SQE2 Legal Research & Writing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When writing a legal advice memorandum, the recommended structure begins with:
- A full case history
- A clear statement of the issues and a brief answer (Correct answer)
- A bibliography of sources
- The client's personal details
Correct answer: A clear statement of the issues and a brief answer
A well-structured legal memo opens with a clear identification of the legal issues and a brief answer, before the detailed analysis, enabling the reader to understand the conclusion immediately.
Question 2: When citing a statute in a legal document, the correct format is:
- Short name, then section number in any order
- Full title, year, section (e.g. Limitation Act 1980, s 5) (Correct answer)
- Only the section number
- Abbreviated title only
Correct answer: Full title, year, section (e.g. Limitation Act 1980, s 5)
Legal convention requires the full statutory title, year and section reference (e.g. Limitation Act 1980, s 5) for precision and to allow the reader to locate the provision.
Question 3: In legal research, a ratio decidendi is:
- The judge's personal comments on the law
- The legal principle necessary for the court's decision that forms binding precedent (Correct answer)
- An obiter dictum from the leading judgment
- The procedural history of the case
Correct answer: The legal principle necessary for the court's decision that forms binding precedent
The ratio decidendi is the legal reasoning essential to the court's decision; only the ratio creates binding precedent under the doctrine of stare decisis.
Question 4: Which source of law takes precedence in England & Wales when statute and common law conflict?
- Common law because it is older
- Statute, as Parliament is sovereign (Correct answer)
- European Union law (post-Brexit)
- Constitutional conventions
Correct answer: Statute, as Parliament is sovereign
Parliamentary sovereignty means that a properly enacted statute overrides conflicting common law; courts must apply statute even if they consider the common law preferable.
Question 5: The preferred database for researching current UK statutory legislation in its amended form is:
- BAILII
- legislation.gov.uk (Correct answer)
- Westlaw UK only
- Google Scholar
Correct answer: legislation.gov.uk
legislation.gov.uk is the official government database providing the revised (amended) text of UK Acts and Statutory Instruments, although there may be a lag in updates.
Question 6: Obiter dicta statements in a judgment are:
- Binding on all lower courts
- Persuasive but not binding precedent (Correct answer)
- Irrelevant and should not be cited
- Only relevant in the court that made them
Correct answer: Persuasive but not binding precedent
Obiter dicta are remarks made by the way, not essential to the decision; they carry persuasive authority and may be followed by courts but do not create binding precedent.
SQE2 Legal Research & Writing 1
When writing a legal advice memorandum, the recommended structure begins with: