Simmons and Simmons Assessment Tests

Simmons and Simmons Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a compliance assistant. Your team reports each month how many new files had their checks completed before work started. One of this month’s files had its check completed the day after work began, because the fee earner was told the wrong thing by somebody else. Your team leader asks for the figures. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record the check as completed before work started, since the check was done and the reason it was a day late had nothing to do with the fee earner or with the compliance team.
   2. Give her the figure with the exception shown, and leave the explanation to whoever asks about it, since the numbers are what the report is for.
   3. Give her the figure with the exception shown and a line explaining that the fee earner was given wrong information, so the report carries the cause as well as the count.
   4. Ask her whether the one late file needs to be in the figures at all, given that it was caused by something outside the process the report is meant to measure.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Give her the figure with the exception shown and a line explaining that the fee earner was given wrong information, so the report carries the cause as well as the count.

   Least effective: A. Record the check as completed before work started, since the check was done and the reason it was a day late had nothing to do with the fee earner or with the compliance team.

   A: Marks a file as compliant when it was not: the whole point of the figure is that it counts checks done before work began, and a file recorded as fine removes the only trace of what went wrong.

   B: Reports the number without its cause: the exception will be read as a fee earner ignoring a check, and the thing that actually needs fixing is somebody giving out wrong information.

   D: Invites the data to be trimmed: the report measures whether checks were done before work started, and this one was not, whatever the reason.

   The most effective response is to give her the figure with the exception shown and a line explaining that the fee earner was given wrong information. The figure is what it is, and the one line is what turns an apparent breach into something the firm can act on. It beats giving her the figure with the exception shown and leaving the explanation to whoever asks, because an unexplained exception will be read as the wrong kind of failure. It beats asking whether the one late file needs to be in the figures at all, because the measure is about what happened, not about whose fault it was. The least effective response is recording the check as completed before work started: it records the file as compliant when it was not, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because both of those leave the exception visible. The principle: report the exception and its cause together, and never make the record say the exception did not happen.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a court clerk. You keep the log of documents lodged, with the date each one went. A document you were given on Monday was not lodged until Wednesday because you missed it in the tray. The deadline was Thursday, so nothing was lost. Your team leader reviews the log monthly. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Record a time that shows the document going on Monday, since that is when it was given to you and nothing turned on the two days it sat in the tray.
   2. Record Wednesday and say nothing else, since the entry is accurate and the deadline was met, so there is nothing anybody needs to do about it.
   3. Record Wednesday and add a note to the entry explaining that the tray was missed, so the reason is on the log for whoever reviews it at the end of the month.
   4. Record Wednesday, and mention to your team leader that it sat in the tray for two days so the tray arrangement can be looked at.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Record Wednesday, and mention to your team leader that it sat in the tray for two days so the tray arrangement can be looked at.

   Least effective: A. Record a time that shows the document going on Monday, since that is when it was given to you and nothing turned on the two days it sat in the tray.

   A: Records a date that did not happen: the log is a record of when documents went to court, and a Monday entry describes a lodging that took place on Wednesday.

   B: Records the truth and leaves it unexamined: the log will show a two-day gap that nobody explains, and the tray that caused it stays exactly as it is.

   C: Waits for the monthly review: the note is honest and it means the tray problem is not looked at for up to four weeks, during which the same thing can happen again.

   The most effective response is to record Wednesday, and mention to your team leader that it sat in the tray for two days so the arrangement can be looked at. Wednesday is the fact, and the tray is the part worth attention now rather than at the end of the month. It beats recording Wednesday and saying nothing else, because an unexplained gap teaches nobody anything. It beats recording Wednesday with a note explaining that the tray was missed, because a note waiting for a monthly review is a month of the same risk. The least effective response is recording a time that shows the document going on Monday: it puts a date 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 the real date, and raise the cause while it can still be fixed.

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 disclosure assistant. You have noticed that the review platform logs a reviewer out after fifteen minutes of reading without clicking, so long documents keep losing people’s work. Four reviewers have mentioned it in passing. Nobody has raised it with the supplier. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell the reviewers to click something every ten minutes while reading, so that nobody else loses work to the timeout while the platform stays as it is.
   2. Write up what happens, with the four occasions and roughly how much work was lost, and send it to the supplier through whoever manages the contract.
   3. Give it to the manager who owns the platform contract and leave it with them, since raising things with the supplier is their job rather than yours.
   4. Raise it at the next team meeting so that everybody knows about the timeout and can decide together whether it is worth reporting to the supplier.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Write up what happens, with the four occasions and roughly how much work was lost, and send it to the supplier through whoever manages the contract.

   Least effective: C. Give it to the manager who owns the platform contract and leave it with them, since raising things with the supplier is their job rather than yours.

   A: Spreads a workaround: it saves some work and makes the fault permanent, because a platform nobody has complained about is a platform nobody will change.

   C: Hands it on without owning it: the only person who has seen the pattern across four reviewers passes it to somebody with none of that, and adds nothing they could act on.

   D: Puts a decision to a group that cannot make it: the team already knows about the timeout individually, and a discussion is not a report to the supplier.

   The most effective response is to write up what happens, with the four occasions and roughly how much work was lost, and send it to the supplier through whoever manages the contract. Four occasions with an estimate of the loss is a report a supplier can act on, and routing it through the contract manager makes it a report rather than a complaint. It beats telling the reviewers to click something every ten minutes while reading, because a workaround guarantees the fault survives. It beats raising it at the next team meeting so everybody can decide whether to report it, because the team knowing is not the supplier knowing. The least effective response is giving it to the manager who owns the contract and leaving it with them: it moves the only assembled account to somebody who has not seen it, with nothing attached. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which at least leave something behind. The principle: the person who saw the pattern writes it up, and sends it where it can be acted on.

5. Question 5 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.

6. Question 6 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.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a knowledge assistant. A directory submission closes at noon tomorrow and the partner who signs off every submission is in a hearing all day. The firm’s rule is that no submission goes out without her approval. You have a complete draft and one figure you are unsure of. Missing the deadline means no entry this year. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Send the submission yourself before noon, since the draft is finished and the rule about approval exists to catch problems rather than to lose the firm its entry for a whole year.
   2. Ask the partner's assistant to approve it on her behalf, so that somebody in her office has signed it off and the submission can go before the deadline.
   3. Accept that the deadline will be missed, and put a note in the file explaining that the partner was unavailable so the firm knows why there is no entry this year.
   4. Send the partner the draft now with the doubtful figure flagged and a note that you need ten minutes of her time before noon, and tell her assistant it is waiting.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Send the partner the draft now with the doubtful figure flagged and a note that you need ten minutes of her time before noon, and tell her assistant it is waiting.

   Least effective: A. Send the submission yourself before noon, since the draft is finished and the rule about approval exists to catch problems rather than to lose the firm its entry for a whole year.

   A: Breaches a stated control: it decides for yourself which rules are worth keeping, and the one thing approval exists to catch is the sort of figure you have just said you are unsure of.

   B: Substitutes own judgement for the stakeholder's: an assistant is not the person the rule names, so this manufactures an approval that looks like the real one and is not.

   C: Gives up before trying: the partner is in a hearing rather than uncontactable, and a hearing has breaks, so the note records a defeat that nobody has yet established was unavoidable.

   The most effective response is to send the partner the draft now with the doubtful figure flagged and a note that you need ten minutes before noon, and tell her assistant it is waiting. It does everything that can be done without her, puts the one real question in front of her in a form she can answer in a break, and uses her assistant for what an assistant can actually do. It beats asking the assistant to approve it on her behalf, because it seeks her approval rather than a substitute for it. It beats accepting that the deadline will be missed and noting why in the file, because nobody has yet tried to reach her and a hearing is not a closed door. The least effective response is sending the submission yourself before noon: it sends unapproved work carrying the exact uncertainty the approval exists to catch. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, which both stay inside the rule even where they misjudge it. The principle: when a rule stands between you and a deadline, work the rule faster rather than around it.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a reception coordinator. Three times this month a client has arrived for a meeting that was not in the room diary, and each time you have found a room at the last minute. Nobody has complained. You have noticed that all three bookings came from the same team and were made by email rather than through the system. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Reply to the next email booking asking the sender to use the system instead, and do the same each time until that team gets used to booking the way everybody else does.
   2. Carry on finding rooms as you have been, since no client has been kept waiting and raising it would make trouble for a team that is plainly under pressure.
   3. Set out the three occasions, what happened each time and where the bookings came from, and take it to the office manager with a suggestion for closing the gap.
   4. Block out two rooms every morning so there is always somewhere to put an unbooked meeting, which removes the risk without anybody needing to change how they work.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Set out the three occasions, what happened each time and where the bookings came from, and take it to the office manager with a suggestion for closing the gap.

   Least effective: B. Carry on finding rooms as you have been, since no client has been kept waiting and raising it would make trouble for a team that is plainly under pressure.

   A: Corrects one message at a time: it works only when somebody happens to email you, and it puts the fix in the hands of the team that has been getting it wrong for a month.

   B: Passes the risk quietly forward: three saves in a month is luck rather than a system, and the first time there is no free room a client will be standing in reception with nowhere to go.

