Given that this is now a hot topic with a lot of change and expansion and that breach has moved to a strict liability approach, we have put together compliance support training, as we think this is something be of benefit to the legal profession. Here is a link to the service: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sanctions-regime-training/

Written by our lead consultant: Ingemar Hunnings

I’ve been asked to write an article giving some guidance for foreign qualified lawyers who would like to cross-qualify as a Solicitor of England & Wales. What I write will apply in general to anyone who is classed as a ‘foreign qualified lawyer’ i.e. qualified outside of the legal jurisdiction of England and Wales (and actually applies to barristers in England & Wales as well). I should state first of all that I am not part of the SRA and what I write is from my research, reading their website and questions put to them. The final arbiter will always be the SRA and the best email to use to ask them is: [email protected]. What is written below is my current understanding at the time written.

The way that people qualify as a solicitor of England & Wales has changed. In September 2021 the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority, which is the regulatory body for solicitors in England & Wales) brought in the SQE route for qualification to replace the LPC route. We are now in the transition stage between the 2 routes. https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/legal-practice-course-route/transitional-arrangements/ Basically if you had not started your degree by 22.9.21 you cannot use the LPC route to qualify, but have to use the SQE route.

Foreign qualified lawyers have been using several pathways to qualify as a solicitor and clarity is only gradually emerging as to what they do to complete that path during these transition times. So, I shall set out what the requirements are for the SQE route and then attempt to deal with the various wrinkles I’ve come across in the hope that this meets as many of your circumstances as possible. I will insert links for additional information, principally from the SRA website and our website.

I shall not go into why the SRA have changed things, other than to say that the LPC system was broken. Under the SQE the SRA, as regulator, has taken back responsibility for deciding who it says is fit to be accredited as a solicitor of England & Wales. The SRA sets the exams and is responsible for their administration (although it has delegated the running of the exams to Kaplan). Instead of different organisations setting and running the exams, under the SQE, EVERONE sits the same exams. There are 4 elements:

1. Everyone has to have a degree or degree equivalent. Before they had to have a law degree. That is no longer the case. There is no requirement for a converter course (GDL etc). Here is info about validating your degree: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe-validating-your-degree-or-equivalent/
2. There are 2 exams that must be sat and passed: the SQE1, which tests you on your legal knowledge, and the SQE2, which test you on the application of your legal knowledge into real life scenarios. https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/the-new-sqe-exam-and-qualification-method/ The SQE1 is split into 2 papers of 180 multiple choice questions each. At the time of writing this has been sat twice and of those who sat the exam around 55% passed each time. The SQE1 can be sat in the Pearson Vue centres in the UK and internationally. You cannot apply for the SQE2 until you have passed the SQE1. The SQE2 exam is 16 written & oral tests simulating real life scenarios. It takes place over a number of days. At the time of writing, it has been sat twice but the results for the 2^nd sitting are not yet out. Of the people sitting the exam the first time round 77% passed.
3. QWE – this stands for Qualifying Work Experience. An Aspiring Solicitor must have 2 years fulltime equivalent QWE confirmed to the SRA by an SRA regulated solicitor (not a foreign qualified solicitor, or barrister, or legal executive). What is full time will be up to the judgment of the confirming solicitor. QWE is defined as ‘the provision of legal services’. It does not need to be done in a law firm, does not need to be done in England & Wales, does not need to be done in English & Welsh law, does not even need to be paid work. Whether what you have done meets the definition will be up to the judgement of the confirming solicitor (who, you will note is acting under the authority but also regulation of the SRA). You may reach back as far as you want in time for your QWE. You may also reach out to a solicitor external to your organisation to do the QWE confirmation, presumably if you do not have or choose not to use an SRA regulated solicitor in your organisation to confirm your QWE. We provide a service as External Confirming Solicitor, hence our knowledge of this area: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/
4. Character & Suitability – everyone needs to pass the SRA Character & Suitability assessment. Here is a link: https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/character-and-suitability/ There is no cost for the assessment, but there may be a charge for the DBS check (Disclosure and Barring Service) which currently costs £34 , I believe.

