SQE1 sample questions

Question 37

A solicitor is advising a client on an employment contract in respect of a position that the client has been offered in a start-up company. The client currently has a permanent position at an established company.

The following day the solicitor sits next to a new acquaintance at a golf club dinner. The new acquaintance tells the solicitor that he is concerned that the business he works for is bound for financial failure because its key customer is to be taken into receivership shortly. The new acquaintance then tells the solicitor the name of the business he works for. Much to the solicitor's surprise it is, by coincidence, the start-up company.

Is the solicitor obliged to inform the client of the reported concerns about the financial prospects of the start-up company?

A. No, because the information was obtained in the course of the solicitor’s personal life and therefore does not impact on his professional obligations.

B. No, because the duty of confidentiality overrides the duty of disclosure.

C. No, because information obtained from clients must be kept confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents.

D. Yes, because the information is material to the client’s matter.

E. Yes, because the duty of disclosure overrides the duty of confidentiality.