The SQE1 vs SQE2: Detailed Comparison & Career Guidance

Nov 14, 2023

Written By Lewis Ogg

The Solicitor Qualifying Examination was recently introduced by the SRA to replace the existing Legal Practising Course (LPC). All students who began their Qualifying Law Degree after September 2020 will only be eligible to take the SQE route to qualifying as a solicitor. This article will lay out a comprehensive explanation of both the SQE1 and SQE2 examinations, so that you can go into the next stage of your legal journey fully informed about the content and implications of this new stage.

SQE1: legal knowledge and theory

The first part of the SQE exams is SQE1, which focuses on assessing candidates' foundational legal knowledge, making sure that they have an appropriate theoretical grounding in the law to pursue the career. A law degree is not required to undertake the SQE, though it (or some form of legal training) is recommended.

Due to the wide range of sectors solicitors can practise in, foundational legal knowledge covers a variety of topics, including Contract, Criminal, Constitutional and Tort Law. These should all be very familiar to those who have completed an LLB or law conversion. What might be less familiar is that this knowledge is assessed through Single Best Answer Questions (SBAQs); these are multiple-choice questions where the candidate has to choose the ‘most correct’ answer.

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SQE2: practical skills and application

The second aspect of the examination process is the SQE2, which focuses on assessing a candidate's practical application of legal skills through a series of real-world scenarios. This is the type of examination which will heavily favour those who have already completed their QWE (Qualifying Work Experience) before undertaking it.

There are a range of skills examined by the SQE2, including client interviewing, drafting, advocacy, and legal research. The idea behind this is to determine whether candidates have the necessary skill to effectively deploy their theoretical legal knowledge from SQE 1.

Comparison of assessment methods

The SQE 1 exam is broken down into FLK1 and 2, each of which is made up of 180 SBAQ questions. FLK1 covers: business law and practice, dispute resolution, contract, tort, legal system of England and Wales, constitutional and administrative law, and retained EU law. FLK2 focuses on: property practice, wills and administration of estates, solicitors’ accounts, land law, trusts, criminal law and practice.

In contrast, the SQE2 exam is divided into oral and written portions. The oral portion comprises four legal skills assessments over two half-days, testing advocacy and client interview skills. The written portion contains 12 written assessments over three half-days, with candidates needing to demonstrate their legal writing, drafting, and research skills.

Results

Receiving the results varies significantly in time span. With SQE1, it will typically take 5-6 weeks to receive the results, whereas with SQE2, it will take 14-18 weeks. So far results from the SQE2 examinations have been notably more positive than SQE1 results, with 77% passing SQE2 and 56% passing SQE1. However, this difference is most likely due to the necessity to pass SQE1 prior to undertaking SQE2, meaning candidates are naturally stronger.

Given the difficult pass rates, every candidate will have the opportunity to sit each exam three times within a six-year period of their first sitting. After this, you’ll have to wait six years from the first date.

Career implications

Those who find themselves successful in SQE1 may find that they are suited for roles with a strong grounding in legal theory. Client advisory roles that focus on applying legal knowledge to unique situations are highly promising for such people.

Alternatively, those who achieve strong scores in SQE2 may find that positions with more procedural and practical implications might be more suited. Such positions include litigious seats, which are document-focused and require conformity with court procedure.

As you can see from these varied career options, the SQE exams, despite the unfounded protests of some firms at their inception, prepare participants in an array of valuable skills that can be used to pursue a career anywhere in the legal field.

Preparation resources

Despite how new the exams are, there is already a huge wealth of available resources online for participants, and tailored training programmes are running in universities nationwide. Perhaps the most useful advice for any potential participant is to be early and organised. Take the time at an early date to determine and book your examination dates, decide what preparation courses/materials you want, and have a revision schedule in place early on to have a sustainable long-term revision plan.

When deciding which preparation course is for you, remember that there are a number of formats to choose from. For those who have already completed an LLB, there is the option to do an intensive full-time course (typically 8 weeks per exam), or a more comprehensive 14-week course. Remember that part-time options are available; for some students, the best option may be to complete the prep and exams over two years. Law converts have the added option of doing a Ma Law (Conversion), where the academic credits from the SQE are used to make the PDGL into a master’s degree.

Conclusion

It is important to understand just how different the SQE1 and 2 examinations are, with the former being theory and the latter being practice, so there is no shame in finding one more difficult than the other. Take the time to assess your own skills before deciding the length and nature of the practice course you want to undertake for each exam.

Taking a personalised approach to your study, where you are early and organised in your decision- making, will allow you to find the best options to prepare for each exam that will fit with your lifestyle demands and career aspirations.

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