Shaky LPC Interviewing & Advising performance

[worriedstudent30]

Hello all,

I recently did my interviewing and advising assessment at BPP, on the fast-track LPC. The introduction and client overview section was fine, but as soon as I got onto questioning and advising my nerves took over and I waffled.

I think I only really asked one key relevant question. The legal issue was in relation to a right of light and how to defend that against a proposed development nearby, so I asked to see the client's Official Copies which confirmed they had the easement. My other questions were just filler questions, like "has the developer contacted you?, do you know what the development is?".

I completely forgot to ask about the local character of the neighbourhood and if there might be potential grounds to challenge the development at the planning authority. My advice was go to court and get an injunction or negotiate with the developer but I set out the pros and cons of each.

I dealt with the conclusion (client care, letter of advice, fees etc.) fairly well as that was memorised before but it's only 4 marks out of the whole thing, the majority of marks are in questioning and advising.

I felt very bad after the assessment. I felt like I missed out a lot for the questioning and advising sections because of the pressure.

Does anyone have any experience doing this assessment at BPP? How leniently is it marked? How hard is it to fail? Will they penalise you for missing options and asking filler questions?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Claristered]

Hi! I just had the right of light scenario and I forgot to ask about the neighbourhood so I forgot to give advice on that. All else was fine with the exception of some audio trouble which made me ask them to repeat stuff twice, forgetting to hum/nod while they were giving the info spiel since I was writing it all down and I had to slightly rush the conclusion (5mins left). I asked the relevant questions by following the legal note and they screenshared the agreement with me. I advised by saying stuff like them having right of light and possibly taking her to court if she wanted to develop (a big no no cause legal costs) and them possibly objecting to her planning permission application on the loss of light but not the right of light but she can sell the land (since nothing said she couldn’t). I let the client choose from the options that I gave. Do you think I got the right advice? Did you pass and do you think I will pass?

 

[FAH99]

Hello all,

I recently did my interviewing and advising assessment at BPP, on the fast-track LPC. The introduction and client overview section was fine, but as soon as I got onto questioning and advising my nerves took over and I waffled.

I think I only really asked one key relevant question. The legal issue was in relation to a right of light and how to defend that against a proposed development nearby, so I asked to see the client's Official Copies which confirmed they had the easement. My other questions were just filler questions, like "has the developer contacted you?, do you know what the development is?".

I completely forgot to ask about the local character of the neighbourhood and if there might be potential grounds to challenge the development at the planning authority. My advice was go to court and get an injunction or negotiate with the developer but I set out the pros and cons of each.

I dealt with the conclusion (client care, letter of advice, fees etc.) fairly well as that was memorised before but it's only 4 marks out of the whole thing, the majority of marks are in questioning and advising.

I felt very bad after the assessment. I felt like I missed out a lot for the questioning and advising sections because of the pressure.

Does anyone have any experience doing this assessment at BPP? How leniently is it marked? How hard is it to fail? Will they penalise you for missing options and asking filler questions?

Thanks a lot.

Hello,

I had the same feeling during the exam last year but still passed on the first attempt. I felt that I left some things out and even froze during some parts. However, I think your approach is more important than forgetting some points. You seem to have a well-structured approach overall. I remember that it was harder for me to ask questions during the assessment because when I practiced beforehand, I had strong technical knowledge of the legal matter itself. It's great that you asked to see the Official Copies because that's an important point some people miss! Try not to compare the number of questions you asked in the assessment to how you practiced. It isn't an accurate comparison and it will leave you feeling like you haven't done enough.

The fact that you continued to state the pros and cons of your advice shows that you are following the required steps. Remember that they don't expect you to give the best advice possible because they aren't really testing technical legal knowledge. I don't think they'd penalise you for missing points or asking simpler questions so long as your approach is logical and follows the structure they want to see. It seems that the introduction, overview, and conclusion went well, that's a good amount of points alone. I hope my words stop you from feeling bad about the assessment. Best of luck!

 

[FAH99]

Hi! I just had the right of light scenario and I forgot to ask about the neighbourhood so I forgot to give advice on that. All else was fine with the exception of some audio trouble which made me ask them to repeat stuff twice, forgetting to hum/nod while they were giving the info spiel since I was writing it all down and I had to slightly rush the conclusion (5mins left). I asked the relevant questions by following the legal note and they screenshared the agreement with me. I advised by saying stuff like them having right of light and possibly taking her to court if she wanted to develop (a big no no cause legal costs) and them possibly objecting to her planning permission application on the loss of light but not the right of light but she can sell the land (since nothing said she couldn’t). I let the client choose from the options that I gave. Do you think I got the right advice? Did you pass and do you think I will pass?

Hi! If you followed the structure then I think you did pretty well. You're not expected to know every possible detail on the exam, it's more important to ask the relevant questions, look at the documents and offer well-rounded advice based on the information you've gathered. Forgetting to hum/nod isn't a big issue as long as you were engaged with the client. Based on what you mentioned, it seems like it went well! Good luck

 

[James Carrabino]

Hello,

I had the same feeling during the exam last year but still passed on the first attempt. I felt that I left some things out and even froze during some parts. However, I think your approach is more important than forgetting some points. You seem to have a well-structured approach overall. I remember that it was harder for me to ask questions during the assessment because when I practiced beforehand, I had strong technical knowledge of the legal matter itself. It's great that you asked to see the Official Copies because that's an important point some people miss! Try not to compare the number of questions you asked in the assessment to how you practiced. It isn't an accurate comparison and it will leave you feeling like you haven't done enough.

The fact that you continued to state the pros and cons of your advice shows that you are following the required steps. Remember that they don't expect you to give the best advice possible because they aren't really testing technical legal knowledge. I don't think they'd penalise you for missing points or asking simpler questions so long as your approach is logical and follows the structure they want to see. It seems that the introduction, overview, and conclusion went well, that's a good amount of points alone. I hope my words stop you from feeling bad about the assessment. Best of luck!

Thank you @FAH99 for this great post and congratulations on winning a Starred Thread Award for it. I will be sending you a PM with further details

 

[helpneeded]

Hello. I have a question to ask. Will you get disqualified if you write your introduction and closing in a scripted way? I did my interview physically and she took all my notes. she even stop me in the beginning because of this. bare in mind, the advice section and options section were not scripted. it was on bullet points.