Hogan Lovells Assessment Tests

Hogan Lovells Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a knowledge assistant. You and a colleague in the same team split the monthly update to the firm’s legal developments bulletin. His half has arrived late for three months and each time you have written the missing sections yourself so the bulletin goes out on time. He has not mentioned it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Carry on writing his sections when they are late, since the bulletin has gone out on time every month and raising it would only make working together harder.
   2. Ask him for a word, say plainly that you have written his sections for three months, and ask what would make his half easier to get in on the day it is due.
   3. Give his half of the bulletin to somebody else on the team next month, so the deadline is safe without you having to raise anything with him about it.
   4. Let the bulletin go out with his sections missing next month, so that the problem becomes visible to the team rather than being absorbed by you every time.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask him for a word, say plainly that you have written his sections for three months, and ask what would make his half easier to get in on the day it is due.

   Least effective: C. Give his half of the bulletin to somebody else on the team next month, so the deadline is safe without you having to raise anything with him about it.

   A: Absorbs a recurring failure: it protects three bulletins and guarantees a fourth, and it leaves him with no idea that his half is being written by somebody else.

   C: Passes the problem to a third person: it moves work onto a colleague who has not agreed to it, tells him nothing about why, and leaves whatever is slowing him down completely untouched.

   D: Makes the point by letting the work fail: the readers lose the sections and the person who finds out is everybody except the one person who needed telling.

   The most effective response is to ask him for a word, say plainly that you have written his sections for three months, and ask what would make his half easier to get in on time. He does not know his half is being written for him, and that question is the one that can change next month. It beats carrying on writing his sections when they are late, because doing that guarantees a fourth month. It beats letting the bulletin go out with his sections missing, because that costs the readers and still does not tell him. The least effective response is giving his half to somebody else on the team next month: it hands his work to a third colleague without asking either of them, so the cost lands on somebody uninvolved and the cause survives. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which keep it among the two of you. The principle: tell the person what you have been carrying before you move it anywhere.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a paralegal. A client asks you to send him the full file by personal email because his work address blocks large attachments. The firm sends client documents only through its secure portal. He says he has used personal email with other firms and needs the papers tonight for a meeting tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the file to his personal address tonight, since he has asked for it, the papers are his own, and a portal that his employer blocks is no use to him before tomorrow.
   2. Tell him the firm cannot email client documents and that he will have to find a way to open the portal, since that is the only route the firm uses.
   3. Explain that documents go through the portal only, offer to walk him through opening it on a personal device this evening, and tell his fee earner what has been arranged.
   4. Ask him to confirm in writing that he accepts the risk of personal email, and send the file once he has, so the file records that the choice was his.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Explain that documents go through the portal only, offer to walk him through opening it on a personal device this evening, and tell his fee earner what has been arranged.

   Least effective: A. Send the file to his personal address tonight, since he has asked for it, the papers are his own, and a portal that his employer blocks is no use to him before tomorrow.

   A: Breaches a stated control: the client's preference is not what the rule turns on, and a route chosen by the person under time pressure is exactly the one the control exists to prevent.

   B: Answers with the rule and stops: it is correct and it leaves a client with a meeting tomorrow and no route, when the portal can be opened on a phone or a home machine.

   D: Collects consent instead of authority: a client cannot authorise a departure from the firm's own control, and the written confirmation only makes the decision look approved.

   The most effective response is to explain that documents go through the portal only, offer to walk him through opening it on a personal device this evening, and tell his fee earner what has been arranged. The control holds and his problem is solvable, because the obstacle is his employer’s network rather than the portal itself. It beats telling him the firm cannot email client documents and that he must find a way to open the portal, because refusing without a route leaves him stuck. It beats asking him to confirm in writing that he accepts the risk of personal email, because his consent does not make the route permitted. The least effective response is sending the file to his personal address tonight: client documents go outside the firm’s only approved channel, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those keep the file inside it. The principle: a client cannot waive the firm’s control, so find the route that works inside it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a document reviewer. You raised with a colleague that a batch he had coded was inconsistent, and he took it badly and said you had gone over his head. He now shares the coding queue with you and has stopped telling you which batches he has started. Two of you have picked up the same batch twice this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Start at the other end of the queue so that the two of you cannot collide, which removes the duplication without anybody having to talk about what happened last week.
   2. Tell your team leader that he has stopped sharing what he is working on, and ask her to remind the team how the queue is meant to be used.
   3. Ask him for five minutes, say the duplication is costing both of you time, and agree how the two of you will mark a batch as started from now on.
   4. Stop telling him which batches you have started, after the way he reacted, and leave him to work out for himself why the two of you keep landing on the same one.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask him for five minutes, say the duplication is costing both of you time, and agree how the two of you will mark a batch as started from now on.

   Least effective: D. Stop telling him which batches you have started, after the way he reacted, and leave him to work out for himself why the two of you keep landing on the same one.

   A: Works around the person: the collisions stop and nothing else changes, so the first time the queue is not neatly divided the same problem comes back with the same silence behind it.

   B: Escalates a two-person problem: a general reminder to the team is aimed at one person who will know it, and it arrives without you having asked him anything.

   D: Withdraws information after a disagreement: it answers his silence with your own, so the duplication doubles and the review pays for a quarrel between two reviewers.

   The most effective response is to ask him for five minutes, say the duplication is costing both of you time, and agree how a batch gets marked as started. It is a shared cost with an easy fix, and putting the fix rather than last week in front of him is what makes the conversation possible. It beats starting at the other end of the queue so the two of you cannot collide, because avoiding him leaves the coordination broken. It beats telling your team leader he has stopped sharing and asking her to remind the team, because a team reminder is a way of not speaking to him. The least effective response is stopping telling him which batches you have started: it matches his silence with yours, so the only thing keeping the queue straight is removed entirely. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which try to keep the work moving. The principle: when a disagreement has broken the coordination, fix the coordination first and directly.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a paralegal. You have been asked to complete two schedules by five today. At two you realise the second one needs a figure from the client, who does not usually reply the same day. The fee earner who asked for them is in the building. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Finish both schedules using an estimate for the missing figure, and mark that figure clearly as provisional until the client confirms it.
   2. Email the client asking for the figure, finish the first schedule, and let the fee earner find out at five which of the two is ready and which is not.
   3. Ring the client repeatedly through the afternoon until you get the figure, leaving the first schedule until you have it so that both can be finished together.
   4. Email the client, finish the first schedule, and tell the fee earner now that the second depends on a reply that may not come today.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Email the client, finish the first schedule, and tell the fee earner now that the second depends on a reply that may not come today.

   Least effective: B. Email the client asking for the figure, finish the first schedule, and let the fee earner find out at five which of the two is ready and which is not.

   A: Fills a gap with a number nobody gave you: a schedule containing an estimate is not the schedule that was asked for, and a provisional marking is easy to lose once it is passed on.

   B: Leaves somebody to discover it at the deadline: he is in the building all afternoon, and at five the options he had at two, including asking the client himself, have all gone.

   C: Stakes everything on the uncertain half: the schedule you could certainly deliver is put at risk for one that depends on somebody who may not answer today.

   The most effective response is to email the client, finish the first schedule, and tell the fee earner now that the second depends on a reply that may not come today. Everything you can do is done, the client is asked, and he learns at two rather than five, when he can still chase them himself. It beats finishing both schedules using an estimate for the missing figure, because an estimated figure is not the figure. It beats ringing the client repeatedly and leaving the first schedule until you have the number, because that risks the one that was certain. The least effective response is emailing the client, finishing the first schedule, and letting him find out at five: it produces the same work as the best answer and tells him nothing, so he discovers it when nothing can be done. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which at least leave him with something at five. The principle: when a commitment starts to depend on somebody else, say so while there is still afternoon left.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a new enquiries adviser. Every enquiry has to be logged with the time it came in and the time it was answered. Yesterday you answered one two hours late because the system was down for the afternoon. Your team leader asks for the log before she reports the week’s response times. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Log the real times and leave it, since the outage was reported to everybody by email and she will connect the two when she sees the gap.
   2. Ask her whether the enquiry should be excluded from the week's figures, given that the delay was caused by an outage rather than by anything the team did.
   3. Log the real times and tell her the system was down for the afternoon, so the two hours are reported with the reason attached.
   4. Alter the entry so the record shows the enquiry answered within the usual window, since the delay was the system rather than you and the figure would otherwise say something untrue about your work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Log the real times and tell her the system was down for the afternoon, so the two hours are reported with the reason attached.

   Least effective: D. Alter the entry so the record shows the enquiry answered within the usual window, since the delay was the system rather than you and the figure would otherwise say something untrue about your work.

   A: Assumes the context travels: she is writing a report from a log, and a two-hour gap on one enquiry does not carry an outage notice with it.

   B: Invites the data to be trimmed: the measure is how long clients waited, and a client waited two hours whatever caused it.

   D: Records a time that did not happen: the log exists to show when enquiries were answered, and an entry adjusted for fairness stops describing anything.

   The most effective response is to log the real times and tell her the system was down for the afternoon, so the two hours are reported with the reason attached. The time is a fact and the outage is the fact that explains it, and both belong in front of the person writing the report. It beats logging the real times and leaving it because the outage was emailed to everybody, since a log does not carry an email with it. It beats asking whether the enquiry should be excluded from the week’s figures, because the client waited whatever the cause. The least effective response is altering the entry so the record shows it answered within the usual window: it puts a time in the log that describes nothing that happened, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those record the truth. The principle: log what happened and report the cause beside it.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a knowledge assistant. You have been asked to have a research note ready for a client meeting at two o’clock, and separately to update the team’s precedent index by the end of the day. At noon you realise the research note needs a source the library will not have until three. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the fee earner now that the source arrives at three, set out what you can have ready by two without it, and ask which he would rather have.
   2. Ask the library to see whether the source can be got sooner, and decide at one o'clock what to do depending on whether they can.
   3. Do the precedent index first since that is achievable, and pick the research note up at three when the source is available and it can be done properly.
   4. Work on the note until two with what you have, and give it to him and let the fee earner find out about the missing source unless he asks, so he can see for himself why the note stops where it does.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell the fee earner now that the source arrives at three, set out what you can have ready by two without it, and ask which he would rather have.

   Least effective: D. Work on the note until two with what you have, and give it to him and let the fee earner find out about the missing source unless he asks, so he can see for himself why the note stops where it does.

   B: Delays the decision: it is worth asking and it keeps the problem to yourself for another hour, which is an hour the fee earner could have used.

   C: Abandons the harder commitment: the meeting is at two and finishing the index instead means the note is not there at all, which nobody has agreed to.

   D: Leaves the warning until the deadline: he finds out at two that the note is short, with the meeting starting, when at noon he could have moved the meeting or gone in prepared.

   The most effective response is to tell the fee earner now that the source arrives at three, set out what you can have ready by two without it, and ask which he would rather have. At noon he has choices, and only he can weigh a partial note against a moved meeting. It beats asking the library whether the source can be got sooner and deciding at one, because chasing them is worth doing and is not a reason to keep the problem for another hour. It beats doing the precedent index first and picking the note up at three, because nobody has agreed that the meeting goes without a note. The least effective response is working on the note until two and letting him find out about the missing source when he gets it: it produces the same partial note and tells him when every option he had at noon has gone. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which at least act on the problem. The principle: a deadline you cannot meet is news the moment you know, not when it arrives.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a litigation assistant. At half past three you are asked to get a witness statement signed and filed before the court closes at four thirty. At the same moment a fee earner asks you to book a conference room for next Tuesday. Both will take some of your attention. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Book the room first because it takes two minutes and will otherwise be forgotten, then spend the rest of the hour on getting the statement signed and filed.
   2. Get the statement signed and filed, and tell the fee earner now that the room will be booked as soon as the filing is done this afternoon.
   3. Ask a colleague to take the statement to be signed while you book the room and deal with the rest of your afternoon, since the filing itself is straightforward.
   4. Do both at once, booking the room while you wait for the statement to come back signed, and accept that the filing may go in with a few minutes to spare.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Get the statement signed and filed, and tell the fee earner now that the room will be booked as soon as the filing is done this afternoon.

