SQE1 Ethics & Professional Conduct practice questions

Ethics and professional conduct is assessed across both FLK1 and FLK2, often within questions on other subjects. It covers the standards solicitors must meet: acting with integrity and independence, confidentiality and disclosure, conflicts of interest, client care, and duties to the court and to third parties. The primary sources are the SRA’s own rules: the SRA Principles and the Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs. Read the wording of the relevant standard closely; questions often hinge on it. Every question below links to the source behind its answer.

Rules to remember

A solicitor or firm must not make or receive referral payments in respect of clients who are the subject of criminal proceedings, whatever disclosure or written terms are offered. Question L153

The Code duty to tell the client all material information does not extend to information in a privileged document the solicitor knows of only because it was mistakenly disclosed. Question L152

A firm cannot act for co-defendants whose defences conflict; it may keep one only if it holds no material confidential information of the other or the para 6.5 conditions are met. Question L151

A defence solicitor must not assert a client's good character knowing it to be false, nor disclose the client's convictions without consent; if the client insists on the falsehood, the solicitor must cease to act. Question L150

A solicitor may defend a client who has admitted guilt by putting the prosecution to proof, but must not mislead the court by advancing a positive case or evidence known to be false. Question L149

A solicitor acting for buyer and lender must not mislead the lender about price incentives; if the buyer forbids disclosure, the solicitor must cease acting for the lender and, usually, the buyer. Question L148

A firm should not act for both seller and buyer where substantive negotiations between them are foreseen; neither 6.2 exception fits parties bargaining against each other, and consent alone cannot cure this. Question L147

A solicitor must account to the client for any financial benefit, such as a commission, received as a result of the client's instructions, unless the client has agreed otherwise. Question L146

When a firm's error causes a client loss, it must be open and explain promptly; it cannot act where its own interests conflict with the client's, and consent does not cure an own interest conflict. Question L145

A solicitor may act on instructions from someone properly authorised to give them, such as an attorney under a registered LPA, but must still protect the incapacitated client's best interests. Question L144

Where a firm acts for joint clients, it must not act on one client's instructions against the other's interests; once they disagree on an aspect, the firm must not act for both on it. Question L143

A solicitor's duty of confidentiality continues after a client's death; the right to confidentiality passes to the personal representatives, whose consent is needed for disclosure unless the law requires or permits it. Question L142

A solicitor may sometimes draft a parent's will leaving residue equally to the solicitor and siblings without independent advice, but only if their interest does not undermine their ability to advise impartially. Question L141

Before drafting a will containing a significant gift to themselves, a solicitor should be satisfied the client has taken independent legal advice; if the client refuses, they will usually need to stop acting. Question L140

A COLP must take all reasonable steps to ensure a prompt report to the SRA of facts reasonably believed capable of amounting to a serious breach; proof is not required first. Question L139

A solicitor must not take unfair advantage of, or mislead, an opposing party; the duty is heightened where the opponent is unrepresented or vulnerable. Question L138

An NDA must not be used, including through claw-back clauses, to prevent or deter anyone from reporting an offence to the police or making reports to a regulator, even where all parties are represented. Question L137

A solicitor who supervises or manages others remains accountable for the work carried out through them and must supervise it effectively, whether or not those supervised are solicitors. Question L136

A solicitor must draw the court's attention to relevant authorities likely to have a material effect on the outcome, even when they are adverse to the client and the opponent has missed them. Question L135

If a complaint is not resolved to the client's satisfaction within eight weeks, the client must be told in writing of any Legal Ombudsman right, the time limit and full contact details. Question L134

A solicitor must perform an unconditional undertaking within the agreed time even if the client fails to provide the funds; protection must be built into the undertaking's wording before it is given. Question L133

Clients must receive the best possible information about likely overall cost at engagement and, when appropriate, as the matter progresses, including a prompt update when an estimate will be materially exceeded. Question L132

Where a firm shares fees with an introducer, the fee sharing agreement must be in writing and the client must be told of the arrangement and of the introducer's interest in referring them. Question L131

When responding to a publisher for a client, a solicitor must not threaten remedies that are unavailable on a civil claim, such as imprisonment or fines, or use labels that falsely imply legal authority. Question L130

A solicitor must not mislead the court or be complicit in a client withholding or destroying disclosable evidence; if the client refuses to give proper disclosure after advice, the solicitor must cease to act. Question L129

A solicitor acting for joint clients under the substantially common interest exception must not act on any aspect where their interests now conflict, such as a term they are negotiating. Question L128

A solicitor may act for clients competing for the same objective only with all clients' informed written consent, appropriate confidentiality safeguards, and where it is reasonable to act. Question 06

A solicitor may act against a current or former client whose material confidential information they hold only if effective measures leave no real risk of disclosure or that client gives informed consent, given or evidenced in writing. Question 21

An undertaking can be oral and need not use the word "undertake"; it must be performed within the agreed time or, if none was agreed, within a reasonable time (SRA Code para 1.3). Question 35

Act only on instructions from the client or someone properly authorised by them; if you suspect instructions do not reflect the client's wishes, do not act until you are satisfied that they do (SRA Code para 3.1). Question 49