Book 2 “300 online situational judgement test questions for law firm applications” has now been published. This Book is a companion to a brand new innovative website, Legal Recruit, designed to boost the chances of law students applying for training contracts and vacation placements pursuant to online psychometric testing. Legal Recruit is an independent project of mine, and aligns with my ambition to make legal education, training and opportunities fair for students with disabilities. The platform offers features for students with visual impairments and/or reading difficulties. The Preface to the book is reproduced below.

Legal recruiters are concerned that applicants make a good cultural fit with the organisation they are hoping to join. Corporates, including corporate law firms, have a very clear idea about what competences they are looking for, and there is a surprising degree of agreement in their shared values in achieving profitability.  Good recruitment works well, for both the candidate and the firm, but a lot can go wrong in the process.  This book consists of 80 situational judgement brand-new questions.

Ideally, recruitment should be exploring which candidate has the most potential to fit into the organisational structure and culture of that firm, but too often it ends up being a case of ‘damage limitation’. The utilisation of this approach is most dangerous for firms which aim to encourage innovation or entrepreneurship, as many firms in the City claim to be.

Resources on the Legal Recruit platform

Legal Recruit is a brand new, innovative platform to help candidates for corporates, including law firms, shine in their application process. It is found at http://www.legal-recruit.org

Although it has in mind GDL and LPC students applying for training contracts or vacation placements, the tests do not assess actual legal knowledge. While verbal reasoning tests vary somewhat, the verbal reasoning test on the Legal Recruit platform involve questions of the ‘TRUE’, ‘FALSE’ or ‘CANNOT SAY’ variety often experienced by law students as applicants. You can actually take a full-length verbal reasoning test, and immediately on its completion you will get a free, confidential report providing a total mark as well as an item-by-item breakdown. The situational judgement tests, while often referring to corporate law scenarios for trainees, test important competences for all trainees in corporate ifrms. Legal Recruit has a number of resources which will help you improve in your performance on online psychometric tests, or help to demystify what they are about. The platform also allows to practice online verbal reasoning tests and situational judgement tests.

 Playing the system

It is vital for the candidate to know ‘how to play the system’, what his or her motivation in applying for certain types of firms. Corporate law firms often look for relevant work experience, evidence of key competences on the application form, and a reasonable degree (usually II.1 or higher). The vast majority of these firms will make you do some sort of psychological assessment, whatever your actual proven academic ability. You should consider carefully whether the corporate firm where you want to apply takes such tests seriously, and consider whether you wish to apply there. If you do, it is worth getting good at them, as often they will look at the results before considering whether to invite you to interview or not. Psychological assessments vary, and not all are indeed accreditated by the British Psychological Society (BPS). The BPS upholds standards in psychological assessments, and it is well worth looking at their website, which contains a gamut of useful advice and guidelines (http://www.psychtesting.org.uk/).

You are advised to examine carefully the advice for each stage of the recruitment process for your chosen firm, and good luck. It is claimed by recruiters that performance on such tests mirror your ability to do the job; that past performance is a good indicator for future performance; whether this is actually true or not is an intense area of debate, but ensure that you know how best to come across in their specific recruitment process. It might be worth seeing if you can obtain a one-to-one with the careers advisor in your law school, who will be able to steer you through the complexities of the online application form, to online assessments and interviews.

It is worth speaking to the Careers Unit in your law school about how to tackle the application form. The online application form contains lots of subtle points, and it may be worth being aware of them before you fill it in, e.g. http://legal-aware.org/2011/07/law-careers-how-to-write-a-good-training-contract-application-form/

 What are “psychometric tests”?

 

Psychological assessments can be partly used to assess the suitability of law students for a corporate law job. Intelligent recruiters will however not base their decision to invite you for interview on them solely, and they will often freely admit to this if or when you meet them. Any assessments are supposed to be developed using some very technical and complex procedures in order to ensure that they really do measure what they claim to measure and that they do so with a reasonable degree of accuracy.

Most online psychological assessments are designed to be carried out in a formal and standard manner. You should ensure “the basics”, for example, that the room is comfortable, well lit, nicely ventilated, and ‘free from interruptions’. Such ‘standardisation’ ensures that everyone who takes the test is given the same information and the same opportunities. It is argued that the results of the test can be used to place individuals in order of ability, to indicate individual qualities in relation to the entire group of applicants.

The purpose of testing involved in the testing process should be clearly communicated to you in the application process. The purpose of testing in the entire application process should be communicated to you by the law firm, together with what the law firm is going to do with the results once the test is completed. The descriptions of the tests should be clearly provided, and you should have a very careful look at any examples. It is assumed that the test chosen by the recruiter bears some relation, at least, to the skills that might be needed at your chosen law firm as a trainee, to complete the requirements of your training contract.

What can I do to practice beforehand?

Most test publishers provide practice materials that are similar in form and content to the actual tests. You should be notified well in advance of the test session as to whether practice materials are available. For some online tests, you are likely to be exposed to the practice questions shortly before you do the actual test, and you may be able to time the actual test after you had proper time to consider the practice questions. This depends on the competence of the recruitment department of your corporate law firm.

 The British Psychological Society’s Code of Good Practice for Psychological Testing states that:

 ‘People who use psychological assessments are expected by the British Psychological Society to: Ensure that all test takers are well informed and well prepared for the test session, and that all have had access to practice or familiarization materials where appropriate.’

If you are taking a test, and the tester sends out practice materials as recommended by best practice guidelines, you should have a look at these sample materials very carefully. Do not just check to see that you have the correct answer to the practice questions, but ask yourself ‘Why is this the correct answer and how did I work that out?’ The practice materials are developed to give the candidate familiarity with the kinds of thinking that they will have to use in the testing session so this will be time well spent.

 How are individual with disabilities treated?

The British Psychological Society’s Code of Good Practice for Psychological Testing states clearly that:

 ‘People who use psychological assessments in settings are expected by the British Psychological Society to: Give due consideration to factors such as gender, ethnicity, age, disability and special needs, educational background and level of ability in using and interpreting the results of tests.’

If you or your dependant has a disability and feel that you may need special conditions, it is important that this is brought to the notice of the person responsible for the testing as soon as the testing session has been arranged. This will give maximum time for the assessor to check what special requirements can be provided and what arrangements can be made.

This book

 This book contains 80 practice situational judgement questions (SJTs). The ‘correct responses’ have been determined by an analysis of the current law and business corporate management literature, and from real-life responses to these questions by respondents on the @legalaware twitter thread. All the questions and passages are unique to us; we have absolutely no knowledge of the questions used by the actual common test providers.

 Using realistic work-based scenarios that deal with specific issue or problem, learners are presented with three possible solutions – and asked to identify the best of them. Your response to these scenarios might give the law firm a clear indication whether you have the ability to carry out particular tasks and how you might cope in real-life situations. Equally importantly, the scenarios give you an insight into the type of challenges you will face in the constantly changing environment of a busy corporate law firm. You should look carefully of the website of the firm to which you apply. Only some firms set a SJT at all, and the format of the SJT may be different. For example, you might be expected to rank the best to the worst out of four options instead.

What are situational judgement tests?

There has been a small explosion in the research done into ‘situational judgement tests’ (SJT) for employment selection (Weekley and Ployhart, 2006). SJTs present applicants with work-related situations and possible responses to the situations. There are broadly two types of instructions (reviewed by McDaniel et al., 2007). Behavioural tendency instructions ask respondents to identify how they would likely behave in a given situation. Knowledge instructions ask respondents to evaluate the effectiveness of possible responses to a given situation. Tests assessing an individual’s judgement concerning work-related situations have had a long history in the psychological assessment literature (McDaniel et al., 2001). For example, during World War II, Army psychologists attempted to assess the judgement of soldiers (Northrup, 1989). These judgement tests consisted of scenarios with a number of alternative scenarios. Solutions rested on the person’s ability to draw on his common sense, experience, and general knowledge, rather than logical reasoning.

In an influential study by Chan and Schmitt (2002), data from 160 civil service employees were analysed, with a view to demonstrating the validity of the SJT in predicting overall job performance as well as three performance dimensions: task performance (core technical proficiency; problem analysis, written communication, oral communication), motivational contextual performance (job dedication; motivation to perform, motivation to learn, motivation to work hard), and interpersonal contextual performance (interpersonal facilitation; conflict resolution, negotiation, teamwork and co-operation). Chan and Schmitt (2002) also felt that situational judgement tests provided incremental validity over prediction from cognitive ability, personality traits, and job experience.

Previously, Huffcutt and colleagues (2001) had attempted to elucidate the most suitable construct categories Their constructs included mental capability, knowledge and skills, basic personality traits, applied social skills, interests and preferences, organizational fit, and physical attributes. Recently, Christian, Edwards and Bradley (2010) argue that many studies have failed however, to report the constructs actually measured in SJTs. A construct-level focus in the situational judgement test literature is therefore lacking. Christian and colleagues (2001) found that situational judgement tests most often assess leadership and interpersonal skills and those situational judgement tests measuring teamwork skills and leadership skills have relatively high validities for overall performance.

There has been an increasing drive towards standardization of these tasks. For example, the LR SJT has questions in written format. There is inevitably a difference for oral questions, or SJTs in video format (it is claimed that video SJTs have more subtle nuances involving social cognition or emotional intelligence which can be picked upon). Also, the questions can potentially vary in scenario length (longer scenarios tend to have more detail), and how scenarios are profession-specific (for example, type of firm, law/medicine/business). Finally, the questions can vary in format. In the LR SJT, and for example in the 2010 and 2011 Clifford Chance SJT, you have to pick one best out of the options given. In some tests, rather, you may be required to rank your choices in order of preference. To the best of our knowledge, Clifford Chance will not be using the SJT in 2011 recruitment, and the format of the Eversheds SJT is entirely different to that presented in this book and on the Legal Recruit website.

 Competences

Law firms tend to have a very clear idea what they’re looking for. These are called “competences”. ‘Situational judgement tests’ look at competencies.  For more information about competencies which legal recruiters look for, please look at the ‘LegalRecruit’ website page here, http://legal-recruit.org/about-the-tests/competencies/.

The LR situational judgement test focuses on six competences, and there is a chapter devoted to each competence. Please note, however, that you may find that, as in real life, scenarios can cover more than one competence, and you may indeed find some conflicts in the importance of certain competences. Our key competences are problem solving,  a proactive attitude, commitment to excellence, communication and negotiation, teamwork, and attention-to-detail and leadership. In this book, you will get three options for each scenario (A to C), and all you have to do is to pick on. In this book, you will get an explanation for the ‘correct’ answer.

Problem-solving

Do you have the mental agility and intellectual rigour to analyse problems and apply this analysis to develop novel, unexpected solutions? The problems you face can be large or small, simple or complex, and easy or difficult to solve. Regardless of the nature of the problems, a fundamental part of every trainee lawyer’s role is finding ways to solve them. It is therefore felt that being a confident problem solver will really important to your success a trainee lawyer. Much of that confidence comes from having a good process to use when approaching a problem. The four basic steps in problem solving comprise defining the problem, generating alternatives, evaluating and selecting alternatives, and implementing solutions.

Proactive minds

Are you naturally inquisitive with an openness to new ideas and the initiative to turn them into practical results? Initiative is often misunderstood because it is simply not about meeting performance goals or targets; it is often about going the extra mile. Initiative may be about identifying a need and championing a solution for the benefit of the law firm, without being asked to do so. Initiative involves a sense of responsibility for the company’s well-being and a few guiding principles. Initiative is about taking steps to make the law firm better, and not about wasting time tackling unimportant matters. To make the distinction, try determining the impact a certain action would make on your team’s performance, the company’s bottom-line or the company’s long-term vision.

Being proactive means thinking and acting ahead – basically, this means using foresight. It is a great method for avoiding more work down the road but also can be extremely important for averting disasters, planning well for the future and for instituting systems at work, in study, and at home that make life easier for not just you, but others as well.

Commitment to excellence

Do you hold yourself to the highest standards of performance even when the going is tough? And are you passionate about continuously raising and refining your own performance levels? Do you persevere when pursuing a project, but remain flexible if there are obstacles in your way? A ‘commitment to excellence’ is broadly defined to mean that an employee ‘adopts a conscientious and proactive approach to work to achieve and maintain excellent standards’. Every member a corporate law firm must strive to achieve and maintain the highest professional and personal standards, thereby enhancing both the competence and cohesion of that law firm.

It is interesting to have a look at various law firms you know to see how they present their commitment to excellence. There are in fact various ways in which law firms can commit to excellence, and you should search for the term ‘shared values’ on the corporate website. It is interesting in fact to consider how law firms can vary markedly even in their marketing taglines. Many law firms believe that community and social responsibility (corporate social responsibility) involves an understanding of the impact our business has on the environment, the welfare of individuals, the community and the sustainability of the world’s resources. This means that running a business goes beyond making profits and acquiring wealth, and law firms increasingly acknowledge our obligation to consider the wider interests of our clients, employees and the community in which we function. In economic terms, responsible approach in these areas can lead to greater efficiencies, lower costs and an improved reputation as a responsible service provider and employer.

The SRA Handbook sets out the standards and requirements we expect regulated community and trainees to achieve and observe, for the benefit of the clients they serve and in the public interest. Whilst the purpose of a SJT will not be to ‘examine’ you on the Code of Conduct, your compliance with this Code is of course expected at minimum. The SRA’s approach to regulation is outcomes-focused and risk-based, so that clients receive services in a way that best suits their needs. There is more information about this on the LegalAware blog, http://legal-aware.org/2011/12/blogpost-2-out-of-2-in-the-legalaware-series-on-outcomes-focused-regulation/. It is really important that you make every effort to stay in good physical or mental health for our own health and well-being and also as a personal responsibility towards people you work for/with. It is our responsibility to develop our own and others’ professional understanding of how air corporate law is most effectively applied and how it can remain relevant and capable in contemporary environments.

Strong communication skills

Can you communicate fluently, clearly and concisely? Persuade and negotiate with others in both group and individual situations? Make complex information understandable to clients? What will you do if you find there are problems with communication?  Lawyers, it is mooted, frequently fail to treat clients with respect, do not consider the nature of interpersonal relations with clients to be an important aspect of law practice, tend to be motivated more by financial returns than by professional values, are inaccessible and unresponsive, are poor communicators, do not know how to deal with clients effectively, and are sometimes even indifferent to clients’ feelings.

Teamwork

Do you have the confidence to collaborate, seek feedback, share ideas and build credibility through your interaction other people? You might read about the importance of  good teamwork with a focus on areas such as conflict resolution, maximising your contribution, and using ‘small wins’ to motivate other members of your team. Often quoted, Bruce Tuckman’s classic description of the stages of group development is easy to understand and remember, but it helps to go back and look at what’s behind each stage. Tuckman is a respected educational psychologist who first described the (then) four stages of group development in 1965, soon after leaving Princeton.  Looking at the behaviour of small groups in a variety of environments, he recognised the distinct phases they progress through, and suggested they need to experience all four stages before they achieve maximum effectiveness.

Attention-to-detail and leadership

Can you manage your own workload, stay organised under pressure, pay attention to detail and be relied on to complete each task accurately and completely? Corporate law firms need trainees who can handle both the small and large parts of a task. Such individuals will not overlook what needs to be done and can be depended on to do each task accurately and completely.  Proofreading is an example of where attention-to-detail is critical – this is especially important whether you are a medical writer, for example, or a legal draftsman. It’s well worth looking at “top tips” for how you can be a good proofreader, and bear in mind that legal recruiters will go through your application form “with a fine toothcomb” to look for any mistakes. Legal recruiters also are often looking for ‘future leaders’, although they do not give a coherent description of leadership qualities they are looking for. You might find interesting to read about effective leadership styles, or creating a vision, for example.

 Reading difficulty (dyslexia)

Dyslexia can be a legally recognised disability depending on its severity. Therefore, when applicants or candidates are being assessed, the qualified test user should have due regard to the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) or Equality Act (2010); this makes it unlawful for an employer to treat a disabled person less favourably than a non-disabled person without good reason. Discrimination is outlawed in a wide range of employment activities including selection, promotion and training.

The British Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as:

‘A combination of abilities and difficulties which affect the learning process in one or more of reading, spelling and writing. Accompanying weaknesses may be identified in areas of speed processing, short-term memory, sequencing, auditory and/or visual perception, spoken language and motor skills. It is particularly related to mastering and using written language, which may include alphabetic, numeric and musical notation.’

In selection for a training contract or vacation placement, an individual with dyslexia In is likely to encounter difficulty with tests of verbal reasoning, spelling and functional literacy. The law requires that accommodations are made for disabled people including those with dyslexia to ensure that selection procedures do not disadvantage them. The employer is concerned with eliciting accurate information on abilities to use in making decisions.

The standardised nature of these tests is one of the main contributors to their effectiveness and objectivity. Arbitrary modifications to the test or administration procedure are likely to invalidate the results and render standard norm groups and score interpretations meaningless. A common modification for individuals with dyslexia is to adjust the timing of the test. However, the amount of extra time required will depend on the way the dyslexia manifests itself, its severity, the test(s) being used and their relationship to the job requirements. Only a relevant professional can determine what is appropriate. Whether adjustments have been made to standard test procedures or not, careful administration can help ensure that individuals with dyslexia have a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills.

As with many disabilities, stress may exacerbate the impact of dyslexia. Therefore, a calm and understanding approach on the part of the administrator is important.

People with dyslexia may have difficulty with test instructions. This can be due to reading difficulties, or to a difficulty with short-term memory and/or sequencing which is common with dyslexia.

Visual impairments and the law

Visual impairment covers a wide range of conditions. Even a person who is registered blind may have some residual vision, e.g. the ability to discern light from dark or even quite good acuity within a severely limited field of vision. Partial sight also covers many different types of conditions. These can range from very blurred vision to loss of some areas of the field of vision. For some people the act of focusing can be difficult, this can mean that reading difficult, as it is necessary to constantly re-focus on the next portion of text.

A visual impairment may occur alone or in combination with other conditions. Some people are born with visual impairments or have lived with the disability for a long time and have been taught or developed their own strategies for coping with both the practical difficulties of living and dealing with information usually presented in text form. For those with more residual vision, texts are typically accessed using large print and/or various magnification and lighting aids. Aids can include powerful spectacle lenses, free-standing magnifiers placed on top of a text, often with an integral light source.

A person who is registered or certified blind or partially sighted is automatically regarded as disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act (1995). However, even without registration, it is likely that a person with significantly limited vision which is not easily corrected using glasses or contact lenses will be considered disabled under the provisions of the Act.

Impact on testing

Any task where materials are presented visually, whether on paper, computer screen or as objects to be manipulated, will cause difficulty for a visually impaired person. This will include the vast majority of psychometric tests. In order to assess a person with a visual disability, it is likely to be necessary to make adjustments to test administration procedures, use alternative testing materials, or both. However, any changes to a test cannot be made without affecting its reliability and validity.

The standardised nature of psychometric tests is one of the main contributors to their effectiveness and objectivity, and arbitrary modifications to the test or administration procedure are likely to invalidate the results and render standard norm groups and score interpretations meaningless. Some test takers may want to bring along some special equipment or ask for specific lighting conditions.

And finally…

We hope that you enjoy using the test materials in this book, and on the website should you choose to explore it. We are most grateful for any suggestions as how to improve our website, to ensure that we are doing things right: contact us on enquiries@legal-recruit.org, and you should expect to receive a reply within 24-48 hours.

Good luck!

London, December 2011

1^st edition