Slides from a webinar on 25 May 2022 on qualifying as a solicitor under the SQE. The session covered: - why has the process of qualification changed? - what does the process look like now? - how do individuals apply? - what do firms need to do? - what should you look out for? Zoom recording available on request

1. © Jonathon Bray Limited
SQE
Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination
May 2022

2. Learning Outcomes
• why has the process of qualification
changed?
• what does the process look like now?
• how do individuals apply?
• what do firms need to do?
• key things to consider
• FAQ
© Jonathon Bray Limited

3. Why has the process of qualification changed?
The driving factor for change was to standardise and
simplify the process of qualification though a
centralised assessment process.
The SQE is a two-part test to be taken by anyone
wishing to become a solicitor in England and Wales.
This includes those wishing to qualify from other
jurisdictions.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

4. Why has the process of qualification changed?
Other factors:
Flexibility
The SRA has designed the new route to qualification in a bid
to offer greater flexibility for candidates.
Previous route created a bottleneck for potential lawyers.
Once the LPC had been completed, competition to secure a
training contract was fierce. Many talented graduates were
being ‘left on the shelf.’
Affordability
Costs for the LPC were reaching new highs of up to £17,500.
The SQE exam is said to costs around £4,000 by comparison.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

5. What does the
process look like
now?
“The SQE provides one common
standard for everyone to demonstrate
that they have the appropriate skills and
knowledge to practise as a solicitor in
England and Wales.”
SRA
The SRA have ‘four building blocks of
qualification’ …..

6. 1. Degree
(or equivalent –
see
apprenticeships
later)
• Firstly, candidates need to have a
degree.
• This doesn’t necessarily need to be a
Law degree, although we have noted
that some universities will now place
special emphasis on legal skills, as
well as devoting time to legal theory.
• This element somewhat replaces the
role of the LPC.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

7. 2. Pass both
SQE
examinations
The SQE is not a course, like the LPC. Instead, it is a two-
part examination, split up into:
SQE 1- functioning legal knowledge (FLK)
Comprised of 180 multiple choice questions.
Aimed to test both ‘blackletter’ law and students’
understanding of the legal process.
SQE 2- practical transactions and legal skills
Only undertaken by those who have successfully passed
SQE1.
Assessing client interviewing, advocacy, legal research,
written advice, drafting and negotiating.
How quickly could a candidate sit both parts?
Studied in succession, the exams can be taken within a
calendar year but again, there can be a break if the
candidates/law firms so choose.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

8. 3. Qualifying
Work
Experience
(QWE)
As a minimum, candidates are required to attain two-years
FULL TIME legal work experience.
This can be achieved in one block or collated over a period
of time.
What should QWE look like?
This is creating the most questions for law firms – is this is
end of the two-year training contract as we know it?
In terms of a regulatory requirement- yes, it is.
However, some firms are not planning to deviate too far
from the system that they currently have.
This is an opportunity for employers to tailor the training to
their own needs.
For example, some firms may offer four days of QWE
followed by one-day of classroom training.
Other firms may see this as an opportunity collaborate with
other firms (regulated or non-regulated) to bring ‘graduate
trainees though the qualification process.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

9. 3. Qualifying
Work
Experience
(QWE)
© Jonathon Bray Limited
Pointers
 QWE can be done at any stage of the qualification
process (prior to, during, or post SQE examination
phase)
 It can be completed in a variety of legal settings and
not just within private practice Including:
(i) in-house legal departments,
(ii)law clinics (but excluding simulated legal scenarios),
(iii)paralegal work and law vacation placements.
Anything that can satisfies s12 Legal Services Act can be
counted towards QWE.
This can include voluntary work in a legal setting (CAB, for
example) but NOT a simulated legal scenario.

10. 3. Qualifying
Work
Experience
(QWE)
© Jonathon Bray Limited
 QWE can be obtained in up to four different
legal establishments, whether in the UK or
abroad.
 Candidates complete a record of attainment to
demonstrate that solicitor competence
requirements have been achieved. This is then
signed off by a solicitor or COLP within the firm
and logged by the candidate on the SRA portal.
 Candidates must reflect on their training and
ensure that ‘some’ of these competencies have
been attained before submitting their QWE
forms to the SRA (‘some’ means at least two of
the competencies listed on the QWE list).

11. 3. Qualifying
Work
Experience
(QWE)
© Jonathon Bray Limited
 Solicitors/COLPs tasked with signing off QWE are reminded that
they are NOT being asked to confirm that the candidate is
competent in any way. This remains the domain of the SRA, via
the rigour of the SQE exams. They are being asked to confirm that
during the period of QWE, the candidate has attained those areas
of competencies listed by the candidate. It is therefore important
that there is a degree of oversight provided by the solicitor, as the
overarching regulatory duty to act with honesty (p4) and integrity
(p5) applies to QWE sign-off.
 Law firms may wish to rethink the way that they structure
placements/employment, to ensure that the solicitor competence
requirements expected by the SRA are met. Unsurprisingly, these
objectives are geared towards the Standards and Regulations
expected of qualified fee earners.
 During these QWE placements, law firms can assess the
competencies of the individual, and decide whether or not to
offer an NQ position, once they are fully qualified.

