Lovely to receive this testimonial from one of our client firms:
"Ingemar has provided me with great support with my law firm. HCL has been extremely helpful with the implementation of LEAP case management system and training in respect of the same. HCL was available to answer all questions and queries. There has been general support in respect of my firms office manual and preparation for my Lexcel accreditation to which I have passed. I would strongly recommend the use of these services."
Charlene Berry - Berry Legal
Feel free to visit our Services drop down from the top of this page. We have packages there but will always be willing to discuss and bespoke around your needs.
We provide a 'One-Stop-Shop' for business support for Law Firms and other professional service firms. Recognising that a busy partner probably wants to concentrate on the client work, we can be an expert external resource across areas of consulting, Case management use and compliance. If we don't do it, we probably know someone who can.
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Firms have now been told if they were successful. This is conditional on obtaining SQM or Lexcel or whatever else they require! Feel free to reach out if you need help. We were contacted by 2 firms yesterday - one whilst the SQM auditor was still doing the audit in the firm! I'm told the deadline for satisfying the LAA is 27th March 2022. We will be able to help this firm in good time for that deadline.
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https://www.hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqm-accreditation.../
AML - changes coming soon - Those in the Legal & Financial sectors in particular, but all business in general, will need to keep an eye out for this. Obviously this is to cut the ability of Russians to launder their money and arises from the reaction to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. I've seen a report on the BBC that the UK will be bringing this in in March. This will include a requirement to show the true identity of the owner of property & action to strengthen Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs). Also, all AML officers will need to keep an eye on the Sanctions List - as there are likely to be additions.
Here is a link to where you may access the Sanctions List:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-uk-sanctions-list
Here is a link to the BBC article:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60549927
Feel free to contact us for general AML advice and assistance. Fill in the form below.
DPO stands for 'Data Protection Officer'. He or she is the person appointed by your organisation as the specialist to advise on ensuring that you are compliant with GDPR and Data Protection requirements.
We asked our Data Protection Officer, Nick Richards CIPP/E CIPM FIP, to list some of the things he does for our client firms:
You don't need to employ a full time DPO. You can hire someone part time or indeed just for the hours needed by your organisation. Indeed, there is a a good argument for hiring an external DPO - they are more independent, so can be more candid than perhaps an internal employee and they will bring with them experience from other organisations where they act as DPO.
We offer DPO as a service, where you may hire our DPO by the hour for what you need, or indeed for a one off review or other job. Indeed he can assist with general GDPR & Data Protection advice without being appointed your DPO.
Here is more information:
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If you are a Foreign Qualified Lawyer (not England & Wales) then you may get exemption from some or all of the requirements for qualifying as an English Solicitor under the SQE route.
Normally you will be exempt from the requirement to have your QWE confirmed to the SRA.
You may also get exemption from the SQE1 or the SQE2 exam. This will depend upon what the SRA decides. Do check with them direct: [email protected]
Below is a link to the SRA website page where you can see what SQE exemptions have been agreed so far for certain jurisdictions. You will see that several have been considered but exemption not given. Where it has been given there is a link to apply for the exemption for yourself.
https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/qualified-lawyers/agreed-exemptions/
Exemptions - general
These can be applied for by an individual or on a jurisdictional basis. However, you still have to apply to the SRA for the exemption. For the SRA it is an exercise in comparative law between the 2 jurisdictions. On a webinar we attended the SRA said that it was unlikely that they would be unlikely to grant an exemption to SQE1 for a civil law jurisdiction, as the legal systems are so different.
SQE1 - this will be harder to obtain from the SRA. You will need to show a) what the home qualification covers and b) that it is not substantially different from the law in England & Wales.
SQE2 - this might be a little easier. You will need to show that the practice rights and way that lawyers in that jurisdiction practice law is substantially the same as in the England & Wales jurisdiction.
English Language - the SRA did make a point that they regard it as important that a qualified English solicitor can speak and write English (or Welsh). So, if they have not been able to assess this, because someone has been granted exemption from the SQE2 exam, they may, at the point to assessing your application to be admitted and an English Solicitor, requite you to sit a test to prove your competence in speaking & writing in English.
QLTS: Abolished with the introduction of the SQE. If you've passed the MCT, the last sitting of the 2nd exam to qualify through the QLTS route has now happened so you cannot complete your qualification through the QLTS route. You have to qualify as a solicitor of England & Wales through the SQE route (sitting the SQE1 and either sitting the SQE2 or applying for an exemption from the SQE2 exam). If you want to apply for exemption from the SQE2 exam then see below.
Applying for an exemption for SQE2
You may do this if your country or jurisdiction appears on the list on this page (meaning that the SRA has studied it and found this appropriate): https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/qualified-lawyers/sqe-exemptions/
Below you will find the form to apply for exemption. This is our understanding of the rules on how to apply as a foreign qualified lawyer for an exemption from having to take SQE2:
Section 7a – 2 years professional legal work experience was gained as part of your qualification: upload the form to your 'MySRA' portal + presumably proof of qualification + fee £265
Section 7b – instead, 2 years professional legal work experience was gained post qualification: you need also to get a reference for this work and a ‘certificate of good standing’ from your local legal regulatory body + upload the form to your 'MySRA' portal + presumably proof of qualification+ fee £265
Section 7c – your 2 years professional legal work experience is a combination of both post qualification and as part of your qualification: you have to do what is required for both 7a & 7b above.
Section 8 – you do not have 2 years professional legal work experience: you will have to fill in the table at section 8 and submit with it a dossier of supporting evidence + fee £265. (We may be able to assist you with this. So far, we have helped over 30 people with confirming their QWE to the SRA. This looks similar, but requires the submission of a dossier of evidence.)
You will also have to complete sections 1-4 of the form before submitting it to the SRA through your 'MySRA' portal with presumably proof of qualification and their fee of £265.
Below see our notes of our research on what the SRA would like in the supervisor refernec that you will have to supply with 7b and 7c above.
If your regulatory body asks what should be in a Certificate of Good Standing, we also have asked the SRA but not been given any guidance. Perhaps having a look at what the SRA themselves when asked to produce a Certificate of Good Standing, might give some guidance. Here is a link to the page on their website about that: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/certificates/certificate-good-standing/
Submitting your Application to the SRA
To make your application apply online in mySRA. If you do not already have an account, you will need to create an account to access the form.
Once logged in, select 'Start new applications' on the homepage. The application is called 'Apply for qualified lawyer exemption from the SQE assessments'.
Make sure you upload everything they ask and don't forget to pay them their fee.
The SRA say they will let you know their decision within 180 days of receipt of the application for exemption.
External QWE Confirmation Service
If you need someone to confirm your QWE and there is no-one in your organisation - we can help. Please see the link below:
Ingemar has been acting as an External Confirming Solicitor since the summer of 2020. He has spoken to hundreds of Aspiring Solicitors. These are some tips from his experience to help Aspiring Solicitors on their journey to qualify as a solicitor in the England & Wales jurisdiction.
Should you have more questions then please feel free to contact us and arrange a free, no obligation zoom with Ingemar Hunnings.
Listen to this in a podcast: https://anchor.fm/ingemar9/episodes/QWE---5-Top-Tips-e1dqcov
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External Solicitor Confirmation Service:
Please find a link here for more info: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/
What is QWE?
Please find a link to a brief podcast: https://anchor.fm/ingemar9/episodes/What-is-QWE--Part-of-the-SQE-route-to-qualifying-as-an-English-Solicitor-e1dllkp
How to Register your QWE with the SRA
Please find below a brief podcast: https://anchor.fm/ingemar9/episodes/How-to-register-your-QWE-with-the-SRA-SQE-route-e1dpjk3
The way that people qualify as solicitors is changing. Below we’ll give some information on the new route to qualify as a solicitor of England & Wales and the potential economic impact on law firms.
What is Happening?
The old LPC route has been replaced by the SQE (Solicitors Qualification Exam). The LPC was a linear route – you had to pass each stage before you could progress. The LPC pass rate was set by each training organisation. There was a separate route for foreign qualified lawyers (QLTS). If one could not find a training contract all previous investment in money, time and talent was wasted as one could not qualify.
The SQE is a unified exam that ALL sit (QLTS disappears, GDL is no longer required by the SRA). That means that all solicitors are examined to the same standard. As before everyone must have a degree or degree equivalent and everyone will need to declare that they are a fit person before being admitted. Instead of the LPC, Aspiring Solicitors will sit and pass 2 exams: The SQE1 and the SQE2. Instead of the Training Contract they need to acquire 2 years full time equivalent Qualifying Work Experience (QWE). These elements are quite different – more is explained below.