   D: Builds a workaround: it takes two rooms out of use every day to cover an occasional fault, and it makes the underlying booking problem permanently invisible.

   The most effective response is to set out the three occasions, what happened each time and where the bookings came from, and take it to the office manager with a suggestion. Three occasions with a common source is a pattern rather than three accidents, and she is the person who can change how that team books. It beats replying to each email booking asking the sender to use the system, because correcting them one at a time leaves the next to chance. It beats blocking out two rooms every morning, because holding rooms empty pays for the fault every day and hides it. The least effective response is carrying on finding rooms as you have been: it keeps a run of luck going and leaves nobody able to act, so the first failure lands on a client. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which at least change something. The principle: when you have absorbed the same fault three times, the absorbing is the problem.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a trainee solicitor. A client you have been dealing with says he wants to send you a bottle of something as a thank you for the work on his matter, and asks for your home address so it does not sit at the office. The matter has not yet concluded. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Take the bottle at your home address as he asks, since it is a small thank you from a client you get on with and has nothing to do with the work on the matter.
   2. Thank him and decline, and leave it there, since refusing is the whole of what was needed and there is no reason to make more of a client being generous.
   3. Suggest he sends it to the office for the team to share, so the gesture is accepted without anything going to you personally.
   4. Thank him and decline, and tell your supervisor that the offer was made so it is on record and she can decide whether anything else is needed.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Thank him and decline, and tell your supervisor that the offer was made so it is on record and she can decide whether anything else is needed.

   Least effective: A. Take the bottle at your home address as he asks, since it is a small thank you from a client you get on with and has nothing to do with the work on the matter.

   A: Takes a gift the role forbids: the matter is still running, and a present sent to a home address is one nobody at the firm will ever know about.

   B: Leaves the offer unreported: the refusal deals with the bottle and the firm never learns that a client on a live matter offered a trainee a personal gift at home.

   C: Redirects rather than reports: it removes the personal benefit and still leaves a gift arriving on a live matter with nobody senior having been asked.

   The most effective response is to thank him and decline, and tell your supervisor the offer was made. Declining is only half of it: the matter is live, and the protection is that somebody senior knows and decides what follows. It beats thanking him and declining and leaving it there, because a private refusal leaves the firm blind. It beats suggesting he sends it to the office for the team to share, because redirecting a gift on a live matter is still a decision you have made alone. The least effective response is taking the bottle at your home address: a personal gift is accepted mid-matter at an address the firm cannot see, which is a different kind of wrong from the other two because neither of those takes anything. The principle: refuse it, and tell somebody senior that it was offered.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a costs assistant. A fee earner asks you whether a client’s payment on account has cleared, because he wants to instruct counsel today. The bank feed shows a payment received but the accounts team has not yet confirmed it as cleared, and they are not back until tomorrow. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Tell him the payment is showing on the feed but is not confirmed as cleared, and that accounts are back tomorrow, so he can decide whether to wait.
    2. Tell him it has cleared, and assure him of it, since the money is showing on the feed and payments of that kind have always cleared by the following morning.
    3. Tell him the payment is showing but not yet confirmed, ring the bank this morning to establish whether it has cleared, and come back to him with an answer before the end of the day.
    4. Tell him he will have to wait for accounts tomorrow, since clearance is their call and nothing you can find out will change what they say when they look at it.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Tell him the payment is showing but not yet confirmed, ring the bank this morning to establish whether it has cleared, and come back to him with an answer before the end of the day.

    Least effective: B. Tell him it has cleared, and assure him of it, since the money is showing on the feed and payments of that kind have always cleared by the following morning.

    A: Hands the decision back without helping: it is accurate and it leaves him choosing between waiting a day and taking a risk, when the bank could confirm the position this morning.

    B: States as fact something you have not confirmed: he will instruct counsel on the strength of it, and the only team who can confirm clearance has not looked at it.

    D: Treats one team's absence as the end of it: the bank is a source of the same fact, and a day's delay to instructing counsel is being accepted without anybody trying.

    The most effective response is to tell him the payment is showing but not yet confirmed, ring the bank this morning to establish whether it has cleared, and come back before the end of the day. He needs the fact rather than the paperwork, and the bank can supply it today even though accounts cannot. It beats telling him it is showing but unconfirmed and that accounts are back tomorrow, because the uncertainty is removable. It beats telling him he will have to wait for accounts, because an absent team is not the only route to the answer. The least effective response is assuring him the money has cleared because payments of that kind always do by the following morning: clearance you have not established is confirmed, and counsel will be instructed on it. That is a different kind of wrong from the other two, both of which are honest about what is confirmed. The principle: when the usual confirmer is away, find the other source rather than filling the gap or accepting the delay.