   Least effective: C. Ask a colleague to take the statement to be signed while you book the room and deal with the rest of your afternoon, since the filing itself is straightforward.

   A: Clears the small thing first: two minutes is two minutes out of an hour that may not have any spare, and the room booking has nothing at stake until Tuesday.

   C: Passes the urgent task to a colleague: the one job with a deadline in an hour goes to somebody who has not seen the statement, so that the one with no deadline can be done by you.

   D: Treats a tight margin as spare capacity: the hour may all be needed, and a few minutes to spare is not something you can know at half past three.

   The most effective response is to get the statement signed and filed, and tell the fee earner the room will be booked as soon as the filing is done. Four thirty is the only fixed point, a room for Tuesday costs nothing to defer, and one sentence means he is not left wondering. It beats booking the room first because it takes two minutes, since those are two minutes you may need. It beats doing both at once and accepting the filing may go in with minutes to spare, because you cannot know at half past three how long the signing will take. The least effective response is asking a colleague to take the statement to be signed while you book the room: it moves the deadline job to somebody unfamiliar with it so you can do the one with no deadline. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which keep the urgent work with you. The principle: the fixed deadline keeps you, and everything else gets a message.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a records assistant. A colleague blocked a change you proposed to how closed files are labelled, and said in a meeting that your version would have caused chaos. Since then she has been slow to answer your queries about her own files, which is holding up three closures. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop answering her queries as promptly after that meeting, so that she sees what it is like to be waiting on somebody and starts replying properly again.
   2. Ask her for a short conversation, say the three closures are waiting on her answers, and ask whether the labelling disagreement is affecting how she deals with your queries.
   3. Close the three files with the information you have and flag the gaps, so that the closures move without you having to depend on answers she is not giving.
   4. Raise it with your team leader, since three closures held up by slow answers is a delivery problem rather than something the two of you should be settling privately.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask her for a short conversation, say the three closures are waiting on her answers, and ask whether the labelling disagreement is affecting how she deals with your queries.

   Least effective: A. Stop answering her queries as promptly after that meeting, so that she sees what it is like to be waiting on somebody and starts replying properly again.

   A: Withdraws responsiveness after the disagreement: it makes the records the battleground, so files on both sides are delayed to make a point between two people.

   C: Works around the person: three files close with gaps in them, and the reason her answers are slow is left entirely unexamined for the next three.

   D: Escalates before asking: she has never been told her answers are holding up three closures, so a manager raises it with her before she has had the chance to fix it.

   The most effective response is to ask her for a short conversation, say the three closures are waiting on her answers, and ask whether the labelling disagreement is affecting how she deals with your queries. The closures are a concrete shared cost, and naming them is what makes the second half of the question askable at all. It beats closing the three files with the information you have and flagging the gaps, because closing files with gaps to avoid a conversation stores up worse problems. It beats raising it with your team leader as a delivery problem, because she has not been told. The least effective response is answering her slowness by being slower with her queries: it makes the records what suffer. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which try to move the work forward. The principle: name the cost, ask the question, and never let the shared work become the weapon.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a filing clerk. A fee earner asks whether a claim form went out in yesterday’s post. You cannot find it in the outgoing log and the person who does the afternoon post is off today. The fee earner is about to tell the client it has been issued. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him it went out yesterday and present it as fact, since everything on the desk that afternoon was taken and there is nothing to suggest this one was treated differently.
   2. Tell him you cannot confirm it and suggest he waits until tomorrow, when the person who does the afternoon post will be back and able to say what went.
   3. Tell him it is not in the log so you cannot confirm it, and offer to check with the court's issue record this morning so he has something definite before he speaks to the client.
   4. Tell him it is not in the log, and add a note to the file saying the entry is missing so that anybody looking later can see the position.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him it is not in the log so you cannot confirm it, and offer to check with the court's issue record this morning so he has something definite before he speaks to the client.

