Mayer Brown Assessment Tests

Mayer Brown Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 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.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a client services adviser. You and a colleague share the task of clearing the enquiry inbox each morning. For three weeks he has arrived late and you have cleared it alone, which has made you late starting your own calls. He has not mentioned it and neither have you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Carry on clearing it alone, since the inbox has been cleared every morning and raising lateness with a colleague is not really your place.
   2. Give the inbox to somebody else on the desk in the mornings, so that it is cleared on time without depending on whether he arrives.
   3. Ask him for a word, say you have cleared the inbox alone for three weeks and that it is making your own calls late, and ask what would work better for both of you.
   4. Leave the inbox half cleared each morning so that the shortfall becomes visible, and let whoever notices raise it rather than raising it yourself.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Ask him for a word, say you have cleared the inbox alone for three weeks and that it is making your own calls late, and ask what would work better for both of you.

   Least effective: B. Give the inbox to somebody else on the desk in the mornings, so that it is cleared on time without depending on whether he arrives.

   A: Absorbs a recurring cost: the inbox looks fine, your calls stay late, and the arrangement quietly becomes permanent because nothing has ever been said.

   B: Passes the task to a third person: it moves the work onto a colleague who has not agreed to it, tells him nothing, and leaves the lateness entirely unaddressed.

   D: Makes the point by letting the work fail: clients waiting in the inbox pay for it, and the person who most needs to know is the one who still has not been told.

   The most effective response is to ask him for a word, say you have cleared the inbox alone for three weeks and that it is making your own calls late, and ask what would work better. He may not know the effect on your morning, and that question is the one that can change tomorrow. It beats carrying on clearing it alone because raising lateness is not your place, since doing that makes it permanent. It beats leaving the inbox half cleared so the shortfall becomes visible, because clients should not be the demonstration. The least effective response is giving the inbox to somebody else on the desk in the mornings: the task goes to a third colleague without asking either of them, so the cost moves onto somebody uninvolved and the cause survives. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which keep it between the two of you. The principle: tell the person what you have been carrying, before you move it anywhere.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a costs assistant. A supplier the firm uses for copying offers you a fifty pound gift voucher, saying it is for the volume of work you have sent them this year. You choose which supplier gets each copying job from a list of three. Nobody else has been offered anything. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the voucher, since it is a thank you for work already done and it will make no difference at all to how you split the copying between the three suppliers next year.
   2. Decline the voucher and say nothing further about it, since refusing is the whole of what was needed and telling anyone would make trouble for a supplier that meant no harm.
   3. Decline the voucher and tell your manager the offer was made, so it is recorded and somebody other than you decides whether the firm should say anything to the supplier.
   4. Decline the voucher and ask the supplier to send any future thank you to the firm rather than to an individual, so nothing of the sort arrives on your desk again.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Decline the voucher and tell your manager the offer was made, so it is recorded and somebody other than you decides whether the firm should say anything to the supplier.

   Least effective: A. Take the voucher, since it is a thank you for work already done and it will make no difference at all to how you split the copying between the three suppliers next year.

   A: Takes a gift the role forbids: you are the person who chooses which supplier gets the work, and once you have accepted something from one of them nobody can check what your choices were based on.

   B: Leaves the offer unreported: the refusal protects this year and the firm never learns that a supplier makes such offers, so the next person choosing suppliers meets it unprepared.

   D: Redirects the problem: it is sensible and it keeps the whole exchange between you and the supplier, so the firm still has no record that an offer was made to the person choosing the work.

   The most effective response is to decline the voucher and tell your manager the offer was made. Declining is only half of it: what protects the next decision is that somebody other than you knows it happened, and that also takes the question of what to say to the supplier off your desk. It beats declining and saying nothing further about it, because a private refusal leaves the firm blind. It beats declining and asking the supplier to send any future thank you to the firm instead, because arranging their future conduct is not yours to arrange. The least effective response is taking the voucher because it will make no difference to how you split the copying: it accepts a benefit from a party whose work you allocate, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those refuse it. The principle: refuse the benefit, and make the refusal somebody else’s knowledge as well as yours.