Foreign Qualified Lawyers – your route

I will try to give the best guidance I can below, based on my current understanding, on your route through this depending on several different circumstances.

The first thing to note is that foreign qualified lawyers are exempt from the QWE requirement. However, there is a wrinkle in a particular scenario – see below (LPC).

Secondly, the QLTS Scheme is no more. It stopped in September 2021.

The requirement for a degree or degree equivalent remains, as far as I am aware. So does the 4^th element. The SRA have said that, if someone has been able to get exemption from both exams (which is unlikely) then the SRA may require the Aspiring Solicitor to undergo some further assessment to satisfy them that they have a sufficient command of the English language to safely practice as a solicitor of England & Wales (I guess Welsh would do!) – given that the SRA would not have seen that through the exams.

Exemptions from the exams

One may apply for exemptions from the exams - from both the SQE1 and or SQE2. Here is a link to an article I have written summarising my research in this area which itself has links to download the form to be submitted and also a guidance note I have written. https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-for-foreign-lawyers-review-advice/

You will see that the form is quite long. Sections 1-4 need to completed in every circumstance.

SQE1 - if you want also to apply for exemption from SQE1 you need to complete sections 5 and or 6 to apply for exemption from the FLK1 and or FLK 2 parts of the SQE1 exam. They require the compilation of a large and detailed dossier of evidence to support your application to persuade the SRA that you already have the requisite knowledge in all the practice areas, experience and that the legal system in which you are qualified as a lawyer is not significantly different from that of England & Wales. These sections of the form start:

“Please tell us below how your qualification and experience are not substantially different to the FLK1 content and standard. This is so we can be sure you can practise safely in England and Wales.

You need to show us that:

1. Your qualification and/or experience cover the areas of law which are assessed in FLK1 and
2. The law of these qualifications which you have practised in your work experience is not substantially different to the law of England and Wales in these areas.”

In webinars I have attended the SRA have indicated that they are much less likely to grant exemption from the SQE1 than the SQE2. It appears to me that so much effort is required across so many different practice areas to successfully gain exemption that one might as well take the SQE1 exam.

SQE2 – you are much more likely to be successful with an application for exemption from the SQE2 exam. You be going to sections 7 or 8 of the form. Section 7 is to be used if you have 2 years professional legal work experience (no definition of this given), but there is no requirement I can see for this to be in England & Wales or in English or Welsh law. Section 8 is to be used if you have less than 2 years professional legal work experience. There is again a requirement to provide quite a lot of information (which I will go through in summary below), but my opinion is that this situation will be uncommon and you are better waiting until you have your 2 years professional legal work experience and then applying through section 7 above for exemption. The application is made through your ‘MySRA’ profile on the SRA website. The fee is currently £265. What you submit together with the form (and presumably proof of your qualification) will vary and I will run through below. The SRA give themselves 180 days to assess your application, although I have heard that they have taken a lot less time with many applications.

7a – if you have 2 years professional legal work experience, gained as part of your qualification – you will not need to submit anything extra. Effectively the SRA are relying upon your regulatory body.

7b - if you have 2 years professional legal work experience, gained post qualification - you need also to get a letter of reference for this work from your supervisor and a ‘certificate of good standing’ from your local legal regulatory body for you and for your referee (or equivalent for the referee if they are not a lawyer). There is guidance in our article on what needs to go into the letter of reference. We have gained clarification form the SRA as to who can provide the letter of reference: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/who-can-be-a-supervisor-sqe2-exemptions-for-foreign-qualified-lawyers/ This might be of assistance if someone at the SRA takes a view that the referee needs to be a lawyer.

7c – if you have 2 years professional legal work experience, gained through a combination of both post qualification and as part of your qualification – pretty much the same as for 7b above, but obviously for a shorter period of time.

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. Hence, my suggestion that you complete your 2 years professional legal work experience.

LPC – what happens if you have actually passed your LPC (the old method of qualification as a solicitor)? If you have a training contract, you might as well finish that. If you do not, the SRA has now given clarification. Here is a link to a summary we have written: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/foreign-qualified-lawyers-sqe1-exemption-if-you-have-passed-the-lpc/ In short: you will need to a) register for, sit and pass the SQE2 exam; b) prove that you passed your LPC (the SRA will ask for your LPC certificate when you apply to become a solicitor) and c) have 2 years full time equivalent QWE (Qualifying Work Experience) confirmed to the SRA by an SRA regulated solicitor (we can help as external confirming solicitors if you do not have an SRA regulated solicitor in your organisation to do the confirmation: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/)

QLTS – if you were part way through qualifying through this scheme when the SQE came in and the QLTS suspended, the SRA have recently given clarification on the route for you to qualify now. Here is a link to an article setting out that clarification: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/qlts-mct-the-sqe/. In summary: If you have passed the MCT but not the OSCE you have 2 options: complete the QLTS route or move over to qualify through the SQE route.

1. If the QLTS route, you need to sit and pass the SQE2, meet their requirements and apply for admission by 31 March 2024; or
2. If the SQE route, as a foreign qualified lawyer follow the guidance above (it seems that sadly the MCT is unlikely to be taken into account)

I hope this has given some assistance in guiding you in these times of transition through from the LPC & QLTS routes to the SQE route to qualification. Feel free to contact us for such clarification as we can give, or indeed go direct to the SRA on the email at the beginning of this article.  

November 2022

Ingemar Hunnings is a qualified solicitor who spent 24 years in private practice, 14 of which as an equity partner. He was head of a department of 60 litigators and was also compliance manager for that department. He now runs a management consultancy, HCL which is a one-stop-shop for business support for law firms. This includes a lot of compliance support, assistance with some case management systems (LEAP & Proclaim principally), support regarding the SQE and other general business support & consulting work. https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/

There has been quite some confusion for foreign qualified lawyers who were part way through qualifying as solicitors of England & Wales when the QLTS stopped when the SQE came in in September 2021. Following a request to the SRA for clarification, we are able to set out their guidance below. We hope this will be of some assistance.

The reply by the SRA to an enquiry from a foreign qualified lawyer as to how to complete the process to qualify as a solicitor of England & Wales. She had passed her MCT on the QLTS route, but not the OSCE.

“If you have completed the MCT there are 2 routes that you can consider taking:

1. the QLTS transitional route or
2. the SQE qualified lawyers route.

These routes are separate and cannot be mixed. If you have passed the QLTS MCT this is not equivalent to passing the SQE1 and you will not qualify to apply for an exemption for SQE2."

QLTS Transitional Route

You can continue to qualify under the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS). If you have passed the multiple choice test (MCT). You must take and pass the SQE2. You must meet the SRA's requirements and apply for admission by 31 March 2024. [N.B. This option is now no longer available if you are not booked in for the October 2023 SQE2 exam; last date to book this was 11th September 2023]

SQE Qualified Lawyers Route

"As a qualified lawyer you will be exempt from the work experience requirement (QWE) of the SQE. We can also recognise professional qualifications and experience equivalent to the SQE1 and SQE2 in total or full components of the SQE1 and SQE2. You may wish to look at the assessment topics on the SQE website to see if they relate to your own professional and academic qualifications. This will indicate whether you may be eligible for any exemptions. Read our Application for recognition of professional qualifications and/or experience guidance. Assessment topics | SQE | Solicitors Regulation Authority SQE1 is made up of FLK1 and FLK2, SQE2 has an oral and a written assessment. Find out more about the assessment topics.

If you are already on your way to becoming a solicitor you can continue to qualify through the existing routes.”

So, in summary:

If you have passed your MCT & OSCE apply now for admission, do not delay.

If you have passed the MCT but not the OSCE

1. Take & pass the SQE2 & apply for admission [N.B. This option is now no longer available if you are not booked in for the October 2023 SQE2 exam; last date to book this was 11th September 2023] OR
2. Take & pass the SQE1 (you are unlikely to get exemption from this & they have said that the MCT is NOT equivalent to the SQE1), you are exempt from the QWE requirement, sit & pass the SQE2 exam, but you may apply for exemption form the SQE2 exam (see here for more on this: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-for-foreign-lawyers-review-advice/)

Link to the SRA page on this: https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/qualified-lawyers/qlts/started-qlts/

Link to a video about this on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY2yOY3KuJ8&t=5s

QWE Confirmation

Foreign Qualified Lawyers are normally exempt from the QWE requirement (but see below). However, if you are not qualified as a lawyer you will need 2 years full time equivalent QWE (Qualifying Work Experience) to be confirmed to the SRA by an SRA regulated solicitor. Also if you are a foreign qualified lawyer who has passed the LPC and want to have this count instead of your SQE1, would will need to have your QWE confirmed. If you don't have an SRA regulated solicitor in your organisation to confirm your QWE - we can help: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/ We have done this now for over 40 people. We always off a free, no obligation zoom to talk things through beforehand.

Here is a link to the video in which the SRA feed back on the 1st SQE2 exam

https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/events/on-demand-events/sqe2-feedback-first-assessment/

There has been some confusion as to who may be a supervisor to write a letter of reference for a foreign qualified lawyer who is seeking to apply for exemption under sections 7b & 7c of the SRA form. The SRA had made reference to the need to supply 'evidence of your professional qualification, eg an admissions certificate or a Certificate of Good Standing' to the SRA for the Supervisor/Referee with the application for exemption. That would indicate that the Supervisor/Referee had to be a lawyer.

We wrote to the SRA to seek clarification. They have written back to clarify that the Supervisor/Referee. does NOT need to be a lawyer. Below is the text of their reply to our enquiry:

"Thank you for your email of 28 October 2022.

For the purposes of an SQE2 exemption we need a reference from those responsible for supervising the applicant’s work. This does not need to be a qualified lawyer or an individual we regulate. However, they must have directly supervised the applicant’s work and confirm they are suitably qualified to offer that supervision.

As we assess each case on its own merits I am not able to confirm if a reference will be accepted based on the scenario you have presented, but we can consider it. We will review this in context with the rest of the application and advise the applicant at that time if we need anything further.

I would also recommend considering the guidance on our website (under the heading ‘How to complete your application’), in particular the guidance for referees under Section 8. While the table for Section 8 is usually not required, the information for references will still be relevant.

If you have any questions please let me know.

Yours sincerely
Simon Prior
Authorisation Officer
Authorisation
Solicitors Regulation Authority"

Please see below for some other information that may be of assistance.

Guidance on what the SRA will accept as evidence of the supervisor's qualification:

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-applications-guidance-from-the-sra-on-evidence-to-prove-the-supervisors-qualification/

General info on applying for an exemption from the SQE2 exam

Please the link below to our page on this where we have put all research on this.

https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-for-foreign-lawyers-review-advice/

QWE Confirmation

Foreign Qualified Lawyers are normally exempt (but see below) from the QWE requirement. However, if you are not qualified as a lawyer you will need 2 years full time equivalent QWE (Qualifying Work Experience) to be confirmed to the SRA by an SRA regulated solicitor. If you don't have one, we can help: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

The SRA has brought some clarity on how a foreign qualified lawyer may apply to them for exemption from the SQE1 exam if they have passed the LPC exam under the old system for qualifying as a solicitor of England & Wales.

You will first of all need to tell the SRA that you wish to use this option. You do this by completing the relevant form on their website. Here is a link to the form with some guidance: https://www.sra.org.uk/become-solicitor/legal-practice-course-route/substitute-qwe-sqe2-equivalent-training/

This means that you will now need to:

a) register for, sit and pass the SQE2 exam
b) prove that you passed your LPC (the SRA will ask for your LPC certificate when you apply to become a solicitor) and
c) have 2 years full time equivalent QWE (Qualifying Work Experience) confirmed to the SRA by an SRA regulated solicitor

Here is a link to a page on our website where we have listed the non-university training providers for the SQE exams: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe-training-providers/

QWE

We can help if you find yourself in a situation where you do not have someone in your organisation who is an SRA regulated solicitor who will confirm your QWE to the SRA. We have provided this service for over 40 people so far from around the world. Here is a link to the service. https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

Fill in the form below with some information if you would like us to contact you to explore how we might be able to help.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO), which is the UK's data protection watchdog charged with enforcing laws that regulate communications, networking and data protection, has opened a consultation on draft Guidelines for employers on who monitor staff. We were asked about this very subject only this week by one of our client firms. The consultation closes on 11^th January 2023.

The guidance discusses monitoring at work and data protection. It is primarily aimed at employers. The first part of this guidance explains your legal obligations if your organisation is considering or is already carrying out monitoring of workers. The second part addresses specific kinds of monitoring.

The guidance provides clarity and practical advice to help employers who are monitoring workers to comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018). The UK GDPR and the DPA 2018 do not prevent an employer from monitoring workers, but they must do any monitoring in a way which is compliant with data protection legislation. Public authorities and all bodies performing public functions should also consider the right to respect for a private and family life enshrined in Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998. This is increasingly important due to the rise of homeworking. Workers’ expectation of privacy are likely to be significantly greater at home than in the workplace and the risks of capturing family and private life information are higher.

Here is a link to the draft guidelines: https://ico.org.uk/media/about-the-ico/consultations/4021868/draft-monitoring-at-work-20221011.pdf

Help

If you want to ask more about this or anything else about data protection, assistance with a subject access request or a review of your data protection policies & procedures, we can help. We have an expert in this area who will be happy to talk with you. We also hire him out by the hour as an external Data Protection Officer (DPO), saving you the cost of having to hire someone full time for that role when you don't yet need that. https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/gdpr-support

Hi everyone,

As promised to those who attended my webinar just now with info on the SQE & QWE route to qualifying as a solicitor of England & Wales, please find below in the comment links to resources to help.

The 4 elements to qualifying: 1 – a degree or degree equivalent; 2 – passing the SQE exams; 3 – 2 years full time equivalent QWE confirmed by an SRA regulated solicitor; 4 – completing the Certificate of Suitability.

Our ‘External QWE Confirmation service’ - click on the title for more info

Other Links below:

Validating Your Degree or Degree Equivalent

What are the SQE Exams

SQE Training Providers (excl universities)

What is QWE?

QWE Confirmation – top 5 tips

Apprenticeships & the SQE

Foreign Qualified Lawyers, SQE1 & 2 Exemptions & our Assistance

Foreign Qualified Lawyers - how to qualify as Solicitors - wider advice on exemptions

Link to our YouTube channel with lots of videos on about SQE & QWE – may we ask you kindly to subscribe so more may see this: https://www.youtube.com/@hunningsconsultancy999/playlists

Foreign Qualified Lawyers - passed the LPC - how to qualify

SQE2 Exemption - Example of message from SRA that the Application has been Granted:  https://www.hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-example-of-message-from-sra-that-the-application-has-been-granted/

SQE2 Exemptions & lawyers from Ex-Soviet countries : https://www.hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/sqe2-exemption-applications-ukranian-russian-belarussian-qualified-lawyers/

How to do the QWE Confirmation on the SRA website: https://www.hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/qwe-confirmation-on-the-sra-website-the-process/

TikTok channel with videos re QWE: qwehelpingemar

With the results of the first SQE2 exam now out, it's been lovely having people get in contact to thank us for our help. This has been Aspiring Solicitors whom we helped by acting as External Confirming Solicitor. They did not think they could proceed with their aim to qualify as solicitors of England & Wales because they did not have an SRA regulated solicitor in their organisation to confirm their QWE to the SRA. However, the SRA does allow people to reach outside their organisation to ask a solicitor to do the honour. We have now helped several dozen Aspiring Solicitors in this way.

See below a link to our service. Feel free to contact us by filling in the form below or emailing: [email protected]

The Law Society has issued new guidance in the light of the judgment given by the Supreme Court in Harcus Sinclair v Your Lawyers. Please see this link for more info: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/regulation/undertakings-what-you-need-to-consider-following-harcus-sinclair-v-your-lawyers