   Least effective: A. Tell him it went out yesterday and present it as fact, since everything on the desk that afternoon was taken and there is nothing to suggest this one was treated differently.

   A: Asserts a fact you have not checked: he will pass it to the client as confirmation, and the one record that would have shown it does not carry the entry.

   B: Answers with the obstacle: it is honest and it leaves a fee earner holding a client conversation with nothing to say, when the court's own record could settle it today.

   D: Records the gap instead of closing it: the note is useful afterwards and does nothing for the conversation that is about to happen, which is where the risk actually is.

   The most effective response is to tell him it is not in the log so you cannot confirm it, and offer to check the court’s issue record this morning. He needs a fact rather than a doubt before he speaks to the client, and the court’s own record can supply one today. It beats telling him you cannot confirm it and suggesting he waits until tomorrow, because that leaves him with nothing today. It beats telling him it is not in the log and adding a note to the file, because a file note does not reach the client conversation. The least effective response is telling him it went out yesterday and presenting it as fact: he is handed something to tell the client that you have not checked, and the only record you have looked at does not support it. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which are clear about what is not known. The principle: when somebody is about to repeat what you say, tell them what you know and go and find what you do not.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a risk assistant. You have twelve file reviews due by Friday and have managed four. On Wednesday a new matter comes in that needs a conflict check before work can start, and the fee earner is waiting. The reviews are an internal target; the conflict check blocks a live matter. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Do the conflict check straight away, then tell your team leader that Friday's twelve reviews will now be nine or ten and ask whether that is acceptable.
    2. Do the conflict check straight away and keep going on the reviews, and see on Friday morning how many you have managed before saying anything to anybody.
    3. Wait for the position to resolve itself, on the basis that the fee earner can wait a day or two, since the reviews have a fixed deadline and a new matter that arrives midweek can reasonably start on Monday.
    4. Ask a colleague in the team to do the conflict check while you carry on with the reviews, so that both the target and the new matter are looked after.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Do the conflict check straight away, then tell your team leader that Friday's twelve reviews will now be nine or ten and ask whether that is acceptable.

    Least effective: C. Wait for the position to resolve itself, on the basis that the fee earner can wait a day or two, since the reviews have a fixed deadline and a new matter that arrives midweek can reasonably start on Monday.

    B: Delays the warning to the deadline: the ordering is right and your team leader finds out on Friday that the target has moved, when on Wednesday she could have shifted something.

    C: Assumes without asking: nothing has been checked about how urgent the new matter is, and a live matter is held up so that an internal target can be protected.

    D: Passes the interruption on: a colleague absorbs your interruption without being asked whether they have room, and your target stays intact by making theirs worse.

    The most effective response is to do the conflict check straight away, then tell your team leader that Friday’s twelve reviews will now be nine or ten and ask whether that is acceptable. A live matter that cannot start outranks an internal count, and Wednesday is when she can still do something about Friday. It beats doing the check and carrying on with the reviews to see how many you manage, because a warning on Friday morning is not a warning. It beats asking a colleague to do the conflict check while you carry on, because handing the interruption sideways just moves the cost. The least effective response is waiting for the position to resolve itself so the new matter starts on Monday: a live matter is held up on an assumption nobody has tested, to protect a number. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which do the check at once. The principle: unblock the live work, then renegotiate the target while there is still time to.