You need a degree or equivalent to sit the SQE exams. It can be obtained outside the UK. Either way it has to be checked by the SRA’s 3rd party validating service (they use Atlantic Data).
You will need to give Atlantic Data this information:
Atlantic Data will ask for your degree/qualification certificate or student ID number.
To start the process you log into your MySRA account and select 'Start new applications' and 'Apply to check that your qualification or work experience is equivalent to a degree'.
There is a fee (currently, 2023, £160 for UK applicants). If overseas qualifications, Atlantic Data will use UK ENIC. Here’s a link to information: https://enic.org.uk/Qualifications/SOC/Default.aspx
The SRA page giving this info may be accessed here: https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/sqe/degree-equivalent/check-validate-qualification/
Why not use the search to find other information in the blogs about the SQE & QWE.
Should you not have a solicitor who can 'Confirm' your QWE then
WE CAN HELP
Our ‘External QWE Confirmation Service’
If you are looking for help with an application for exemption from the SQE2 exam
Also lots of info on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@hunningsconsultancy999/videos
There’s a quiet revolution happening which I think has the potential to bring about quite some change in how many solicitors firms operate and affect their economic model.
Many firms seek to drive down the cost of production and drive up profit by employing paralegals to do less complex and lower value work. I know. When I was in practice we did that. They were usually law graduates who had passed their LPC. Often people were enticed with the potential to be considered for a Training Contract after they had worked in the firm for a while. We all knew that the Aspiring Solicitors had to obtain a Training Contract in order to proceed with their career to become a solicitor. That gave the solicitors firms power and control and pick of the bunch. They held all the cards. Many firms operate now with several or indeed large numbers of paralegals. That’s their business model.
I think this will change. The SRA has changed the way that people qualify as solicitors. The LPC method is being phased out. In its place the SRA has introduced the SQE. An Aspiring Solicitor still needs a law degree. However, instead of following in a linear fashion to take their LPC and then obtain and complete a training contract, each stage dependent on completing the former, now they have 2 exams to take: SQE1 & if they pass it SQE2. Instead of the Training Contract, they have to acquire and have signed off 2 years Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Qualifying Work Experience (QWE). The idea is that this is done BEFORE they sit the SQE2, as it prepares them for this exam (which tests them for 16 hours on real life scenarios, applying law, practice, ethics & conduct). Importantly, they can reach back in time for QWE already done. QWE does not need to be done in a formal training contract. It can be acquired working as a paralegal. Indeed, it the work does not even need to have been done in a law firm, in England & Wales or even working on English & Welsh law. The QWE is all about acquiring the competencies & skills the SRA believes one needs to acquire to be a good solicitor.
This is game changing. You may employ paralegals who are paid less, but no longer may a firm hold them there dangling the possible prospect of a Training Contract. Whilst working they are gaining their QWE. They can qualify. Ah, you might say – they need me to confirm their QWE. I could refuse to do that and so there’s no change. I control their career progression. This question was raised at a webinar I attended when the SRA were speaking. The person from the SRA paused and then said “in that scenario we might be interested in speaking with the solicitor about THEIR conduct”. That is seismic. The message I took from this is that it is not acting in accordance with good conduct as a solicitor for you to hold back the progression of an Aspiring Solicitor to qualification.
This is one point. A second is that the SRA has specifically allowed Aspiring Solicitors to go to a solicitor outside their organisation to have their QWE confirmed. [I have helped several Aspiring Solicitors by acting as External Confirming Solicitor so that their QWE has been accepted by the SRA.] Thirdly, there is nothing stopping the Aspiring Solicitor going to another firm more willing to support them.
The dynamic and power balance is changing. Does that mean that paralegal will disappear? I don’t think so. All is not gloom and doom. Aspiring Solicitors will still need to get their QWE. However, they will perhaps be more discerning. They may be more willing to vote with their feet. They may well be moving on or qualifying after about 2.5 years whether you want them to or not. (I write 2.5 years because most will be studying for their SQE exams at the same time as working. If they take 1 day out a week to study that equates to about 2.5 years to get their 2 years FTE QWE.) That might be something to build into your financial planning.
