SQE1 conflicts of interest: what you must know and how it is tested

SQE1 conflicts of interest questions test when a solicitor must refuse or stop acting under section 6 of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors. The question is nearly always one of identifying the kind of conflict first. Read it with the wider Legal Services guide.

The rules to apply

Three situations arise. First, a conflict between you and a client (para 6.1): you do not act if you have a conflict of interest or a significant risk of one between yourself and the client. Second, a conflict between two or more clients in the same matter (para 6.2): you do not act unless the clients have a substantial common interest, or are competing for the same objective, and the conditions below are met. Third, confidential information: you do not act for a client against another current or former client if you hold confidential information material to that matter, unless that client gives informed consent, given or evidenced in writing, or effective measures mean there is no real risk of disclosure.

A substantial common interest needs a clearly defined common goal, and the clients' interests must not significantly diverge. Competing for the same objective means, for example, bidders for the same asset. In either case you can act only if all the clients give informed consent, given or evidenced in writing, you are satisfied it is reasonable to act, and, where appropriate, effective safeguards protect their confidential information. The firm must not accept consent that is not truly informed. If a conflict arises during the retainer you will generally have to stop acting for at least one client, and you remain bound by confidentiality to each.

Confidentiality towards a former client does not end when the retainer ends. Information barriers need to be effective, not merely paper rules (Bolkiah v KPMG), and they are relevant to the confidential information rule, not to a conflict between current clients in the same matter. Be careful with acting for a borrower and lender in conveyancing: this is common, and permitted subject to the lender's requirements, with a duty to disclose anything material to the lender. A conflict that cannot be cured by consent means you decline to act.

Traps examiners use

• Treating client consent as curing every client conflict.
• Using an information barrier to act for two current clients in a direct conflict.
• Forgetting that a former client's confidences stay protected.
• Thinking a conflict only arises between current clients, not between you and a client.
• Not distinguishing a substantial common interest from competing for the same objective.
• Acting on oral consent that is not recorded.

Worked question 1

Two friends, Ines and Luca, each separately want to buy the same insolvent bakery. Both ask the same firm to act in negotiating the purchase. Which statement is correct?

• A. The firm may never act for both.
• B. The firm may act for both only if both give informed consent, given or evidenced in writing, it is reasonable to act and safeguards are in place.
• C. The firm may act for both, because they are friends.
• D. The firm may act for both if the senior partner decides.
• E. The firm may act for both, because the conflict is only a possible one.

Answer: B. Ines and Luca are competing for the same objective, a permitted exception under para 6.2, so long as the conditions in the Code are met. A is too absolute, while C, D and E ignore those conditions.

Worked question 2

Ashdown LLP previously advised Dalton Ltd on a confidential restructuring. Evans Ltd now asks the firm to sue Dalton on a related matter. The firm holds confidential information material to the dispute. Which statement is correct?

• A. The firm may act, because Dalton is a former client.
• B. The firm may act if an information barrier is put in place, whatever its quality.
• C. The firm may act only if Dalton consents or effective measures result in no real risk of disclosure.
• D. The firm may act if it tells Evans Ltd what it knows about Dalton.
• E. The firm may never act against a former client.

Answer: C. The confidential information rule allows the firm to act only with Dalton's consent or if effective measures mean there is no real risk of disclosure. Barriers must be genuinely effective (Bolkiah v KPMG). D would breach confidentiality and A ignores the rule.

Checklist before you move on

• Which type: own interest, between clients, or confidential information?
• Is there a substantial common interest, or competition for the same objective?
• Is consent informed and in writing, and is it reasonable to act?
• Are confidential information safeguards effective?
• If it arises mid-retainer, whom must you stop acting for?

Test yourself on more original questions in our SQE1 practice questions.

Questions

Related

• SQE1 Legal Services
• SQE1 practice questions: how to answer single best answer items
• SQE1 mock: how to time, pace and review it

Sources: SRA: SQE1 Assessment Specification (from 1 September 2026); SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors; SRA: conflicts of interest guidance. Checked 10 November 2026.