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 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.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a practice assistant. Four times this month a fee earner’s expenses claim has come back for a missing receipt, and each time you have found the receipt in the paper tray and re-submitted it. Nobody else knows this is happening. The finance team’s deadline is the same each month. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Carry on finding the receipts and re-submitting the claims, since it takes ten minutes and the claims have all been paid on time every month so far.
   2. Tell the fee earner to put his receipts somewhere other than the paper tray, and leave it there since the problem is his to avoid rather than yours to solve.
   3. Write down what has happened on each of the four claims and take it to the office manager with a suggestion for where receipts should go instead.
   4. Hand the whole expenses process for that fee earner to somebody else who has more time, since the re-submitting is eating into work you are supposed to be doing.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Write down what has happened on each of the four claims and take it to the office manager with a suggestion for where receipts should go instead.

   Least effective: D. Hand the whole expenses process for that fee earner to somebody else who has more time, since the re-submitting is eating into work you are supposed to be doing.

   A: Absorbs a recurring failure: it works and it guarantees a fifth month, and the finance team's rejection rate goes on looking like a problem with the fee earner.

   B: Fixes one person and not the process: it may work for him and it leaves the same trap for everybody else, and nobody who could change the process knows about it.

   D: Passes the problem to a colleague: it moves the ten minutes onto somebody who has not agreed to it, tells them nothing about the pattern, and leaves the cause exactly where it is.

   The most effective response is to write down what has happened on each of the four claims and take it to the office manager with a suggestion for where receipts should go. Four claims with a common cause is a process problem, and she is the person who can move where they go. It beats carrying on finding the receipts and re-submitting the claims, because absorbing it guarantees it continues. It beats telling the fee earner to put his receipts somewhere other than the paper tray, because that fixes one person and leaves the trap. The least effective response is handing the whole expenses process for that fee earner to somebody with more time: an undocumented recurring task goes to a colleague who has not agreed to it, so the cost moves and the cause survives. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which keep it with people who know what is going on. The principle: when you have absorbed the same failure four times, describe it to whoever can change it.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a client services adviser. You are the only person on the desk this afternoon and two things need doing: returning eleven calls from this morning, and preparing the papers for tomorrow’s early client meeting. You can do one properly. The fee earner running tomorrow’s meeting is in the office today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Prepare the meeting papers, and tell the fee earner now that eleven calls are outstanding so that somebody can be found to help with them this afternoon.
   2. Return the eleven calls, since eleven people are waiting and the meeting papers are one job for one person, and get to the papers if any time is left.
   3. Prepare the meeting papers, and say nothing about the calls, since the fee earner has enough to think about before tomorrow and the callers will ring again if it matters.
   4. Split the afternoon so that some calls are returned and the papers are partly ready, and leave a note for tomorrow morning about what still needs doing on each.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Prepare the meeting papers, and tell the fee earner now that eleven calls are outstanding so that somebody can be found to help with them this afternoon.

   Least effective: C. Prepare the meeting papers, and say nothing about the calls, since the fee earner has enough to think about before tomorrow and the callers will ring again if it matters.

   B: Counts people rather than consequences: eleven calls can be returned tomorrow morning, and the papers cannot be prepared after the meeting has started.

   C: Withholds information somebody needed: eleven people are waiting for a call that is not coming today, and nobody who could arrange anything about that has been told.

   D: Splits effort so nothing finishes: papers that are partly ready are not ready for an early meeting, and half the callers still have not heard from anybody.

   The most effective response is to prepare the meeting papers, and tell the fee earner now that eleven calls are outstanding so somebody can be found to help. Tomorrow’s meeting is the only thing that cannot be recovered afterwards, and he is in the building. It beats returning the eleven calls first because eleven people are waiting, since they can be reached tomorrow and a meeting cannot be prepared retrospectively. It beats splitting the afternoon between some calls and partly ready papers, because half-ready papers are not papers. The least effective response is preparing the papers and saying nothing about the calls: it makes the same choice as the best answer and tells nobody, so eleven people wait with no possibility of help being arranged. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which reach some callers. The principle: choose by what cannot be recovered, and tell whoever can arrange the rest.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a court clerk. Two people in your team disagree about who should have spotted that a hearing had been relisted, and each has told you separately that the other is at fault. Neither will raise it with the other. A second relisting has just come in and the same confusion is about to happen again. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask them both for ten minutes today, put the new relisting in front of them, and ask which of them will check for changes in future so it is settled.
   2. Deal with the new relisting yourself so it does not go wrong again, and stay out of a disagreement that is between the two of them and nobody else.
   3. Tell your team leader that the two of them are not speaking and ask her to decide who checks relistings, since it is affecting the team and neither will raise it.
   4. Repeat each one's complaint to the other behind his back, so that they both understand how the other one sees it and can sort it out between themselves.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask them both for ten minutes today, put the new relisting in front of them, and ask which of them will check for changes in future so it is settled.

   Least effective: D. Repeat each one's complaint to the other behind his back, so that they both understand how the other one sees it and can sort it out between themselves.

   B: Avoids the difficult conversation: it protects this relisting and leaves the gap in who checks for the next one, which will arrive whether or not the two of them have spoken.

   C: Escalates before asking: nobody has yet put the two of them in a room with the actual question, so a manager is deciding something they have never been given the chance to settle.

   D: Carries private remarks between colleagues: it makes the argument about the two of them rather than about who checks relistings, and neither can now unhear what the other said.

   The most effective response is to ask them both for ten minutes today, put the new relisting in front of them, and ask which of them will check for changes in future. It is a question both can answer today, and it lets them agree a rule without either conceding anything about last time. It beats dealing with the new relisting yourself and staying out of their disagreement, because covering it leaves the gap. It beats telling your team leader they are not speaking and asking her to decide who checks, because they have not been asked. The least effective response is repeating each one’s complaint to the other behind his back: it turns a question about who checks a list into a quarrel between two people. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, neither of which repeats anything anybody said. The principle: put the shared work in front of both of them, and never carry remarks between them.

9. Question 9 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.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a practice assistant. You and a colleague in another team both support the same two fee earners. A recurring diary conflict between their commitments has been going wrong for a month, and each of you has been fixing it separately on the day. Your colleague says he has no time to look at the cause. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Hand the whole diary problem to your colleague's team, since the commitment that keeps clashing is theirs and it is their side that should be sorting out the cause.
    2. Carry on fixing the clash each morning as you have been, since between the two of you it has always been sorted before either fee earner has noticed anything wrong.
    3. Write down what has gone wrong on each of the four occasions and send it to both fee earners, asking which of the two commitments should give way in future.
    4. Spend half an hour tracing what causes the clash, then take what you find to your colleague with a suggested fix so the two of you can agree one change.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: D. Spend half an hour tracing what causes the clash, then take what you find to your colleague with a suggested fix so the two of you can agree one change.

    Least effective: A. Hand the whole diary problem to your colleague's team, since the commitment that keeps clashing is theirs and it is their side that should be sorting out the cause.

    A: Passes the problem on without owning it: the clash sits between the two teams rather than in either of them, and handing it over means the daily fixing simply stops without anything replacing it.

    B: Absorbs a recurring failure: it works every day and fixes nothing, so two people keep spending time on a problem that one hour of looking would remove.

    C: Escalates before diagnosing: the fee earners are asked to choose between commitments before anybody has established what actually causes the clash, which may not be a choice either of them needs to make.

    The most effective response is to spend half an hour tracing what causes the clash, then take what you find to your colleague with a suggested fix. Half an hour spent once is less than the time the two of you already spend each week, and taking a proposal rather than a problem to a colleague with no time is what makes the conversation possible. It beats carrying on fixing the clash each morning, because doing that is what has kept it alive for a month. It beats writing up the four occasions and asking both fee earners which commitment should give way, because nobody yet knows what they would be choosing between. The least effective response is handing the whole diary problem to your colleague’s team: it moves it to a team that has said it has no time and stops the daily fixing at the same moment, so the clash reaches the fee earners unhandled. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which keep somebody on it. The principle: fix the cause once rather than the symptom daily, and take a proposal to the person you need.