• Introduction
• Why become a Solicitor?
• SQE or LPC?
• SQE1 & SQE2
• Qualifying Work Experience
• Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

Many people want to become solicitors but don’t know exactly how to go about it, especially because England and Wales currently are running two parallel methods of becoming a solicitor – the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). If this is you, then stick around for a bit because the QLTS has got you covered!

Today, we are going to walk you through everything you need to know in order to qualify as a solicitor through SQE.

Why become a Solicitor?

Solicitors are individuals who have gone through the requisite training and professional certification and are now licensed to practice the law of England and Wales, especially after going through the SQE to obtain the necessary qualification. Once this is done, they engage in a broad range of services including legal advice, legal representation, and drafting of relevant documents like wills, trusts, contracts, letters and everything in between, to clients within and beyond the borders of the United Kingdom.

While this lifestyle will admittedly sentence you to a lifetime of reading, the benefits outweigh the seeming inconvenience. You don’t think so? Take a look at these benefits:

• Financial benefits: Everyone loves a good pay day, and this is what a career as a solicitor offers – the chance to earn STARTING salaries of £28,000 to £68,000.
• Excellent Career Progression: The path of a diligent solicitor is well-defined and makes room for easy advancement, as long as you are ambitious and willing to pursue your ambition. Does that sound like you? Great!
• Diverse Work: Everyday presents new legal issues and cases. Your brain will be stimulated on a daily basis as new and engaging challenges greet your desk every morning. If you become a solicitor, you can rest in this knowledge – you will never be bored. Exhausted? Maybe, but bored? Definitely not!

SQE or LPC?

Quality decisions can only be made through knowledge, so let’s answer this question – in attempting to become a solicitor, should you go through the SQE or the LPC route?

The easy answer? The SQE. And here’s why.

The LPC truthfully was the standard measurement and grading through which a person seeking to become a solicitor was examined. However, in September 2021, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), created the SQE which is targeted  at completely replacing the LPC by 2032. Even now, the SQE is assessed to be more of a higher standard and consequently,  more credible than the LPC.

Now that that’s out of the way, here’s what you need to know to qualify as a solicitor through SQE.

SQE1 and SQE2

The SQE is the examination to pass  if you want to be a solicitor of England and Wales. Interestingly, this examination does not require you to have a background in law. The examinations are designed to test aspiring solicitors along the lines of theoretical and practical aspects of law. It will test your legal knowledge, analytical abilities and practical skills. It does this by a two staged approach:

Stage 1 – SQE1, is the theoretical aspect of the SQE professional examination. Here, you will be tested on your general knowledge of the law. To successfully ace this, you will be required to reflect your Functioning Legal Knowledge (FLK) of English and Welsh law on the subject areas comprising:

• Business law and Practice; Dispute Resolution; Contract; Tort; Legal System of England and Wales; Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law and Legal Services (FLK1)
• Property Practice; Wills and the Administration of Estates; Solicitors Accounts; Land law; Trusts; Criminal Law and Practice (FLK2).

Generally, principles of taxation may also be examined but only in the context of

• Business Law and Practice
• Property law and Practice
• Wills and the Administration of Estates

This stage of the exam is administered through multiple-choice assessments tailored to test your FLK.

Stage 2 – SQE2, deals with a more practical approach to the examination. Here, you will be tested on written and oral assessments that reflect your practical legal skills. To make it as a solicitor, it is not enough that you know the law on paper, you must be able to reflect that knowledge by proffering real solutions to real life challenges. And this ability is what the SQE2 comes to test.

The exam comprises two stages as well. You should prepare for:

1. SQE2 Oral – here, four oral  legal skills assessments take place over the span of two half days,  covering interview and attendance, note/legal analysis and advocacy
2. SQE2 Written – this is done through 12 written legal skills assessments which takes place over three half days, covering: case and matter analysis, legal research, legal writing, and legal drafting.

Qualifying Work Experience (QWE)

After the successful completion of your exams, your job is 85% done, but the last 15% still has the potential to make or mar your chances at the life of a solicitor. The SRA also has a requirement that to be licensed as a solicitor, you must have qualifying work experience equivalent to a minimum of 2 years in active practice.

This minimum QWE period serves to give the individual the necessary know-how to engage in a successful practice upon licensing. Together with this, you must also show to the SRA that you are of satisfactory character and suitability. Once you are able to do this you would have met all the requirements to be licensed as a solicitor of England and Wales.

CONCLUSION

And so that’s it. If you are keen on becoming a solicitor of England and Wales, then everything written here is of absolute relevance to you. The SQE has proven to be the future of soliciting in England and Wales, and joining the ship leaving the harbor early enough is key to maintaining relevance in the days to come. So, based on what you know now, do you think you have what it takes to become a solicitor of the English and Welsh courts? We’re rooting for you. Good Luck!!