When will you be exempted from the QWE requirement, which forms part of the steps to be completed to qualify as a solicitor of England & Wales through the SQE route? Until recently we thought this was pretty clear: all qualified lawyers were automatically exempt.

However, recently we have learned that the approach of the SRA is more nuanced. It may be that people are talking about this from differing viewpoints. So, we have sought clarification from the SRA to get this clarified and nail this down.

In summary, although not quite using their wording, the situation is:

a) if you are qualified as a lawyer in any jurisdiction and take and pass the SQE1, you are automatically exempted from the QWE requirement

BUT

b) if you use a pass of the old LPC exam to obtain an exemption from the SQE1 exam, you will NOT be exempt from the QWE requirement, even if you are a qualified lawyer.

We have put below the initial clarification, then the further questions we put to the SRA and then the further clarification received from the SRA.

We hope this will be of help. Should you need assistance with confirmation or sign off of your QWE, for example if you do not have a solicitor or COLP in your organisation - then WE CAN HELP. Here is a link to our External Solicitor Confirmation Service: https://hunningsconsultancy.co.uk/external-qwe-certification-service-2/

Initial from the SRA to our enquiry:

Further questions we put to the SRA:

The SRA's further clarification: