent on the fifth day, since the delay was not anything you did and the figure would otherwise say something about you that is not true.
    2. Give her the real dates and the reason for the two late ones, so she can decide whether the report should say anything about fee earners being away.
    3. Give her the real dates without any explanation, since she can see the absences on the team calendar and will work out why those two sat waiting.
    4. Ask her to leave your figures out of this month's report, so that two unrepresentative bills do not distort what the partners see about the team's performance.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Give her the real dates and the reason for the two late ones, so she can decide whether the report should say anything about fee earners being away.

    Least effective: A. Record the two bills as sent on the fifth day, since the delay was not anything you did and the figure would otherwise say something about you that is not true.

    A: Alters the record: the report will then describe two bills that went out on a day they did not, and the reason the delay is worth knowing about disappears with the correction.

    C: Assumes the context travels: the calendar is not in front of her when she writes the report, so the two late bills reach the partners as two late bills and nothing else.

    D: Removes the awkward data: a report with a name missing raises the question it was meant to avoid, and the absence that caused the delay stays invisible either way.

    The most effective response is to give her the real dates and the reason for the two late ones, so she can decide whether the report should mention fee earners being away. The dates are what they are, and whether they are read fairly depends on the reason travelling with them, which is her decision rather than yours. It beats giving her the real dates without any explanation, because a team calendar is not in front of somebody writing a report. It beats asking her to leave your figures out this month, because taking a name out is more conspicuous than explaining two days. The least effective response is recording the two bills as sent on the fifth day: it changes what the record says happened, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those report true dates badly. The principle: report the number with its reason, and never make the number say something else.