SQE: The Need-to-Know Information for Apprentice Solicitors

Jun 17, 2021

Written By David Carnes

Put succinctly, a legal apprenticeship programme is a way to eventually become a solicitor without a obtaining university degree. At the end of the process, you can qualify as a solicitor. You earn while you learn, and although salaries are typically lower initially, about 80% of your experience involves on-the-job training, which offers certain advantages over students who qualify through the traditional route.

The new SQE system

The new Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), which is scheduled to begin as early as September 2021, seems to have changed the rules of the game for legal apprentices. Almost anyone seeking to become a solicitor will be required to pass two SQE exams: SQE1, which focuses on academic knowledge, and SQE2, which focuses on practical skills.

Becoming a solicitor will require almost every aspiring solicitor to meet the following qualifications:

- Pass SQE1 and SQE2

- Possess a university degree or equivalent (an apprenticeship can qualify as an “equivalent”);

- Have at least two years of work experience (which can also be satisfied by an apprenticeship - a “training contract” is not necessary); and

- Pass the character and suitability test.

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Purpose of the SQE System

England and Wales offer multiple routes to becoming a solicitor. You may start with a law degree, with a non-law degree, or with no university degree at all (the apprenticeship route). The purpose of the SQE is to ensure the public that no matter which route a solicitor took to qualify, he has met the same minimum academic and practice skills requirements that all other solicitors are expected to meet.

How the SQE affects those in ongoing legal apprenticeships

A transitional arrangement applies to aspiring solicitors who have selected the traditional route to becoming a solicitor (university law degree, GDL and LPC). These students can still qualify under the old system, as long as they began their studies in law before the new SQE system takes effect. These students might be allowed to qualify under the old system as late as 2032 (although many City firms will start requiring the SQE in 2022).

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The Bad News

If you are taking the solicitor apprenticeship route, you will not be able to take advantage of the transitional arrangements. You will have to pass SQE1 and SQE2 to qualify as a solicitor unless you qualify before the SQE system takes effect.

Most if not all solicitor apprenticeship programmes will integrate SQE training into their existing programmes, however. Since you do not have to take SQE1 and SQE2 at the same time, you can expect to take SQE sometime in the middle of your apprenticeship, and SQE2 within the last six months of your apprenticeship.

This might present problems for those apprentices who have invested several years into their training but do not expect to qualify as a solicitor before September 2021.

Paralegal and Legal Executive Apprentices

Paralegal apprenticeships (typically two years) and Chartered Legal Executive apprenticeships (typically five years) do not lead directly to qualification as a solicitor, but aspiring solicitors engaging in one of these types of apprenticeship can still qualify as a solicitor through the apprenticeship route, although it may take more time to complete. Passing the SQE will still be mandatory.

Ultimately, the SQE system may represent significant inconvenience and delay for those apprentices who are nearing the completion of their studies only to find that the SQE obstacle has been placed in their path. Those who find themselves at earlier stages in their apprenticeships are likely to find the SQE transition much smoother.

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