BSB Professional Ethics mock test

A full mock of the Professional Ethics exam you sit during pupillage: 12 original scenarios in 3 hours, answered in prose with the BSB Handbook open, as the BSB sets it.

More about this test

Each answer is graded Good, Satisfactory, Poor or Unacceptable, and your script is set against the BSB's benchmark of 8 Satisfactory answers out of 12 and its rule that 3 Unacceptable answers mean Not Competent. Every model answer names the BSB Handbook version 5.0 rules behind it and the trap the BSB's Chair's reports describe for that kind of question, and every point you miss shows its rule. Start with 3 short questions free.

12questions180minutes4grades per answer3free to try

The Ethics exam at a glance

Mock 112 short-answer questions180 min

12 questions3 free to try

Try 3 questions freeup to 45 min

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Free: 3 short Ethics questions, graded in full

Write each answer in prose, as in the exam: the issues, the rules and what the barrister should do. About 45 minutes for all three. No sign-up.

Question 1 18 marks

Three short scenarios set in practice. For each, identify the ethical issues and explain how they should be resolved, in prose, as you would in the exam. The BSB Handbook is your only source. Allow about 15 minutes for each.

(a) Priya is a self-employed criminal barrister of six years' call. A solicitor sends her a brief to defend a man charged with assaulting a protester at a climate demonstration. The trial is in three weeks, she has no other commitment that day, a proper fee is offered and the case is well within her experience. She has read the defendant's public posts and finds his views on migrants abhorrent. Her clerk tells her that a firm which sends her a steady flow of protest work will "not be pleased" if she takes the case. Priya asks the clerk to return the brief. Identify the ethical issues and explain how they should be resolved. 6 marks(b) Daniel defends Mr Shah in a Crown Court fraud trial. Mr Shah is part way through cross-examination when the court rises for the day. That evening Mr Shah telephones Daniel, upset, and asks how he should answer the questions he expects tomorrow about his bank statements. Earlier the same day the instructing solicitor asked Daniel to meet a defence witness, a nervous bookkeeper due to give evidence later in the week, to "go through the questions the prosecution will ask her and suggest better ways to put her answers". Identify the ethical issues and explain how Daniel should deal with them. 6 marks(c) Amara, a commercial barrister, receives instructions from a solicitor to act for a supplier in a claim against Northgate Logistics Ltd, with a hearing in ten days. Amara and her partner together own about 15% of the shares in Northgate, and her partner is one of its directors. The supplier is offering a good fee and Amara is keen to build her practice with this solicitor. She thinks that, as a professional, she can keep her personal position out of it, and plans to accept without mentioning the shares. Identify the ethical issues and explain how they should be resolved. 6 marks

0 words · at least 50 needed for feedback. Answer as fully as you would on the day.

What is inside

Mock 1: 12 short-answer questions, 180 minutes, open book with the BSB Handbook, as the BSB sets the exam. Every answer graded Good, Satisfactory, Poor or Unacceptable.

Mock 1: 12 questions, 3 hours12 questions · 180 min

Mock 2: 12 questions, 3 hoursComing soon, at no extra cost to buyers

12 original scenarios in 3 hours, open book, answered in prose
Graded Good, Satisfactory, Poor or Unacceptable, answer by answer
Your script against 8 of 12 and the 3-Unacceptable rule
The Handbook v5.0 rules in every model answer, and beside every point you miss
The examiners' trap in every model answer, from the BSB's Chair's reports
Up to 3 marked attempts; Mock 2 to follow

One payment unlocks the full mock

₹2,799one-time · Mock 1 (12 questions, 3 hours) · up to 3 marked attempts · Mock 2 when it is added

12 original scenarios in 3 hours, open book, answered in prose
Graded Good, Satisfactory, Poor or Unacceptable, answer by answer
Your script against 8 of 12 and the 3-Unacceptable rule
The Handbook v5.0 rules in every model answer, and beside every point you miss
The examiners' trap in every model answer, from the BSB's Chair's reports
Up to 3 marked attempts; Mock 2 to follow

Who it is for

Pupils and transferring lawyers booking the BSB Professional Ethics exam, and anyone resitting it. Sit Mock 1 in one go against the 3-hour clock with the Handbook open, as on the day, then read every model answer for the rule and the trap. For the dates, fees and the BSB's own practice papers, see our Professional Ethics exam guide. Still to pass a litigation paper? See the BSB litigation resit bundle.

The real exam, from the BSB's own pages

Format: an open book exam of twelve short-answer questions, all equally weighted, in three hours; you decide how to split the time. Answers are in narrative prose.
Materials: the BSB Handbook only, supplied online during the exam.
How answers are graded: the BSB's practice mark schemes grade each answer Good, Satisfactory, Poor or Unacceptable. The BSB expects competent candidates to give at least eight satisfactory answers out of 12, reviewing scripts either side of that line as a whole; three or more Unacceptable answers mean Not Competent, and no answer counts as Unacceptable.
Rules examined: the 2026-27 syllabus (issued October 2026) examines the BSB Handbook version 5.0, in force since 15 June 2026, and Code Guidance including the guidance on artificial intelligence (May 2026).
Next sitting: Tuesday, 12 January 2027, 10am. Booking runs 24 November to 8 December 2026; results by the end of 25 March 2027.

Checked on 12 November 2026 on the BSB's Professional Ethics exam page (with its candidate guide and practice mark schemes), the Professional Ethics syllabus 2026-27 and the BSB Handbook page.

Before you buy

What do I get?

Mock 1: 12 original short-answer scenarios in 3 hours, timed like the real exam, written in a box per question with a palette and the clock. When you submit, each answer is graded Good, Satisfactory, Poor or Unacceptable, with the points you found (quoting your words), the points you missed, a model answer, the Handbook rule beside each point you missed and the trap the BSB's Chair's reports describe. Up to 3 marked attempts. Mock 2 follows as a free update for buyers.

How is my answer graded?

Against our own rubric for each scenario, built the way the BSB's practice mark schemes are: what a Satisfactory answer must identify and apply, what lifts it to Good, and the statements or omissions that make it Unacceptable. Our marker grades an answer Unacceptable if it is blank, if it misses a point our rubric treats as essential, or if it advises one of the improper courses listed for that scenario (quoting your words). Our grades are practice grades, not the BSB's.

Which version of the Handbook?

Version 5.0, in force since 15 June 2026, which is the version the BSB's 2026-27 syllabus lists for the exam. Version 5.0 replaced the old complaints rule rC99 with rC99A and rC99B; our questions use the new numbering.

Do I need to quote rule numbers?

The BSB says it is helpful to quote rule numbers, but markers look for appropriate application of the relevant rules to the facts. Our marker is told to look for the same thing: a rule number without application earns little, and the right principle applied to the facts earns the point.

How do I pay and get access?

One payment by card, handled by our payment provider. The price is shown and charged in pounds in the UK, in your own currency elsewhere where we support it, and otherwise in Indian rupees. Access opens on this device straight after payment. Sign in afterwards to keep it on your account.

Independent practice by ProSyllabus, not affiliated with, written or endorsed by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Every scenario is original: none is a BSB exam, practice or past question. Our grades are practice grades from our own rubric, not the BSB's. Purchase policy.

Disclaimer

Are these real BSB questions? No. Every scenario is original, written to the BSB's 2026-27 syllabus. The BSB has not written or endorsed them. For the BSB's own practice papers, see its Professional Ethics exam page.

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