Client Interviewing (with Note taking & Attendance Note Writing) for SQE & Trainee Lawyers

Introduction

The first client meeting is where the solicitor-client relationship is won or lost and for those sitting SQE2, it is one of only two oral assessments, paired inseparably with a handwritten attendance note.

In the assessment itself you are given 10 minutes to consider an email and any accompanying documents, 25 minutes to conduct the interview with the client, and then 25 minutes to write, by hand, an attendance note and legal analysis of the interview you have just completed.

Crucially, the interview is marked by the assessor playing the client on skills alone, while the attendance note is marked by a solicitor on both skills and the law, so the two halves of the exercise test very different things.

This practical webinar breaks the whole exercise down into a repeatable method: how to read instructions quickly, structure a first interview, build rapport and trust, take live notes without losing the client and convert a 25-minute conversation into a clean, advice-bearing attendance note under time pressure.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• The structure and timings of the SQE2 client interview and attendance note station and why the interview and note are marked separately
• How to use the 10-minute reading window to extract the client’s identity, the issue and any flagged legal points from the partner’s email and documents
• A reliable interview framework, greeting and rapport, agenda-setting, open then closed questioning, summarising and checking back next steps and close
• Active listening and effective questioning technique, drawing the client out so they tell you what matters to them, not just what fits the law
• Communicating and explaining in plain, client-appropriate language and handling clients who may be in vulnerable circumstances with courtesy, respect and sensitivity to diversity
• Demonstrating genuine client-focus, understanding the problem from the client’s point of view and what they want to achieve, not only the legal angle
• Recognising that detailed advice is not required in the interview itself, and managing client expectations accordingly
• Live note-taking technique, capturing names, figures, dates and key facts accurately while staying engaged with the client
• Turning the interview into a structured attendance note and legal analysis, recording all relevant information, identifying the legal issues, and setting out next steps and client-focused advice
• Identifying and addressing ethical and professional conduct issues, which are never flagged and must be spotted independently
• Recognising where a negotiation element may be embedded in the interview or note and how to handle it
• Common pitfalls that cost marks, leading the client, missing material facts, advising prematurely and producing a note that records but does not analyse

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Thursday 10th December 2026

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 2,400+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.