Churn hurts the profitability of your firm. A colleague & I once worked out that it cost the firm in lost turnover at least £60,000 each time a fee earner left and had to be replaced. That was without the recruitment costs. So, how to reduce churn as much as possible. The SRA has been very careful to design the SQE top fit with the government’s Apprenticeship Scheme. You could put your paralegals through this as Graduate Apprentices. That would mean that 95% of their study costs and their exam costs would be paid for by the government. The other 5% you, the firm, would have to pay (by my calculation roughly £2,000). It’s 100% if your firm is large enough to pay the apprenticeship levy (few solicitors firms are).
Feel free to contact our lead consultant, Ingemar Hunnings, for more info about the SQE & QWE. There is a Contact Form below. If you search 'QWE' or 'SQE' in the blog search you will find several articles giving information about this.
If you have or are a consultant solicitor the IR35 will be high on your agenda. We are not experts on this but have come across this resource for expert advice to ensure that you are compliant. Expert advice and insurance against HMRC investigations. This has been recommended to us, so we thought we'd share in case this might be of help.
(Please note we are not endorsing this and you should carry out your own due diligence and seek advice on accounting & tax matters from your accountants.)
For advice about running your law firm, please feel free to contact us. There is a Contact Form below on this screen.
Whilst here, may we invite you to have a look at our services, accessed from the top of this page, or browse or search our other blogs. They tend to be to provide information & assistance to the legal, business & professional services sectors. Mostly about the business of running your business.
The government has decided that the Fast Track will be extended to cases valued up £100,000 and thus that Fixed Recoverable Costs will be extended accordingly. Clin Neg are excluded because they are the subject of a separate review. There are 4 categories of complexity which will determine the level of costs allowed.
In case you missed it, below is a link to the LS Gazette article which sets out some detail with the suggested figures. Also below is a link to the full Impact Assessment and Government Response, should you wish to read it.
It doesn’t say when this will be brought in, but they are at the rules-drafting stage. You’ll need to do some prep and modelling to see how this will impact your business.
Law Society Gazette article: Click here
Original Papers: Click here for access
Should you wish to explore how this might affect your firm finances feel free to contact us for a chat. One of our consultants is an expert in Law Firm Finance and Ingemar is an ex-litigator. [email protected] or 07887 524507
We provide AML training both for businesses in the Legal Sector and for FCA regulated firms.
SRA regulated firms - did you know that Lexcel requires firms to review policies and training EACH year?
The Legal Sector Affinity Group Anti-Money Laundering Guidance states that all employees and agents should receive training at regular and appropriate internals both to update on new developments and to refresh existing knowledge. All new employees should receive AML Training.
The FCA adopts a similar approach and of course the legislation & regulations are the same.
We train on AML. Normally this is remotely done and charged at £200/hr + VAT (+ £50+VAT for prep for each training session). If you are booking just 1 hour the price is £250 + £50 for prep + VAT, to cover question, over-run and to reflect that fact that more than 1 person may attend.
We provide a lot of AML support to businesses in the Legal Sector. Please see below for a summary and links for further information. (Watch this space for assistance coming for certain businesses in the Financial Services sector as well.)
(Sanctions Regime compliance - see separate services for this on our website.)
Sanctions Regime Compliance Training
SRA Accounts Rules Training
COFA Training
GDPR & Data Protection Training
Cyber Security & Fraud prevention Training
Feel free to contact us, ideally by using the 'How can we help you?' form below.
If nothing else, the pandemic has showed the value of good financial awareness and the value of cash in the bank. I think the economic outflow of the pandemic is still to hit us. Those businesses with a strong cash basis and good awareness of their finances will be in a stronger position to take advantage of the opportunities that arise. If you're looking for someone to talk with, we are fortunate to have as one of our consultants an expert in small and mid-tier law firm finance.
(He's already doing forecasting for some of our client firms. (He's also an expert in Benchmarking in the Legal Sector and the SRA Accounts Rules.)
If of interest contact us:
Ingemar on 07887 524507 or [email protected]
The SRA is running rolling programme of checks on all law firm websites to make sure you are complying with our transparency rules.
They will be checking all law firm sites, including those of firms who have previously filled in a self-declaration stating that they are fully compliant. Embarrassing if you have said it is compliant when it's not! When they do find it is not compliant they will tell you and give you a time limit for fixing this and again declaring if it is compliant. This service is just the review. We can also help after an SRA audit, but that will be on an hourly basis.
Here is a link to the SRA Transparency Rules: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/transparency-rules/
Here is a link to the SRA Guidance, updated in September 2024: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/guidance/transparency-in-price-and-service/
fill in the web form below
or
or email: [email protected]
What we will doReview your website and produce a report of what you need to do to be compliant. We will also review your Client Care Letter/Engagement/Terms of Business letters and Complaints Policies (one set of each). All work is carried out remotely. |
£500 + VAT
The current thinking is that Legal Aid tenders will become available this autumn (2021). If you want to tender you will need to have the SQM or Lexcel quality mark. SQM is likely to take at least 3 months to obtain and Lexcel 4. Time to get moving.
Give us a shout if you would like to get some help.
Contact for info: Ingemar on 07887 524507 or [email protected]
Before someone can sit an SQE assessment, you will need to create your SQE account. Registration is now open, and you’ll need to follow these steps:
For further information here is the link to the SRA page: https://sqe.sra.org.uk/registering-and-booking
For bookings here is the link: https://sqe.sra.org.uk/registering-and-booking/booking-assessments
If you're an apprentice you must create an SQE account, activate it and log in.
Then you’ll need to fill in your profile - this includes verifying your identity and letting us know about any reasonable adjustments you will need when taking the assessments.
You will need to make sure that your employer or training provider has nominated Kaplan SQE as their End Point Assessment organisation.
If you employ or train an apprentice who plans to take the SQE, you must register your apprentice by emailing the apprenticeship team at [email protected]. You will need to provide them with the name and Unique Learner Number of the apprentice. This will ensure that we record them as an apprentice in their SQE account.
General info about the SQE & QWE: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/the-new-sqe-exam-and-qualification-method/
SQE Exam Dates: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe-dates-of-exams/
SQE Training Providers: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe-training-providers/
We have blogged extensively about QWE and invite you to visit some of the blogs. URLs are listed below.
Should you not have a solicitor who can ‘Confirm’ your QWE then WE CAN HELP.
Here’s a link to how: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/
For information about the SQE see here: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/the-new-sqe-exam-and-qualification-method/
Feel free to contact Ingemar on: 07887 524507 or [email protected]
9th July 2021 the UK government released 2 new Practice Directions for the process for the appointment of Official Solicitor as litigation friend for:
a) someone lacking capacity to conduct personal welfare proceedings and
b) for the person concerned for property and financial affairs proceedings in the Court of Protection
This contains information and guidance around:
This practice note also contains details of how to contact the Official Solicitor, including out of hours applications relating to urgent medical treatment issues.
Here is a link to where you may download it: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/appointment-of-the-official-solicitor-in-welfare-proceedings-practice-note?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=2bf1f0a5-8a23-449b-88ef-dbf6736d78d3&utm_content=daily
This contains information and guidance around:
Here is a link to where you may download it: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/appointment-of-the-official-solicitor-in-property-and-affairs-proceedings-practice-note?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=78193e4f-bfa6-47df-9df3-553ea0df5f6b&utm_content=daily
We are not giving legal advice, but as providers of business support to law firms, we thought this information might be of some assistance to some of our clients. For more info about our services please visit our website: www.hunningsconsultancy.co.uk or contact Ingemar at [email protected] or on 07887 524507
