SQE2 Legal Research & Writing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A solicitor drafting a formal letter to an opponent must ensure it is:
- Written in the first person using casual language
- Clear, professional, without personal attack and accurate as to the facts and law relied on (Correct answer)
- Copied to the client without review
- Headed 'without prejudice' as a matter of course
Correct answer: Clear, professional, without personal attack and accurate as to the facts and law relied on
Correspondence with opponents must be accurate, professional and measured; misleading or abusive letters can constitute a breach of professional conduct and harm the client's case.
Question 2: The 'without prejudice' rule means that:
- The document can never be disclosed in any proceedings
- Genuine offers to settle cannot be used as admissions of liability in evidence (Correct answer)
- The document is automatically privileged
- The letter has no legal effect
Correct answer: Genuine offers to settle cannot be used as admissions of liability in evidence
Without prejudice communications made in a genuine attempt to settle a dispute are inadmissible as admissions in litigation, encouraging parties to negotiate freely.
Question 3: When interpreting a statute, the 'literal rule' requires the court to:
- Apply the law as Parliament originally intended regardless of the words
- Give the words of the statute their ordinary grammatical meaning even if the result is harsh (Correct answer)
- Consider Hansard to discover parliamentary intent
- Apply the purposive approach from EU law
Correct answer: Give the words of the statute their ordinary grammatical meaning even if the result is harsh
The literal rule instructs judges to apply the plain, ordinary meaning of statutory words even if the outcome appears unjust, on the basis that only Parliament can change the law.
Question 4: In legal writing, the use of 'IRAC' structure means the writer should present:
- Introduction, Research, Analysis, Conclusion
- Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion (Correct answer)
- Issue, Reference, Authority, Commentary
- Index, Research, Argument, Citation
Correct answer: Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion
IRAC (Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion) is the standard analytical framework for legal reasoning: identify the issue, state the relevant law, apply it to the facts, then conclude.
Question 5: When researching case law, which court's decisions are binding on all courts below it?
- The High Court binds the County Court and Magistrates' Court
- The UK Supreme Court binds all courts in England and Wales (Correct answer)
- The Court of Appeal binds all courts including the Supreme Court
- All courts are equally persuasive
Correct answer: The UK Supreme Court binds all courts in England and Wales
The UK Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords) sits at the apex of the court hierarchy; its decisions bind all lower courts in England and Wales.
Question 6: A legal opinion prepared by a solicitor for a client should conclude with:
- A general disclaimer that the opinion is not advice
- A clear recommendation or answer to the legal question posed (Correct answer)
- A list of all cases researched regardless of relevance
- An estimate of the litigation costs
Correct answer: A clear recommendation or answer to the legal question posed
A legal opinion must give the client a clear answer to the question asked; equivocal opinions without a conclusion are unhelpful and potentially a breach of the solicitor's duty.
SQE2 Legal Research & Writing 2
A solicitor drafting a formal letter to an opponent must ensure it is: