Demonstrating Your Qualifying Work Experience for the SQE

Mar 26, 2023

Written By Lawrence Topley

Becoming a solicitor through the new SQE requires four elements. A degree or equivalent, passing the SQE1 and SQE2 exams, completing two years qualifying work experience (QWE) and meeting the character and suitability requirements . This new route makes the pathway into becoming a solicitor more accessible than the LPC route, which required you to obtain a training contract.

What Constitutes QWE?

Qualifying work experience (QWE) is broadly defined in The Legal Services Act 2007 section 12 as providing a form of legal services. This could include working as a paralegal, working at a law clinic, placements during your degree and the traditional training contract route. Importantly, this experience must be real life and cannot be simulated.

This can be seen as one of the great benefits of the new SQE route, not only for aspiring solicitors but for employers too. These two years represent a great opportunity to grow and develop a range of knowledge and skills required for the industry.

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Requirements for QWE

The requirements for completing your QWE are flexible. It can be gained overseas, meaning it does not have to be English and Welsh law. In addition, it can be done over four different placements across different jurisdictions. This means that candidates can complete work experience abroad and qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales, although you will need knowledge of this jurisdiction for the SQE itself.

In completing this period of QWE, there are some requirements needed to demonstrate your work experience:

Demonstrating your QWE

Firstly, you need to have your placement confirmed by a solicitor of England and Wales or Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, although this person does not have to work for the same organisation in which you have undertaken the work experience. Nonetheless they will need to have reviewed the work you have done and have received feedback from the person supervising you. The solicitor will have to confirm the length of time you have worked, the fact you have provided legal services and that there are no concerns around your character and suitability.

Importantly, confirming your QWE is not an assessment of whether you are good enough to be a solicitor or whether you are competent enough to practise. This means that you will not be assessed on how well you have performed over the period in terms of the quality of your work. The SQE exams are there to assess this.

What happens once I’ve completed my QWE?

Although there is no requirement of when you choose to complete your QWE, most students do so after completing SQE1, which is the first exam when qualifying through the SQE route. The experience you gain from QWE will help you to pass SQE2, which focuses more on practical skills.

When you apply for admission as a solicitor, you’ll only need to register your QWE with the SRA. You can do so on the mySRA portal. Applying for admission also involves logging your SQE exam results and completing character and suitability requirements.

Bear in mind that once you have qualified as a solicitor your employer for your QWE is not required to offer you a role as a solicitor.

Overview

The SQE was designed to make pathways into legal careers more flexible and accessible. This is most evident in the nature of the QWE component, which does not require a training contract, something that is difficult to obtain considering how competitively sought after training contracts are.

Instead, in addition to completing the exams and suitability assessment, you can start providing legal services which work towards qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales through the SQE route. Once you have completed this there are a series of formalities required to demonstrate your qualifying work experience.

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