Linklaters Assessment Tests

Linklaters Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a client services adviser. The firm’s booking system will not let you hold a meeting room for more than two hours, and three times this month a longer meeting has had to move rooms halfway through. You have found that the limit can be got round by making two bookings back to back under different names. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Write up the three occasions and what the two-hour limit did to each, and take it to the office manager with the suggestion that the limit be changed.
   2. Tell the fee earners who book long meetings about the two-booking method, so that they can use it themselves whenever they need a room for longer.
   3. Raise the two-hour limit with the office manager when you next see her, and carry on moving meetings halfway through in the meantime as everybody has been doing.
   4. Use the two-booking method whenever a longer meeting comes up, since it solves the problem today and nobody is harmed by a room being held under two names.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Write up the three occasions and what the two-hour limit did to each, and take it to the office manager with the suggestion that the limit be changed.

   Least effective: D. Use the two-booking method whenever a longer meeting comes up, since it solves the problem today and nobody is harmed by a room being held under two names.

   B: Spreads the workaround: it turns one person's trick into the way the firm books rooms, and it puts the diary further from the truth every time it is used.

   C: Raises it without the evidence: three occasions with what each cost is an argument, and mentioning a limit in passing is a remark that will be lost among everything else she has.

   D: Builds a workaround around a control: bookings under names that are not the people meeting make the room diary describe something that is not happening, and the limit itself is never looked at.

   The most effective response is to write up the three occasions and what the two-hour limit did to each, and take it to the office manager with the suggestion that the limit be changed. Three occasions with their consequences is what turns an irritation into a case, and she is the person who can change it. It beats raising the limit with her when you next see her while carrying on moving meetings halfway through, because the same point made without the evidence goes nowhere. It beats telling the fee earners who book long meetings about the two-booking method, because teaching a trick to more people is not a fix. The least effective response is using the two-booking method whenever a longer meeting comes up: it puts bookings in the diary under names that are not meeting there, so the record stops describing the building. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, because it is you rather than the system that makes the diary wrong. The principle: take the evidence to whoever owns the rule rather than routing around it.

2. Question 2 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.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a business development assistant. A pitch you spent three weeks on was lost, and at the debrief a fee earner said the pitch document was weak. You know he supplied his section two days late, which left no time to edit it. Others were in the room. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask him afterwards for a few minutes, go through the timeline of the document with him, and agree what the deadline for sections needs to be next time.
   2. Say in the debrief that his section came in two days late, so that everybody hearing the criticism also hears why there was no time to edit the document.
   3. Say nothing at the debrief and nothing afterwards, since arguing about a lost pitch changes nothing and the next one will be a different team anyway.
   4. Send the debrief group a written timeline afterwards showing when each section arrived, so that everybody has an accurate record of how the document came together.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask him afterwards for a few minutes, go through the timeline of the document with him, and agree what the deadline for sections needs to be next time.

   Least effective: B. Say in the debrief that his section came in two days late, so that everybody hearing the criticism also hears why there was no time to edit the document.

   B: Blames a colleague in front of the room: it answers a public criticism with a public one, so the debrief becomes about the two of you rather than about the pitch process.

   C: Lets the account stand: the room now believes the document was weak for reasons nobody has examined, and the late section will happen again on the next pitch.

   D: Answers in the same forum: it is accurate and it keeps the audience, so a correction that belongs in a two-minute conversation becomes something the whole group reads.

   The most effective response is to ask him afterwards for a few minutes, go through the timeline of the document with him, and agree what the deadline for sections needs to be next time. The timeline is the evidence, he is the person who needs to see it, and the only useful outcome is a deadline that holds. It beats saying nothing at the debrief and nothing afterwards, because silence leaves both the account and the cause in place. It beats sending the debrief group a written timeline showing when each section arrived, because the group does not need to be involved. The least effective response is saying in the debrief that his section came in two days late: it puts the blame back on him in front of the same people, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because neither of those names anybody in the room. The principle: correct a public remark privately, with the timeline in your hand.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a records assistant. A client has asked for everything the firm holds about her, and the request has come to you because you look after the archive. It will take two days of your time and you have a scanning backlog your team leader has asked you to clear this week. The client has asked twice already. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Start the client's request and work on it until it is finished, since she has asked twice and a client waiting is more important than a backlog that has been there for weeks.
   2. Do an hour of the client's request each day alongside the scanning, so that both move and neither of them is left completely untouched by the end of the week.
   3. Carry on with the scanning as instructed and leave the client's request until the backlog is clear, since your team leader asked for that and has not changed her mind about it.
   4. Go to your team leader today with what the request involves and how long it takes, and ask her which of the two she wants first now that both are on your desk.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Go to your team leader today with what the request involves and how long it takes, and ask her which of the two she wants first now that both are on your desk.

   Least effective: C. Carry on with the scanning as instructed and leave the client's request until the backlog is clear, since your team leader asked for that and has not changed her mind about it.

   A: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: it may well be the right order and it is decided without the person who set the other priority, who may know something about the backlog that you do not.

   B: Splits effort so nothing finishes: an hour a day does not complete a two-day job this week, and the scanning slips too, so the week ends with both unfinished and no decision made.

   C: Waits to be asked again: the person who set the priority does not know the request has arrived, so the instruction is being followed against facts nobody has told her, and the client waits on a decision that has not been made.

   The most effective response is to go to your team leader today with what the request involves and how long it takes, and ask which of the two she wants first. She set the priority without knowing the request existed, and two minutes of her time turns your guess into her decision. It beats starting the client’s request and working until it is finished, because the ordering is hers to make once she has the facts. It beats doing an hour of the request each day alongside the scanning, because a two-day job spread thinly finishes nothing. The least effective response is carrying on with the scanning as instructed and leaving the request until the backlog is clear: it follows an instruction given before the facts changed and never reports the change. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, which at least start the client’s work. The principle: when a new demand changes the picture, take the picture to whoever set the priority.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a knowledge assistant. A colleague objected in a team meeting to your proposal for reorganising the precedent library, and said it would create more work for everybody. Since then he has stopped sending you the updates his team produces, which you need for the monthly bulletin. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Drop the library proposal, since it has cost more in goodwill than it was worth and the updates will presumably start coming again once it is off the table.
   2. Ask him for a short conversation, say the bulletin depends on his team's updates, and ask whether the library proposal is behind the change in what he sends you.
   3. Chase his team's updates through somebody else on his team, so that the bulletin has what it needs without having to go through him at all.
   4. Stop sending him the bulletin's draft for comment because he objected to it in the meeting, since he is plainly not interested in what the team produces anyway.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Ask him for a short conversation, say the bulletin depends on his team's updates, and ask whether the library proposal is behind the change in what he sends you.

   Least effective: D. Stop sending him the bulletin's draft for comment because he objected to it in the meeting, since he is plainly not interested in what the team produces anyway.

   A: Buys the work back with a concession: it may restore the updates and it settles a proposal on the basis of who was most difficult about it, which is not why it was made.

   C: Works around the person: the bulletin gets its material and the reason he stopped sending it is left alone, so the next thing he controls goes the same way.

   D: Withdraws a working courtesy after the disagreement: the bulletin loses a reviewer and he loses sight of what goes out, so the output is worse because two people fell out.

   The most effective response is to ask him for a short conversation, say the bulletin depends on his team’s updates, and ask whether the library proposal is behind the change. The bulletin depends on him, only he can answer the second question, and both belong in one short conversation. It beats dropping the library proposal because it has cost more in goodwill than it was worth, since that settles it for the wrong reason. It beats chasing his team’s updates through somebody else, because going round him leaves the cause untouched. The least effective response is stopping sending him the bulletin’s draft for comment: it answers his withdrawal with yours and makes the bulletin worse, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those try to keep the work intact. The principle: name what the work needs, and ask the question directly.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a paralegal. Two people in your team have stopped speaking after an argument about who lost a set of exhibits. Work that needs both of them is now going through you, which is slowing everything down. Neither has raised it with your supervisor. A bundle they both have to check is due on Friday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Keep passing the work between them yourself until Friday, on the basis that the bundle matters more this week than whatever is going on between the two of them.
   2. Criticise each of them to the other in front of the rest of the team, so that they can see how unreasonable the other one has been about the whole thing.
   3. Ask them both for ten minutes together, say plainly that the bundle needs them both by Friday, and ask what has to happen for the checking to be done properly.
   4. Raise it with your supervisor now and ask her to sort out the disagreement, since it is affecting the team's work and neither of them has taken it to her.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask them both for ten minutes together, say plainly that the bundle needs them both by Friday, and ask what has to happen for the checking to be done properly.

   Least effective: B. Criticise each of them to the other in front of the rest of the team, so that they can see how unreasonable the other one has been about the whole thing.

   A: Avoids the difficult conversation: it gets Friday's bundle out and leaves you permanently in the middle, so the same slowdown arrives with the next piece of work that needs both of them.

   B: Carries private remarks between colleagues: it makes the argument about the two people rather than about the exhibits, and it puts words in front of each of them that they cannot now unhear.

   D: Escalates prematurely: nobody has tried the direct conversation yet, and going over their heads first makes a small dispute into a managed one before anybody has asked them to fix it themselves.

   The most effective response is to ask them both for ten minutes together, say plainly that the bundle needs them both by Friday, and ask what has to happen for the checking to be done properly. It puts the work in front of both at once, gives them a shared deadline rather than a shared grievance, and asks a question neither has to concede anything to answer. It beats passing the work between them yourself until Friday, because acting as the channel keeps the problem alive past then. It beats asking your supervisor to sort out the disagreement, because a supervisor is the right destination only once the direct route has been tried. The least effective response is criticising each of them to the other in front of the team: it turns a dispute about a missing set of exhibits into a dispute about the two of them. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which leave the relationship where they found it. The principle: put the shared work in front of both people, and never carry remarks between them.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a paralegal. A client emails asking for an update on a matter that has been quiet for two months. The fee earner who runs it has been off sick for three weeks and no cover was arranged. The file shows nothing since a letter in June. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply that the fee earner is away and that you will ask her to contact the client as soon as she is back, since the matter is hers and she will know where it stands.
   2. Read the file, reply with what has happened up to the letter in June, and say that nothing has moved since and that you are finding out who will pick it up.
   3. Read the file, take it to the department head today asking who covers it, and reply to the client the same day with a named contact and a time for a proper update.
   4. Treat it as not yours to chase, on the basis that the department will pick it up, since a matter that has been left unattended is a supervision question rather than something a paralegal should be answering the client about.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Read the file, take it to the department head today asking who covers it, and reply to the client the same day with a named contact and a time for a proper update.

   Least effective: D. Treat it as not yours to chase, on the basis that the department will pick it up, since a matter that has been left unattended is a supervision question rather than something a paralegal should be answering the client about.

   A: Waits for the absent owner: nobody knows when she is back, and the client is asked to wait on an event with no date after two months of silence.

   B: Tells the client before finding out: it is honest and it announces that the matter has no owner before anybody in the firm has been asked to be one, which leaves the client worse informed than before.

   D: Assumes somebody else has it: no cover was arranged for three weeks, which is precisely the evidence that leaving it with the department will produce nothing, and the client hears nothing at all.

   The most effective response is to read the file, take it to the department head today asking who covers it, and reply to the client the same day with a named contact and a time. The client needs a name and a time, and both exist only once somebody senior has assigned cover. It beats replying that the fee earner is away and that you will ask her to make contact when she is back, because an unknown return date is not a plan. It beats replying with what has happened up to the June letter and saying you are finding out who will pick it up, because telling a client their matter has no owner, before it has one, helps nobody. The least effective response is treating it as a supervision question rather than yours to chase: it hands the problem back to the arrangement that has already failed for three weeks and leaves the client unanswered. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which at least reply. The principle: get the matter an owner, then give the client the name and the date.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a filing clerk. A person arrives at the counter saying he is the brother of a client and asks to collect the client’s original documents, which he says the client cannot come in for. The firm releases originals only to the client or to somebody named in writing. He has driven two hours. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Explain that originals go only to the client or to somebody named in writing, and tell him he will have to arrange that with the client before anybody can help him.
   2. Explain the rule, offer to ring the client now so she can name him in writing by email while he waits, and hold the documents ready for the moment she does.
   3. Take a copy of his identification and release the documents, so the file records who collected them and the client's wishes are met without him having to come back.
   4. Release the documents to him, since he has come a long way, he plainly knows the client's business, and the papers belong to the client rather than to the firm.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Explain the rule, offer to ring the client now so she can name him in writing by email while he waits, and hold the documents ready for the moment she does.

   Least effective: D. Release the documents to him, since he has come a long way, he plainly knows the client's business, and the papers belong to the client rather than to the firm.

   A: Answers with the rule and stops: it is correct and it sends a man who has driven two hours away with nothing, when a call to the client could settle it while he waits.

   C: Collects a record instead of authority: knowing who he is does not make him somebody named in writing, and the file will show a careful release that was still not permitted.

   D: Breaches a stated release rule: the distance he has driven is not what the rule turns on, and the firm has no way of knowing who he is.

