Lessons · Law foundations · The performance test: a task, a file, a library
A task, a file, and a library
A performance test gives you everything: a task from a supervising lawyer, a file of facts, and a library of the law you are to use. Nothing is memorised. It measures whether you can produce the document asked for, in the form asked for, using only the materials supplied, inside the time.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by an attorney. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
Candidates under-prepare for this because there is nothing to learn, and then lose marks on format and instruction-following, which are the two things being measured. It is the part of the examination that most resembles the first month of the job.
How to think about it
Read the task memorandum twice and write down exactly what document is wanted and for whom, before opening the file. Then budget the clock in thirds: read, plan, write. The most common failure is running out of time having read beautifully and written half a document.
Worked example
The task memorandum says what to produce and for whom.A brief, a letter, a memorandum. The form is part of the instruction.
The file holds the facts, including some you will not need.Sorting relevant from irrelevant is part of the test.
The library holds the law, including authorities that do not apply.You are not expected to know any of it in advance.
Budget the clock: read, plan, write.An unfinished document scores worse than a plainer finished one.
Your turn
What are you expected to know in advance for a performance test?
You are expected to bring law to a performance test
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Treating it as an open-book essay. It is a drafting task with an instruction, and answering a different question beautifully scores as a miss.