What actually is the route to becoming a solicitor now?

I'm sooo confused. There's plenty of outdated and conflicting information. As someone who will be studying law, what is the process? I know there's the SQE 1 and 2, but when is this taken? There's also qualifying work experience. When does this take place? Do training contracts still exist?

Hi @edfoeasol!

Don't panic and certainly do not feel as if you are the only one who is confused by the new system! Training contracts do still exist and these can be a great way to fund your studies whilst training to become a solicitor. Of course, these are very competitive and often you have to apply several years in advance to be able to secure one so they aren't an option that every individual will be able to do. SQE is being slowly phased in and will likely be the most common route to qualifying as a Solicitor. You sit your SQEs after doing your law undergrad or conversion course. You can sit these exams without any teaching, however, they only have around a 50% pass rate and are quite expensive so I would highly recommend doing an SQE prep course before attempting these exams! Once you have sat and passed both SQE 1 and SQE 2 you will have to do qualifying work experience before you can qualify as a Solicitor. There is actually no requirement to do qualifying work experience after your SQEs so you could gain this experience before doing your SQEs if you like (I know some people do it this way round to gain some funds before starting the SQE). Once you have completed both your SQEs and the QWE then you will be a qualified Solicitor!

I hope this helps and let me know if you need any further clarification

Sophie

I'm sooo confused. There's plenty of outdated and conflicting information. As someone who will be studying law, what is the process? I know there's the SQE 1 and 2, but when is this taken? There's also qualifying work experience. When does this take place? Do training contracts still exist?