SQE2 advocacy: how to prepare and perform
SQE2 advocacy gives you about 45 minutes to prepare, then about 15 minutes to make a short application or submission to a judge role-player. A solicitor marks you on language and behaviour, structure, handling the judge's questions, law and ethics.
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What the assessor is looking for
The published criteria cover five things: appropriate language and behaviour for court, a clear, succinct and persuasive structure, dealing well with the judge's questions, correct and comprehensive law, and ethics. Style matters, but a polished speech with the wrong test will not score well on law.
Use the 45 minutes well
- Minutes 1 to 5. Read the task. Write down who you act for, what order you want, and in which court.
- Minutes 5 to 20. Read the papers once with a pen. Mark the facts that help you and the facts that hurt you.
- Minutes 20 to 35. Write your submission as bullet points, not a script. List the legal test and tick each limb against the facts.
- Minutes 35 to 42. Predict four judge questions: the weakest point, the other side's best point, a fact gap and a practical question about the order.
- Minutes 42 to 45. Rehearse your first sentence and your last sentence aloud.
A structure for the hearing
- Introduce. 'Good morning, Sir. I appear for the defendant, Mr Khan. My friend Ms Lloyd appears for the prosecution.' Use the form of address the task gives you.
- Outline. One sentence on the order you seek and the two or three points you will make.
- Facts. Only the facts that matter, accurately and briefly.
- Law. State the test and apply it limb by limb.
- Answer the other side. Meet their strongest point head on, and propose any condition that helps the court say yes.
- Order sought. Say again exactly what you ask the judge to do, with any terms.
- Thank the judge. Stay standing until the judge has finished.
Worked mini example: a bail application
You act for Mr Khan, charged with an either way offence. The prosecution opposes bail because he has missed court before. A short opening and key paragraph might sound like this.
'Sir, I appear for Mr Khan and I apply for bail. I make three points. First, his past failure to attend was a single occasion caused by a hospital admission, which the court can verify. Second, he has a fixed address with his mother and has lived there for nine years. Third, I propose a residence condition and a reporting condition at his local police station twice a week.
The Bail Act 1976 gives a defendant a general right to bail unless one of the exceptions applies. The prosecution say there are substantial grounds to believe he would fail to surrender. I submit there are not, for the reasons I have given, and the conditions I propose answer any remaining risk. I therefore ask for bail on those conditions.'
Notice the order: ask, three points, law applied, answer to the objection, conditions, restated order. If the judge asks, 'What about the earlier failure?', answer that question first, then return to your structure.
Handling the judge's questions
- Stop when the judge speaks. Never talk over them.
- Answer the question asked, then link back: 'That brings me to my second point.'
- If you do not know a fact, say so. Never invent it. You owe the court a duty not to mislead it, and your submissions must be properly arguable (SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, paras 1.4 and 2.4).
- If the judge points to authority against you that you know about, deal with it. Your duty to draw the court's attention to relevant cases and statutory provisions applies even when they hurt your case (para 2.7).
- If you are asked what order you want, give the exact order, including time limits and conditions.
Common mistakes
- Reading a written script instead of speaking from notes.
- No outline, so the judge cannot follow where you are going.
- Spending most of the time on facts and rushing the law.
- Overstating the facts. The assessor knows the papers.
- Ignoring the other side's strongest point.
- No clear order sought, or an order that goes beyond what the court can give.
- Poor courtroom manners: interrupting, slouching, being casual.
- Missing the ethics point, such as an instruction from the client that would mislead the court.
Advocacy checklist
- Role, court, order sought written at the top of my notes.
- Legal test written out, with facts against each limb.
- Four judge questions predicted.
- First sentence and last sentence rehearsed.
- Outline given at the start.
- Weak point met, not avoided.
- Order restated at the end.
- Honest about every fact.
In Dispute Resolution tasks the test is often found in the CPR (for example, CPR 3.9 relief from sanctions or CPR Part 13 setting aside default judgment). In Criminal Litigation tasks it may come from the Bail Act 1976 or the Sentencing Council guidelines. Read the rule extract in your papers carefully before you rely on memory. Our free taster includes an AI judge, with estimated marking against the published criteria.
Practise this now
Bail application after a domestic assault chargePassCriminal Litigation
Plea in mitigation for theft from an employerPassCriminal Litigation
No case to answer on a disputed identificationPassCriminal Litigation
Excluding a police interview obtained without a solicitorPassCriminal Litigation
Using the complainant's conviction in a self-defence trialPassCriminal Litigation
Exceptional hardship to avoid a totting up banPassDispute Resolution
Setting aside a default judgment for unpaid steelPassDispute Resolution
Relief from sanctions after an unless orderPassDispute Resolution
Interim injunction to enforce a client non-dealing covenantPassDispute Resolution
Opposing summary judgment in a building price disputePassDispute Resolution
Security for costs against a struggling company claimantPassDispute Resolution
Extending time to serve a claim form after it expired
Templates and worked examples
Questions
How long is SQE2 advocacy?
Typically 45 minutes of preparation followed by about 15 minutes in front of the judge role-player.
What areas does SQE2 advocacy cover?
Dispute Resolution and Criminal Litigation. The advocacy tasks are on the oral days, one in each area.
How should I address the judge in SQE2 advocacy?
Use the form of address given in your task or instructions. For many judges that is Sir or Madam. Be polite and formal, and do not use first names.
What if I do not know the answer to the judge's question?
Say so honestly and offer what you do know, or ask for a moment. Never make up a fact or a case. Your duty not to mislead the court applies in the exam as in practice.
What is a typical SQE2 advocacy task?
Examples of short applications include a bail application, a plea in mitigation, an application to set aside default judgment and an application to adjourn. Prepare the legal test for each.
Related
- SQE2 dispute resolution: what the tasks look like
- SQE2 criminal litigation: what the tasks look like
- SQE2 ethics and professional conduct: how it is tested
- SQE2 mock: how to run one that helps
- SQE2: what it tests and how to prepare
Sources: SRA presentation: The SQE2 assessment; Law Society: SQE1 and SQE2 assessments; SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs; Bail Act 1976; Civil Procedure Rules. Checked 10 November 2026.