7 minute read
Opinion. The SQE- What’s All The Fuss About? asks Catherine Edwards
OPINION
THE SQE- WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?
by Catherine Edwards, Director of Learning and Development & Chair of Education and Training committee, Senior Practitioner in law- Keele University
So what is the SQE? From ‘Autumn’ 2021 anyone who has not already started a law degree or GDL will have to take the SQE to become a solicitor. It is in two parts. SQE1- a functioning legal knowledge test of 360 questions across two exam papers of 3 hours duration each. Yes, 90 seconds per question for 3 hours! The data around reliability makes a convincing case for why so many questions. The syllabus has been set by the SRA and that’s another debate. SQE2 is the skills based assessment. There have been pilots of both exams. We know that the assessment of skills in SQE1 was disastrous from an equality and diversity standpoint. It will not proceed in its current form. This means skills may not be assessed until SQE2- which could be the point at which a solicitor is admitted. However, the areas in which these skills are assessed is very limited. Candidates choose practice areas from Criminal practice; Dispute Resolution, Property; Wills and the Administration of Estates and Trusts; Commercial and Corporate Practice.
Universities We know what is coming and most of us whatever, we think about the proposals, accept the inevitability and have a plan. The detail, the structure, and the areas being examined keep changing, but we get the general idea. Are most of us going to change the content of our law degrees? No. Whatever the SRA thinks about us needing to train students for their new exam, a law degree is a reputable degree encompassing a critical evaluation and debate about law in many many forms. We want our students to experience many different areas of law not just the SQE. Many of our graduates do not pursue a legal career at all. The law degree is not going to suddenly become a training ground for aspiring solicitors. There is the Legal Practice Course for that and those providers are designing new courses.
Now we will be allowed to teach whatever we want on our law degrees we can be more innovative in what and how we teach and universities are most certainly embracing that change. Even research led institutions like my own at Keele is introducing a new pathway for professional legal practice to give students some basics in practical skills before they graduate but we are not teaching SQE prep and this is a choice to study not a mandatory route.
So what do firms need to do?
• Recognise that aspiring solicitors especially at A level stage may not understand SQE.
• Transitional provisions will be in place technically until 2031 although practically most LPC courses will have evolved by then.
• Is the SQE relevant to you? Lots of firms are ignoring it for the first 2 years and then looking at it again for 2023. Guinea pigs? you wish for as long as you need; but they must have had an opportunity to experience the competencies listed in the SRA statement of competence for a solicitor. Ironically they do not actually have to be signed off by you as competent at all! The SQE2 exam assesses that, not you. If they pass the exams and do 2 years QWE then they are admitted (subject to the usual character and suitability checks).
• Will you be willing to sign off the experience of your paralegals to enable them to obtain a patchwork of QWE amounting to 2 years and qualify as solicitors (assuming passing SQE)
It’s all a diabolical idea in my personal opinion, but it is coming. It will not be cheaper. I know students need help to pass exams, especially multiple choice ones. It’s almost as much technique as knowledge. MCQs are difficult to write and bright students often overanalyse them and get them wrong. They will have to pay for test prep courses. The affluent will pay for more prep; the less affluent will potentially buy the cheapest if any. How does that help diversity in the profession?
What we all need to consider is how we make it work for us. One answer is solicitor apprentices- a brilliant idea with a positive impact on diversity and access to the profession.
• Do you recruit a mix of law grads and non law? How will you train the non law grads? The GDL (law conversion course) will still exist in another name.
• Do you want to recruit after completion of SQE1 and SQE2? You then provide qualifying work experience (QWE) in a similar way to a training contact, or use the new freedom to use your aspiring solicitors in whichever departments
There is a lot of information available from the SRA at; https://www.sra.org. uk/globalassets/documents/sra/news/ sqe-briefing.pdf
We will be updating everyone at our conference in June with the SRA in attendance as well as a panel to debate the practical implications of the SQE after the results of the SQE2 pilot.
There are now five Universities which offer undergraduate Law degrees in the city of Birmingham alone, as well as numerous others across the country. Research shows that most students commence a Law degree with the intention of qualifying as a lawyer, so how can universities best support students in achieving their career goals in such a competitive legal recruitment market asks Paul McConnell from Birmingham Law School. PROMOTING ACCESS TO THE PROFESSION THROUGH UNIVERSITY CAREERS SUPPORT
Universities have traditionally offered Careers support through a University-wide Careers Service, but there is increasing recognition that more tailored support is needed for Law students. This is particularly the case for students who may not already have links to the legal profession, as is often the position of many students studying Law locally.
At Birmingham Law School, we have provided specialist legal careers support through our Centre for Professional Legal Education & Research (CEPLER) for several years, alongside our activities linked to Pro Bono and Advocacy. A particularly enjoyable and rewarding aspect of my role at the University is as Director of Careers & Employability within CEPLER, working with a team of four other Law staff to support our students in achieving their career aspirations. A real highlight of this work is the outstanding support that we receive from the local legal community.
Firstly, we run a focused programme of weekly careers events, which aim to inform students about the legal career options available to them, and prepare them for recruitment processes such as interviews and assessment centres. In 2019/20 alone, we have run over 50 events of this type, many of which involve speakers from local firms. A hugely popular event is always our “Birmingham Law in the City” event, at which 60 of our second year students spend a day at Gowling WLG, hearing from a number of local employers about the legal opportunities available in Birmingham. Browne Jacobson, Shakespeare Martineau and Eversheds Sutherland have also kindly hosted our students for in-house events this year. Secondly, we offer an exclusive internships programme, which will provide invaluable legal experience to over 100 Birmingham Law School students this year, supported by bursaries from the University. Local employers which are involved in this programme include Bailey Wright & Co, the CPS, Dass Solicitors, FBC Manby Bowdler, Freeths, George Green, Gowling WLG, Hawkins Hatton, HRS Family Law, Pinsent Masons, Shakespeare Martineau and The Wilkes Partnership. We also work closely with No.5 and St Philips Chambers on mini-pupillage opportunities.
It is incredibly rewarding to hear from our students about their career successes, and we are very grateful to the Birmingham legal community for all the support, which makes a real difference for many students, and provides a fantastic foundation for starting their legal careers.
Our speaker line up includes; Michael Vaughan OBE, Jolean Lescott and hosted by Pete Graves!
