SQE1 Dispute Resolution (FLK1): what is tested and how to revise it

What is tested in SQE1 Dispute Resolution?

Dispute Resolution is an FLK1 subject covering ways to resolve disputes and the conduct of civil claims, from pre-action decisions to enforcement. Revise it by following a claim through its procedural stages and practising the advice a client needs at each stage. The syllabus includes arbitration, mediation, litigation, evidence, costs and appeals. (SRA, FLK1 specification)

This overview follows the specification applicable from September 2026; use the SRA document as your full checklist. (SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification) For its place in the wider assessment, see what FLK1 and FLK2 cover.

What does the SRA specification cover?

Choosing a route and preparing a claim

Compare arbitration, mediation and litigation by their suitability for the dispute. Preliminary work includes identifying parties and causes of action, calculating limitation in contract and tort, and understanding pre-action conduct, claim-specific protocols and the consequences of non-compliance. The syllabus also includes determining the applicable law for contract and tort claims and preliminary arrangements for using Welsh in civil proceedings. (SRA, FLK1 specification)

Keep alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in view throughout a claim. Under the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), active case management includes ordering or encouraging ADR and helping parties settle. (CPR Part 1, rules 1.1 and 1.4)When revising, compare routes by the client’s objective, urgency, cost and need for an enforceable outcome.

Starting proceedings, service and responses

Study the division of work between the High Court and County Court, and specialist court jurisdiction. Then cover issuing proceedings, changing parties, service within and outside the jurisdiction, alternative service, deemed service dates and deadlines. Responses include admission, acknowledgment of service, defence and counterclaim, challenging jurisdiction, default judgment and applications to set it aside, discontinuance and settlement. (SRA, FLK1 specification) Build a timeline that labels the document, the relevant event and the action required.

Statements of case and interim applications

Understand the purpose, structure and content of claim forms, particulars of claim and defences in contract and tort. Include replies, additional claims under Part 20, responses to those claims, requests for further information and amendments. Interim work covers application procedure and the purpose, process and supporting evidence for summary judgment, interim payments and interim injunctions. (SRA, FLK1 specification) For each application, connect the outcome sought to its legal test, evidence and procedural requirements.

Case management

The syllabus covers the overriding objective, track allocation, directions on the fast, intermediate and multi-tracks, costs and case management conferences, non-compliance, sanctions and relief. (SRA, FLK1 specification)The overriding objective is to enable the court to deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost. (CPR Part 1, rules 1.1 and 1.4)Organise revision around choosing the procedural route, complying with directions and responding to a missed step.

Evidence, disclosure and inspection

Evidence topics include relevance, admissibility, hearsay, the burden and standard of proof, witness statements and affidavits. Expert evidence includes opinions, experts’ duties, joint experts and discussions between experts. Disclosure covers standard and specific disclosure, court orders, pre-action and non-party disclosure, electronic documents, privilege, without prejudice communications and waiver. (SRA, FLK1 specification) Make separate notes for proving a fact, identifying documents and deciding whether inspection can be withheld.

Trial, settlement and costs

Trial preparation includes witness summonses, pre-trial checklists, hearings and bundles. Trial procedure includes courtroom etiquette, forms of address, leading and non-leading questions, and the effect of judgment. Costs topics include budgets, interim and final orders between parties, non-party costs, security for costs, fixed and assessed costs, and Part 36 alongside other settlement offers. (SRA, FLK1 specification) Practise reading the offer, the parties’ positions and the procedural stage together before selecting a costs outcome.

Appeals and enforcement

Appeals require knowledge of permission, the appropriate appeal court and grounds of appeal. Enforcement covers obtaining information from a judgment debtor and methods of enforcing money judgments. (SRA, FLK1 specification)Carry your revision beyond trial: distinguish challenging a decision from taking steps to recover payment.

How is Dispute Resolution assessed?

SQE1 uses single best answer questions with five options and one correct answer, applying law to realistic client situations at the level of a competent newly qualified solicitor. It is closed book. Ethics and Professional Conduct can be examined across all subjects, including civil disputes. (SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification)

The SRA blueprint allocates 14–20% of FLK1 to Dispute Resolution, classified by each question’s main focus. Questions can also require knowledge from other subjects; a dispute may involve both procedure and contract law. (SRA, SQE1 Annex 4) From the January 2027 sitting, Dispute Resolution questions appear in FLK1 session 1, mixed in random order with Business Law and Practice and Legal Services; the blueprint proportions do not change. (SRA announcement, 10 September 2026) During practice, identify both the underlying legal problem and the procedural decision being asked for. Recognising a rule is only the start of choosing the best answer.

Which distinctions should you practise?

Use these checks to catch errors in your own reasoning:

• Limitation, issue and service. Label each deadline separately, including its starting event. Avoid attaching a remembered period to the wrong procedural step.
• Default judgment and summary judgment. Compare their conditions and procedures. Identify which route the facts engage before considering the result.
• Disclosure, inspection and privilege. Work through each question in turn; check the basis of any claimed protection instead of relying on a document’s label.
• Settlement and costs. Identify who made the offer, its terms, its timing and the outcome. Check whether the question concerns Part 36 or another type of offer.
• Appeal and enforcement. Start with the client’s objective: changing the decision or recovering the judgment debt. Then choose the relevant procedure.

How should you revise Dispute Resolution?

Draw a claim’s path from preliminary advice to enforcement. Against each stage, list the client’s objective, available procedure, legal conditions, evidence, deadline and consequences of getting the step wrong. Add settlement as a recurring consideration. Use the specification to check for gaps, including service abroad, Welsh-language considerations and the intermediate track. (SRA, FLK1 specification)

Work through focused single best answer questions without notes. Before checking an explanation, state the decisive fact and why the closest alternative fails. Afterwards, check the cited source and record the specific error: missing knowledge, the wrong stage, a confused remedy or a faulty calculation. Include uncertain correct answers in that review. Our single best answer guide sets out a routine for reading the question and comparing options.

Return to weak points in later sessions and mix them with related topics. Practise procedure alongside contract, tort and ethics so that your revision requires you to identify the relevant area of law. Use our spaced repetition revision guide to organise that cycle. Check your materials against the law relevant to your sitting: the SRA’s cut-off is four calendar months before the first assessment in the assessment window. (SRA, SQE1 Assessment Specification)

Where can you start practising?

Try the free SQE1 quick test for mixed-subject practice without an account, with explanations and sources. Use it to identify issues to revisit; a short mixed test cannot establish coverage of the whole Dispute Resolution syllabus. The SQE1 course page shows current subject coverage and question counts to compare with your revision checklist.

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