12. 4. Character
and
Suitability
The final stage in the qualification process is
that the candidate must satisfy the SRA’s
character and suitability criteria.
This aspect remains the same as for the
traditional route to qualification.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

13. How do
individuals apply?
Register on the SRA website. There is a portal for
candidates and this is designed to guide them
through the SQE process. This includes booking a
place on SQE 1 and 2
It is worth noting that the level of knowledge
required for the SQE is that of a newly qualified
lawyer on day one, in comparison the standard
for the LPC is a trainee on day one.
Once the four pillars above have been obtained,
a candidate can apply for their practising
certificate.

14. What do firms need
to do?
Think about what you would like to offer in terms of training, and to whom.
Yet again, you have options!
Apprenticeships v Graduates
Firms can also elect to employ apprentice solicitors.
This can be done:
(a) Over a six year period as an alternative to the law degree route. This is
then followed by the SQE at the end of that period. (An earn as you learn
route may suit some candidates.)
(b) By hiring a graduate apprentice, over a 2.5year period, which is then
followed by the SQE exams. You can find out more about the
apprenticeship route on the GOV.UK website
NB: Training and assessments are paid/partly paid for through the
apprenticeship levy fund.
(c) Alternatively, you can recruit graduates into QWE placements, offering
some or all of the funding for the SQE exams for the right candidates.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

15. Things to consider
Timings
This is a good time to reconsider your existing training
framework.
• Identify how you can improve QWE to fit the specific
needs of your firm.
• Depending on the type of candidate you would like to
recruit, consider when would be the best time to
advertise for positions. Knowing when to recruit.
• We are in the transitional period, where the last LPC
course began in September 2021. This is now nearing
completion.
• Your choices are now, whether to offer a two-year
training contract to those LPC graduates or to offer
them QWE. ** It is worth noting that where they
switch routes, they will still need to complete SQE2
before qualification.

16. FAQ 1
What if candidates have already qualified into
another jurisdiction?
There are some exemptions for certain jurisdictions.
The SRA are currently ‘mapping out’ those jurisdictions where
they feel that the training and competencies offered in work
experience mirror that of the UK. They will still need to sit and
pass both SQE 1 AND 2, along with the character and suitability
tests.
Current exemptions by territory and job title include:
Brazil - Advogado
Denmark, Faroe Islands and Greenland - Advokat
Hong Kong - Solicitor
Romania – Avocat
Scotland – Scottish solicitors can apply for an exemption for SQE
1 and 2.
Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Solicitors are exempt
from both the SQE exams and QWE
* See the Exemptions page of the SRA website for more on
exemptions by country.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

17. FAQ 2
What if the candidate is already a qualified
barrister – are they exempt?
Answer: No
There are currently no exemptions for SQE 1 and
2 for the following:
- Barrister (who has completed pupillage)
- Chartered Legal Executive
- CILEx Practitioner
Additional experience over and above the
qualification stage may be taken into account.
* There is more information available on the SRA website.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

18. FAQ 3
Once a candidate has been signed off for
QWE and completes both SQE PARTS 1 AND
2, do you then have to offer a job as a
solicitor within the firm?
Answer: No
Where the candidate was previously employed
the firm, (perhaps as a paralegal), then it is
expected that you have an early, and open
conversation with them about job opportunities
within the firm, upon qualification.
If the candidate choses to remain at the firm as a
paralegal regardless of not being offered a NQ
position, then they will be expected to be on the
roll, with a practising certificate albeit with a
‘paralegal’ job title.
© Jonathon Bray Limited

19. FAQ 4
Do firms have to sign off retrospective claims for QWE?
Answer: Yes
You can expect to see a degree of retrospective claims for
QWE, from former members of staff and even those who
have been at the firm for work placements.
- What should you do when a candidate asks you to sign off a
period of QWE from several years ago?
- Can you, or a member of your staff who was supervising the
candidate confirm that the competencies were achieved
during the window of employment?
- Where those staff members have retired or moved on, then
it becomes a difficult task.
- Do HR records tally with what the candidate is saying?
- Can you access files where they have made a contribution
to verify what they are saying?
Ultimately, it is for those solicitors/COLPs who are tasked with
QWE sign-off to do so with their overarching regulatory duties
in mind (honesty/integrity).
© Jonathon Bray Limited

20. © Jonathon Bray Limited
?

21. © Jonathon Bray Limited
SQE
Solicitor’s Qualifying Examination
May 2022