HSF Kramer lets you take its online test at your own pace, and gives you a practice version first

HSF Kramer's own early careers page describes an online test of situational judgement and personality or behavioural traits, and older reports describe a Watson Glaser style critical thinking paper. Our reasoning test is a useful warm-up for reading short scenarios carefully and for any verbal or critical thinking items that appear in your version.

Judgement and personality questions have no single right answer, and no reasoning drill reproduces the firm's scenarios or how it weighs your responses. The firm's own practice test is the closest rehearsal; use ours to sharpen reading accuracy, not as a copy of HSF Kramer's assessment.

HSF Kramer describes its online test as something you can complete at your own pace, taking roughly 30 to 40 minutes. That removes the countdown pressure many law firm tests carry, but it creates a different risk: overthinking. Applicants who reread every scenario five times often end up choosing the answer they think a recruiter wants rather than the one they would act on.

A good rhythm is to read the whole scenario once, decide what the trainee's actual problem is, then rank the options. If two answers feel close, ask which one protects the client and keeps the supervising lawyer informed. Then move on. The personality section goes faster: answer honestly and consistently, because contradictory answers are more noticeable than imperfect ones.

The first year page links to a practice test and to short videos from the Early Careers team about the online test and the assessment day. That is unusually helpful, and it beats any third-party guess at the format. One forum candidate noted that the practice version had about two questions per subsection, while the full test was definitely longer, so treat the practice as a format check rather than a stamina rehearsal.

After the practice, spend twenty minutes with our situational judgement guide, which explains how ranking and best or worst answer formats are usually scored. If your invitation mentions verbal or critical thinking items, add one sitting of our free reasoning test for reading speed.

HSF Kramer runs a first year programme for students in the first year of a three-year degree, with applications for the 2026 intake listed from 1 January to 31 March 2026. Its process is an application form, the online test and an interview. Listings for the First Year Workshop 2027 add a useful detail: if you attend a workshop and later apply for a vacation scheme, you do not need to retake the online assessment.

If you are early in your degree, that is a reason to apply for the workshop rather than wait. You meet the same assessment once, and a good result can carry forward into the scheme application.

Older guides and an HSF graduate recruiter quoted on The Lawyer Portal describe an online Watson Glaser style verbal reasoning test. More recent prep sites say the firm moved to a blended assessment from Sova that combines judgement and behavioural measures, and forum posts describe an automated personality report arriving from Sova within minutes of finishing. The firm itself names no provider on the pages we found.

What matters for you is the content the firm states: situational judgement and behavioural traits. If you have only prepared for Watson Glaser inference and assumption items, shift some of that time to judgement scenarios.

• Stated by the firm: situational judgement, personality and behavioural traits, about 30 to 40 minutes.
• Reported by candidates and prep sites: a Sova platform, a quick automated feedback report, and possibly a written task after a video question.
• Not confirmed anywhere we read: a pass mark or a fixed number of questions.

Candidates describe two separate messages: an automated feedback report soon after the test, and a decision from graduate recruitment later, sometimes weeks later during review windows. A forum user felt the automated feedback did not match their answers closely. Do not read the report as a verdict. It describes tendencies, not whether you progressed.

Use the wait to prepare for the assessment day: pick two recent deals or disputes involving large firms, and practise explaining in two minutes why they matter commercially. Our law firm assessment guide compares assessment days across the large London firms.

These come from anonymous reviews, university careers pages and prep guides. They often disagree, and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer has not confirmed them. Read them as leads, not rules.

• Prep sites describe the online test as a Sova blended assessment that replaced a standalone Watson Glaser test.
• Forum candidates report receiving an automated personality report from Sova within minutes, with the firm's decision arriving later.
• One forum candidate says the practice test had about two questions per subsection and the full test was noticeably longer.
• A forum post mentions a written part after one of the video questions, which suggests some versions include more than multiple choice.
• A Glassdoor reviewer reports that their whole process, from application to outcome, took about eight months.