Six misconceptions about the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE)

Solicitors are getting to grips with the SQE, the new style of assessments and the new ways of providing work-based learning through qualifying work experience (QWE).

However, we’ve become aware of some misconceptions around the SQE that solicitors and those seeking to enter the profession have been grappling with.

We’ll tackle some of these, as well as the actual requirements.

If you’re considering offering QWE, you may wish to look at:

• our guide to QWE
• the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) guide to employers and QWE
• the statement of solicitor competence, which sets out the competencies candidates should have the opportunity to develop through QWE

Common SQE misconceptions

1. “SQE1 is equivalent to the LPC”

The Legal Practice Course (LPC) is set at day-one trainee standard. The SQE is set at a day-one solicitor standard, which is higher.

This is reflected in the SQE1 assessment having a much lower pass rate than the LPC.

In addition, the practicalities of the SQE make it a harder assessment for many than the LPC. For example, LPC course providers set and mark their own assessments.

By contrast, the SQE is a third-party assessment, set and maintained by Kaplan, which is contracted by the SRA.

This means SQE course providers have no connection to the assessment provider.

The assessments are long, consisting of (for example) five-hour papers for SQE1, with a small break in the middle.

SQE candidates report high levels of stress relating to the assessments.

With the SQE, feedback on individual areas is not available to candidates to help them understand areas of weakness.

With the LPC, a student received individualised feedback on assessments, enabling them to target specific areas for improvement.

Employers should keep this in mind when considering how to manage employees who fail an SQE assessment.

2. “Ethics is not assessed at SQE”

Ethics and professional conduct are examined across SQE1 and SQE2.

However, unlike a law degree or the LPC, there are no specific ethics questions.

Instead, aspects of ethics and professional conduct are woven into questions throughout the assessments.

The SRA’s statement of legal knowledge sets out the knowledge that solicitors are required to demonstrate at the point of qualification.

This matches the SQE assessment specification for SQE1, and covers areas of practice, as well as ethics and professional conduct.

3. “You can’t speak about any aspect of the SQE assessments due to the NDA you sign”

A  candidate confidentiality policy operates for all SQE assessments. This is common practice for professional assessments to help preserve the integrity of the assessment.

Every candidate sitting an SQE assessment must sign the agreement before starting the assessment.

Candidates must not disclose or discuss any of the assessment content. 

The SRA require this because questions on the SQE assessments are re-used in future assessments.

If the content were shared, this would give an unfair advantage to some future candidates.

Candidates can discuss other aspects of their assessment experience.

The agreement does not apply to, for example:

• the assessment environment
• management of the assessment by Kaplan
• issues experienced with reasonable adjustments

4. “The SQE assessments are biased against minority ethnic groups”

The SQE assessments reflect issues that are unfortunately seen widely in professional assessments.

In 2021, the SRA commissioned the University of Exeter to look at what causes different levels of attainment for ethnic groups in professional assessments.

This was in response to issues of differential attainment seen in SQE assessment results, as well as LPC and Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) results.

The Exeter report highlighted that differential outcomes by ethnicity are likely not due to one single issue, but a range of issues from early education, school, university and access to legal work experience.

The Law Society is working with the SRA and other stakeholders on collective actions to address differences in outcomes by ethnicity.

5. “The quality of your qualifying work experience (QWE) is not checked”

The qualifying work experience (QWE) element of the SQE is more flexible than the previous training requirements.

Candidates must complete two years’ QWE grounded in legal work and the provision of legal services, developing some or all of the competencies set out in the SRA’s statement of solicitor competence.

A solicitor must confirm that the candidates had the opportunity to develop these competencies.

However, the assessment of the skills and competency of the candidate is assessed through the SQE2 assessment, not by the candidate’s employer.

The quality of a candidate’s QWE is important, as it is a core way of accruing the necessary skills and experience to enable them to pass the SQE2 assessment.

The quality of their QWE will also demonstrate to future employers their suitability for solicitor roles. Candidates should have a view to this when considering placements.

6. “SQE courses are not training candidates to be solicitors”

SQE courses are not a required part of the SQE. The SRA does not regulate, accredit or endorse training providers or organisations.

The courses are one way in which candidates may choose to prepare to undertake the SQE assessments. These are not equivalent to a qualifying law degree or an LPC.

Candidates are required to complete a degree-level qualification and two years of QWE, which form essential parts of training and shaping future solicitors.

The SQE assessments assess whether the knowledge and skills of the candidate meet the required standard for practice as a solicitor.