Solicitors
Qualifying Examination
What is the SQE?
The Solicitors Qualifying Examination
(SQE) is a centralised assessment for anyone who wants to qualify as a
solicitor in England and Wales. It will provide a fair and consistent
assessment for all candidates regardless of whether they have taken a law degree
or qualified through new routes like the solicitor apprenticeship.
Why are we introducing the SQE?
We are introducing the new system so
there will be a consistent assessment for all. This will be fairer for students
and give the public confidence that their solicitor is competent.
The SQE will offer new opportunities -
it should help law firms get access to the best talent; help the best education
providers excel; and help the best candidates, from all backgrounds,
succeed.
When will the SQE be introduced?
We are working towards an introduction
date of 2020 and are currently on target to meet it. But it is possible that it
might take us longer than we expect to develop and test the SQE. If we need to
postpone the introduction of the SQE, we will announce this.
What if I have already started/have a
qualifying law degree?
If you have already started (or
completed) your law degree, or will do so before the SQE is introduced, you
will be able to finish and qualify under the current system or qualify under
the new SQE system. We are currently consulting on proposals that say you will
have until 2031 to qualify this way. We will make an announcement next year to
confirm a date.
What if I have started/have a non-law
degree?
If you start a non-law undergraduate
degree in or after academic year 2017-18, and then decide to qualify as a
solicitor, you will need to take the SQE and qualify under the new system,
assuming it is introduced in 2020. This is because the Common Professional
Assessment (CPE), also known as the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL), will no
longer count towards qualification in the new system once the SQE has been
introduced.
If you have already graduated with a
non-law degree and are looking to start a CPE/GDL, you will need to do this in
autumn 2018 or 2019. Then you can qualify under the current system, for
example, by:
- • taking the CPE/GDL in academic
year 2018-19 or 2019-20
- • completing the Legal Practice
Course (LPC) in academic year 2019-20 or 2020-21
- • doing a two-year period of
recognised training, often called a training contract.
It would also
be open to you, if you wished, to qualify by taking the SQE.
What will I need to qualify after the
SQE is introduced in 2020?
You will need to:
- • Have a degree or equivalent
qualification (for example, a solicitor apprenticeship).
- • Pass the two stages of the
SQE.
- • Have at least two years of
qualifying work experience in the delivery of legal services.
- • Meet our character and
suitability requirements to become a solicitor.
How much
will the new system cost?
There will be the cost for sitting the
SQE assessments and the cost of any training courses for the SQE.
Information about the cost of the SQE
assessments is not yet available because we have not decided exactly what the
final examinations will look like.
If SQE training is included as part of
a degree, then there will be no additional charge for that training. But there
is likely to be an additional charge for the SQE assessments.
SQE training courses which are not
part of a degree will be available by the time the SQE is introduced. But
because they have not yet been launched, we do not yet know how much this type
of SQE training will cost.
Should I do an LPC now or wait for the
SQE?
Here are some factors for you to
consider when deciding what route works for you:
1. Current system of qualification - QLD/CPE, followed by
a LPC and training contract:
• If you get the offer of a training contract,
particularly if the LPC is funded by your law firm, you should probably take it
because you would know that you could qualify through this system.
• If you take the LPC, without the
offer of a training contract, you would have to pay for the LPC yourself and
you risk not being able to qualify through the current system if you do not
then go on to get a training contract.
2. New SQE system of
qualification:
• You would avoid the LPC costs but remember there will
be some cost for sitting the SQE assessments and any training courses for the
SQE. However, we expect this to cost less overall than taking the LPC (which
can cost up to £15,000).
- Through qualifying work
experience, we will allow a wider range of experience in the delivery of
legal services to count towards qualification. It could include time
spent:
- on placement during your law
degree
- in a student law clinic
- working as a paralegal
- in a traditional two-year
training contract.
- But you can only count experience
gained in a maximum of four different organisations and your experience
must give you the opportunity to develop the competences you need to
practise as a solicitor.
- So, if you do not manage to get
the offer of a training contract by the time you graduate, the SQE may be
a better route for you – it may be cheaper as you will not have to take
the LPC, and it gives you more flexibility to gain relevant work
experience.
But you should
find out what approach your target employers are taking towards recruitment,
training, qualifying work experience and funding before making any
decisions.
Where can I get more
information?
You should talk to your target
universities and law firms about the plans they are making for the SQE. You may
wish to ask them:
Universities
- • How will you help your students
prepare for the SQE?
- • Are you changing your law
courses? If so, how? When will it happen?
- • Will your students have to take
an additional SQE training course after they have completed their law
degree with you or is SQE training included as part of the law
degree?
- • Do you have a student law
clinic?
- • Do you work with law
firms?
- • Are you offering SQE training
courses for non-law graduates, to replace the current GDL/CPE?
Law firms
- • Would you prefer me to have the
LPC or the SQE, during the period when there is a choice of qualification
systems?
- • Will you pay for me to take the
LPC?
- • In relation to the SQE: o
- Are you planning to change how
and when you recruit trainee solicitors?
- o Will you support paralegal
staff to qualify as a solicitor?
- o Are you planning to change your
approach to training?
- o Will
you still require/offer a traditional two-year training contract?
- o Will
you take account of experience candidates may have gained during their
degree or in other job roles?
- o Will
you expect me to have passed SQE stage 1 before I start work as a trainee
solicitor?
- o Will
you pay for the SQE assessments and/or SQE training?
We already
provide information about how to qualify in the future and more will be coming
shortly. Take a look at our website - www.sra.org.uk/sqe
