Learning Outcomes
After studying this article, you will be able to:
- Identify and prioritise relevant facts during client conferences and interviews.
- Analyse and record legal issues and advice accurately in attendance notes.
- Understand how to structure notes for clarity and future use.
- Draft succinct advice and summarise actions, meeting the standards expected in SQE2 assessments.
SQE2 Syllabus
For SQE2, you are required to understand and demonstrate the skills of fact finding and drafting attendance notes from a practical and professional standpoint. Focus your revision on:
- Identifying legally relevant facts and issues during interviews or conferences.
- Conducting structured factual analysis relevant to the client’s objectives.
- Recording issues and client instructions logically and accurately.
- Drafting attendance notes that clearly capture legal analysis, advice, and next steps.
- Advising clients in writing, reflecting a correct understanding of facts and law.
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
- Why is it important to distinguish between legally relevant and irrelevant facts when drafting an attendance note?
- What are the essential elements that must be included in an effective attendance note for the SQE2 exam?
- What is the role of legal analysis in a factual record?
- True or false? Attendance notes should include speculative personal opinions regarding the client’s case.
Introduction
Fact finding and attendance note drafting are essential skills for legal professionals. In practice and in the SQE2 assessments, you will be expected to identify the material facts of a matter, isolate the legal issues, conduct structured factual analysis, and provide clear, actionable advice—recorded precisely and succinctly.
Effective fact finding starts at the interview or conference stage. It involves listening actively, asking the right questions, and distinguishing between facts that are material to the client’s legal objectives and those that are not.
Key Term: fact finding
The process of systematically eliciting, clarifying, and documenting information relevant to a client’s matter to support legal analysis and advice.
Attendance notes must capture not only the factual background but also any analysis, options considered, advice given, and next steps. These records are essential for the continuity of legal service, supervision, risk management, and are often relied upon in subsequent proceedings or dealings.
Key Term: attendance note
A contemporaneous written record of an interview, meeting, or advice, summarising all key facts, legal issues, advice given, client decisions, and actions to be taken.
The Purpose of Fact Finding
You must be able to distinguish what information is required to progress the client’s case. This involves:
- Identifying who, what, when, where, why, and how questions relevant to the legal issues.
- Recognising gaps, ambiguities, or inconsistencies in the presented facts.
- Avoiding the inclusion of immaterial background or unnecessary detail.
The Role of the Attendance Note
The attendance note is not a verbatim transcript. Instead, its focus is:
- Legal and factual issues discussed.
- Instructions and information received.
- Legal analysis (including options and risks).
- Clear recommendations or advice.
- Steps to be taken by lawyer and client.
Structure of an Effective Attendance Note
An effective attendance note should be:
- Chronological, logical, and clearly sectioned.
- Objective—no personal views or speculation.
- Written in plain, accurate English.
- Error-free, with correct client and matter details.
A typical structure may include:
- Date, time, place, attendees.
- Purpose of the meeting/interview.
- Summary of facts elicited.
- Identification of legal issues.
- Legal analysis and advice given.
- Decisions reached and next steps.
Key Term: legal analysis
The process of applying legal principles to factual circumstances to identify issues, risks, and options for the client.
Worked Example 1.1
You meet a client, Mr Patel, about a potential breach of contract. He provides various documents relating to delivery dates and payment terms. During the meeting, he mentions an unrelated business matter and his travel plans for next month.
Question: What information should you prioritise in your attendance note, and how should you record it?
Answer:
Focus exclusively on facts relevant to the alleged contract breach—dates, terms, documents, and instructions regarding this matter. The unrelated business and travel details are irrelevant unless they affect the contract. Record the key facts, discuss the legal issues (e.g., delay, breach), summarise advice, and set out agreed next steps.
Identifying Legal Issues from Facts
A central skill is converting factual information into legal issues, for example:
- Breach of contract: Which terms are asserted to be breached?
- Negligence: What duty, breach, causation, and loss can be established from the client’s account?
- Family law: What key events and relationships need verification?
Your note should clearly identify each legal issue as it arises and connect it to the relevant factual background.
Analysis and Advice: Recording Legal Reasoning
Analysis must be concise, objective, and strictly based on facts gained. Provide clients with realistic options, without speculation, and document your rationale for each recommendation made.
Key Term: objective recording
The practice of noting facts, analysis, and advice without personal judgment, opinion, or unsupported speculation.
Worked Example 1.2
A client instructs you regarding alleged unfair dismissal. She states, "My manager never liked me and that's why I was fired."
Question: How should you handle this information in your attendance note?
Answer:
Record the facts: date and circumstances of dismissal, any meetings or warnings, and reasons given by the employer. Note the client’s perception but do not present it as fact unless objectively supported (e.g., documentary evidence). Advise on the legal requirement for fair dismissal and the relevance (or otherwise) of personal feelings.
Practical Tips for SQE2
- Listen carefully and ask open questions to fill gaps.
- Do not use template notes; tailor the record to the client’s unique circumstances.
- Preserve confidentiality; record only what is necessary and relevant.
- Re-read your note for clarity and completeness before completion.
Revision Tip
Focus on identifying which facts are legally significant when reviewing sample attendance notes. Practice rewriting drafts to improve logical flow and clarity.
Exam Warning
Failure to separate fact from opinion or to miss a material issue is a frequent cause of low marks. SQE2 examiners expect each element of advice to be justified by both factual and legal analysis.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- The goals and structure of fact finding in client interviews.
- Essential elements and required content for effective attendance note drafting.
- The importance of identifying legal issues from factual details.
- The need for objective, clear legal analysis and actionable advice.
- Common pitfalls in attendance notes—omission of material fact, inclusion of opinion, lack of clarity.
Key Terms and Concepts
- fact finding
- attendance note
- legal analysis
- objective recording