SQE
SQE1 is made up of 2 parts: FLK1 & 2 (FLK is ‘Functional Legal Knowledge’). Each exam consists of 180 multiple choice questions, 10 hours of exam time in total. The idea is to test candidates’ ability to identify legal principles and apply them to client problems and transactions. It will test core legal knowledge. The cost of the exam is £1,558. SQE1 will take place at Pearson VUE test centres in the UK and internationally. The pass mark for SQE1 will be determined by a board of experts, drawing on the level competency expected of a solicitor on their first day at work. Feedback from the candidates who sat the first exam in November 2021 is that they found it tough and very detailed. The pass rate was 53% (lower than the LPC which was 56%).
SQE2 – you cannot sit this until you have passed the SQE1 exams. There are 16 written and oral tests totalling 14 hours of exam time. They will be simulating tasks as carried out by a solicitor in practice. The exam is designed to assesses practical legal skills for working with the law in practice. The SQE2 can be taken before the completion of the Qualifying Work Experience (QWE), but the SRA expects most candidates will take it after completed their 2 years QWE. It will assess both skills & law (50:50 weighting). Again, ethical issues will be embedded and it will be up to candidates to spot and deal with them. The cost of the exam is £2,422. The written parts of the SQE2 can be taken at Pearson View venues around the world (check with the SRA). Oral parts are to be examined in London, Cardiff & Manchester.
Here is a link to further information
QWE
Put aside your understanding of a Training Contract. This is no longer relevant. QWE is different. Under the SQE route an Aspiring Solicitor must have 2 years full time equivalent (FTE) QWE. This needs to be confirmed by a solicitor regulated by the SRA or a COLP authorised by the SRA (similar to confirming the work in a training contract). It is designed to enable to Aspiring Solicitor to acquire the competencies and skills required to practice successfully as a solicitor. These are the business and operational skills (the legal knowledge and its application is tested in the SQE exams). The QWE helps the candidate prepare for the SQE2. QWE does not need to be registered before you start with the SRA. It can be acquired in voluntary work. It does not need to be done in a law firm or indeed in English & Welsh law. It needs to be the ‘provision of legal services’, but the SRA are deliberately not restrictively defining that. Nor do they define ‘Full Time’. These elements are left to the confirming solicitor to police. One is able to reach back in time for work already done to be included as QWE. One may acquire the 2 years FTE from up to 4 placements. The SRA has also allowed Aspiring Solicitors to go outside their organisation for a solicitor to confirm their QWE to the SRA, for example if there is no solicitor in the organisation (in-house legal, businesses outside the UK, will-writing company, Citizens Advice). In those circumstances the confirming solicitor will have to view the work and obtain feedback from the supervisor.
More information about the external confirmation of QWE here.
When applicable?
Anyone starting a degree from September 2021 onwards will have to take the SQE route. Those already on the path have a choice. However, if they do not have a training contract lined up, the SQE route allows them to progress.
Impact on Law Firms
This is a ‘once-in-a-generation’ change. It will have an impact. QWE in particular changes the economic balance between Aspiring Solicitors and Law Firms. If you hire paralegals, their work will count as QWE. So, they will progress towards qualification whatever. Can you refuse to confirm their QWE? Not without good reason. The SRA have even published guidance for dealing with this scenario, which ultimately concludes with a complaint to SRA Ethics about the firm or solicitor refusing. However, you will have the ability to entice the Aspiring Solicitors to stay with you for at least 2.5 years. The SQE has specifically been designed to work with the Apprenticeship Scheme. Under this, the government will pay 95% (or 100% if you pay the apprenticeship levy or can get a credit from someone who does) of the exam and training costs (the hiring firm would have to pay the rest). This works for graduate apprentices - so your traditional post-graduate intake. They would have to be released for study 1 day a week, so it would take them 2.5 years to acquire their 2 years FTE QWE. The scheme is administered by the training provider.
More information can be found here.
The SQE route can speed up the qualification process from the Aspiring solicitor’s perspective (from degree to qualification), but from the law firm’s perspective, it could take a little longer from hiring (if directly after graduation) as opposed to hiring after they had completed their LPC. Will it make much difference to the quality of the candidates? Time will tell. Certainly, the author, Ingemar Hunnings, has found that the quality has been high in candidates he has helped so far with External QWE Qualification. They have been working in a mixture of non-law firms, typically been doing work at a high level (several year’s PQE standard) and are delighted to be able now to qualify without the need to give up their position to have to spend 2 years doing a training contract. The calibre of their work and approach would be a huge asset to any law firm and they would bring experience and broader expertise than would normally be the case following the old route of degree, LPC then training contact.
So, the world of solicitor qualification is changing. This will affect law firm recruitment. There are opportunities, but it will be different.
This article is written by Ingemar Hunnings. He has been at the forefront of developing (in close consultation with the SRA) and providing a service for Aspiring Solicitors to confirm their Qualifying Work Experience as an External Solicitor. He has done this now successfully for close to a dozen Aspiring Solicitors. He has also given or guested on numerous webinars providing information about the SQE & QWE. Please feel free to contact him should you want more information or to talk through any of the issues above: [email protected]. (Or fill in the form below)
This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2021 issue of PLC Magazine. Below is a link to the article on the PLC Magazine homepage
http://uk.practicallaw.com/resources/uk-publications/plc-magazine
This sounds like a title of a book on management. It’s not, but could be! The article below comes from my observations in practice and since, working as a management consultant working with over 400 law firms.
You start your career as a newly qualified solicitor or other professional. You’re keen and work hard. You learn your trade – how to service your clients’ needs, how to ensure you keep up with regulatory compliance, how to earn good fees for the firm. Perhaps you develop other skills to set you apart from your colleagues of a similar level of experience. Perhaps that is the ability to generate more work, or you consistently smash billing targets, out-performing your colleagues. So, you’re offered a promotion. Well done! First of all, it might be a pay rise and the different title which moves you up the career ladder. If you continue to perform this might happen again. Well done again!
At some stage the promotion might come with the expectation that you start managing staff who are more junior to you. In days gone by, managing staff might have come much earlier on, as you managed your own support staff member or secretary. (I remember back in the 1990s starting as a trainee, then called an articled clerk, and having to dictate for and give instructions to my secretary. Terrifying, as I knew that they knew the job far better than me at that stage!) However, nowadays I think that is much less likely, as technology has enabled people to produce their own work and so having a dedicated secretary is becoming less and less common.
Now this is the crucial part – what does the firm do when they want you to start managing staff. This is a completely different skill set to legal research, advising clients, advocacy & billing. Do they train you? Do they provide a mentor? My experience is that this seldom happens. Indeed, it is not covered in the competencies for QWE for qualifying as a solicitor. Speaking with professionals in other non-legal professions and people supplying HR services, I hear the same there as well. You are just asked to manage the people and left to get on with it. Many firms do not even have a monthly 121 meeting with a supervisor. They just have an annual appraisal, which focuses lust on the hard financials.
As I have said, managing staff is a different skill set. You cannot expect that people just naturally are born with this or naturally acquire these skills. Being honest, lawyers can be quite difficult and strong characters. I would suggest that training your managers on how to manage is vitally important for the health of your organisation. Their impact is multiplied and it will be reflected in the performance in other people as well as themselves. That’s a point of opportunity, but also risk for your business. If they do well it can turbo-boost your business. If they struggle it can have a negative impact on that part of your business, depressing the performance of those they are managing and also the person who was performing so well that you promoted them into this position. I’m sure we have all experienced poor management. Not fun.
Another point on training of new managers is that one cannot assume that they know how to read and understand the reports they will need in order to manage. That may not have been a skill set required for their fee-earning role. Similarly, their understanding of the SRA Accounts Rules and of the financial ledgers may need additional training.
On a similar vein, they may need additional training on what is expected with regard to compliance, as now they might be relied upon in this aspect to assist the firm’s Compliance Officers. The same goes for handling Complaints – as they might be the first point of escalation from the fee-earner.
Can you avoid putting people in a management position? Not really if you want your business to grow. You need managers in as you, as the founder, can’t do everything. Time is a finite resource. Eventually you will inhibit the growth of your firm unless you appoint managers.
So, what should you be doing? Here are some suggestions from my experience.
I am sure that there are other bullet points that could be added. Please feel free to comment to add them and share your experience (probably without naming people!).
Ultimately, being appointed as a manager can be hugely rewarding. It can teach you skills that are transferable into other areas in life and help you grow as a person. You can have the joy of developing other people and helping them achieve their potential. I always took great joy in seeing people rise from lowly positions to qualified solicitor or even to partner and running their own businesses. It’s not always easy and can cause you sleepless nights. Sometimes you have to take tough decisions. I had to walk one solicitor out of the office for gross mis-conduct. However, for someone else I used to send over a breakfast bar each morning for a fortnight to make the point that she needed some energy to start the day – as discussed in our monthly 121 meetings the previous two months. She was junior paralegal in my team with low self-esteem. She’s now a qualified solicitor with a national law firm. Obviously, the action you take should be appropriate. The action I took was within the context of my relationship with this staff member and received in the manner it was intended.
And that’s the thing – lawyers are used to dealing with the law, which is the application of legal principles to scenarios. People are messy and unpredictable, irrational and infuriating sometimes. I know I am. However, they also can be surprising, a delight and have huge potential which can benefit the organisation and enrich your life. Ultimately how this is all done, to a large extent defines the culture of the organisation.
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Do you use the Proclaim case management system?
Are you planning to do some developments this year?
Do you need resource to help?
We can assist. We helped a number of firms last year from small 1 day jobs to a 20 day project, where we acted as additional resource to the permanent in-house developer.
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Barely a month goes by without the ICO (Information Commissioners Office) in the UK issuing fines to UK businesses for beach of GDPR. Just this autumn fines have been issued ranging from £20,000 to £200,000. The businesses range from ones you may not have heard of to household names like Saga Insurance, Papa Johns & Sports Direct. Recently the Norwegian equivalent of the ICO fined the company running the toll collection points the equivalent of over £400,000. Their Data Protection Regime is similar to ours – based on GDPR.
Here are some of the stories leading to the fines.
The Norwegian company runs toll collection points and it was found was passing data on the vehicles to a data processor in China. It was found that it had failed to establish a data processing agreement, to carry out a risk assessment and also lacked a legal basis in China for the processing of personal data. These are all basic responsibilities under relevant data protection legislation, and these requirements must be met before the processing of personal data can take place.
Saga was fined for sending unsolicited direct marketing messages without the recipients’ consent.
The same for Papa Johns & Sports Direct.
Mermaids, a charity in Scotland, was fined when it was discovered that they had failed to protect an internal email group with the result that about 780 pages of confidential emails to be openly viewable online for nearly three years. This led to personal information, such as names and email addresses, of 550 people being searchable online. During the investigation the ICO discovered Mermaids had a negligent approach towards data protection with inadequate policies and a lack of training for staff. It should have revisited its policies & procedures to ensure they remained up to date and fit for purpose.
Themes we can see is the need to have the right policies and procedures in place: keeping them up to date; reviewing their application to the changes in your business; training staff and ensuring that the training is up to date; testing that your policies & procedures are actually being followed.
Most businesses are now handling a lot of personal data: of staff and or customers/clients. So much more business is done on-line. Where is this handled? If you use a software system to help you, do you know where the data is all the time? In the case of the Norwegian company it went to China. Could it be going to the USA? A lot of software is based there.
Above are just a few examples resulting in recent fines. As ordinary people, we are concerned that data about us is handled properly and the GDPR is there to protect us. As businesses it’s quite a job to keep on top of this as well as finding customers, doing the work, getting paid, managing your staff etc. You may have heard that businesses can appoint a DPO (Data Protection Officer) to help. However, that is a senior appointment and the salary would normally reflect that. For some businesses that will be a mandatory appointment due to the nature of the data they handle. Some may have their investors insisting they have DPO. But for many smaller businesses the appointment of a DPO is overkill and too expensive. However, you can just hire an expert for a limited number of hours a week or month to assist you. That makes it more affordable.
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If that sounds like it’s more doable, then fill in the form below and we can reach out for a free, no-obligations chat. Or you can explore a bit more here: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/gdpr-support/ or call Ingemar Hunnings on 07887 524507 or email: [email protected]