   The most effective response is to explain the rule, offer to ring the client now so she can name him in writing while he waits, and hold the documents ready. The rule holds and his journey is not wasted, because the one thing missing can be supplied by the client in a few minutes. It beats explaining that originals go only to the client or somebody named in writing and telling him to arrange it himself, because refusing without offering the route sends him away for nothing. It beats taking a copy of his identification and releasing the documents, because identification is not authorisation. The least effective response is releasing the documents because he has come a long way and knows the client’s business: a client’s originals go to somebody the firm cannot verify, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because neither of those hands anything over without the client. The principle: hold the rule and remove the obstacle, rather than making an exception for the person in front of you.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a practice assistant. A fee earner has been short with you all week and this morning said, in front of the team, that the diary is a mess and it is costing him clients. You know two of this week’s clashes came from bookings he made himself. The team is watching. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Say in front of the team that two of the clashes came from bookings he made himself, so that everybody who heard the complaint also hears where the problem actually came from.
   2. Say nothing now and nothing later, since he is plainly under pressure and responding to any of it would only prolong something that will blow over on its own.
   3. Ask him for five minutes later, take the two bookings with you, and go through how each clash arose so the two of you can agree what changes for next week.
   4. Send him and the team an email afterwards setting out how each of this week's clashes arose, so everybody has the same account of what happened and why.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask him for five minutes later, take the two bookings with you, and go through how each clash arose so the two of you can agree what changes for next week.

   Least effective: A. Say in front of the team that two of the clashes came from bookings he made himself, so that everybody who heard the complaint also hears where the problem actually came from.

   A: Blames a colleague in front of others: it answers a public remark with a public correction, so the team is now watching an argument rather than a diary problem being fixed.

   B: Lets an inaccurate account stand: the team has heard one version, the diary problem is not diagnosed, and the two bookings that caused it will be made the same way next week.

   D: Answers in the same forum: it is accurate and it keeps the audience, so a correction that would land in a five-minute conversation becomes something the whole team has to read.

   The most effective response is to ask him for five minutes later, take the two bookings with you, and go through how each clash arose. The diary problem is real, two of its causes are his, and the only setting where that can be said usefully is a private one with the bookings in front of you. It beats saying nothing now and nothing later, because silence leaves an inaccurate account with the team and the cause unfixed. It beats sending him and the team an email setting out how each clash arose, because the audience is the problem rather than the remedy. The least effective response is saying in front of the team that two of the clashes came from his own bookings: it puts the blame back on him in front of the same people, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because neither of those does anything to him publicly. The principle: correct a public remark privately, with the evidence in your hand.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a costs assistant. At half past four a fee earner asks for a schedule of costs to be with the court by five, and at the same moment your team leader asks you to check three disbursement queries before you leave. Only one can be finished by five. Your team leader is at her desk. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Do the schedule so it reaches the court by five, and tell your team leader now that the three queries will be done first thing in the morning.
    2. Do the three queries first because your team leader asked and she is your line manager, then send the schedule to the court as soon as afterwards as you can.
    3. Give the schedule on to the manager who is still at her desk while you do the three queries, so both are dealt with before anybody leaves this evening.
    4. Start the schedule and get through as many queries as you can alongside it, and leave a note for your team leader about which of the three are still outstanding.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: A. Do the schedule so it reaches the court by five, and tell your team leader now that the three queries will be done first thing in the morning.

    Least effective: C. Give the schedule on to the manager who is still at her desk while you do the three queries, so both are dealt with before anybody leaves this evening.

    B: Ranks by who asked rather than by what expires: the court closes at five and the queries have no stated deadline at all, so the only irrecoverable thing is the one that gives way.

    C: Passes the urgent job on: a schedule of costs due at court in thirty minutes goes to somebody who has not seen the matter, so that the task with no deadline can stay with you.

    D: Splits a thirty-minute margin: the schedule may miss five because attention went elsewhere, and the queries end up part done, so neither is finished properly.

    The most effective response is to do the schedule so it reaches the court by five, and tell your team leader the three queries will be done first thing. Five o’clock is the only thing that expires, she is at her desk and can be told in a sentence, and the queries lose nothing overnight. It beats doing the three queries first because she is your line manager, since being asked by a manager is not the same as being urgent. It beats starting the schedule and getting through what queries you can alongside it, because thirty minutes has no room to be divided. The least effective response is passing the schedule to the manager still at her desk while you do the queries: the deadline job goes to somebody unfamiliar with it so you can keep 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 thing that expires keeps you, and everything else gets told.