Thousands of lawyers like you immigrate to the UK every year from all across the world.
Until September 2021, overseas legal professionals had to go through the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS). However, the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has since replaced QLTS, and all lawyers, whether overseas or domestic, must now clear the SQE in order to become eligible for practice in England and Wales.
Therefore, Indian lawyers qualifying the SQE can now practice in England as well as India, for example, and subsequently migrate to the UK if they so wish.
Is that what you want?
Lawyers are no longer restricted to the jurisdictions in which they were educated and qualified. Do you want to be part of the growing international legal community?
If yes, you must attend our free, live and online bootcamp on how Indian lawyers can crack the SQE and qualify to practice in England and Wales.
But before you come to the bootcamp, we wanted to share some important information in advance.
What does the market look like?
Solicitors are in high demand across the UK. Measured in terms of revenue, the market size of the legal activities industry stood at approximately GBP 41 billion (over INR 4,000 crore) in 2022. Despite relatively slow growth in 2020, the market has bounced back and has withstood the Covid crisis much better than many other sectors.
According to a Thomson Reuters report on the ‘State of the UK Legal Market 2022’, “The level of spend optimism in the UK legal market is at its highest level in five years (2016-21), and the number of UK legal buyers that are anticipating increases to their overall legal spend has grown in the last 12 months alone.”
In January 2022, the Financial Times (London) reported that London-based law firms are “struggling to fill job vacancies” as the huge demand for legal services and rising numbers of lawyers leaving the industry has caused a shortage of permanent staff”.
Matthew Porter, a director at recruiting company BCL Legal, told the paper that firms are “struggling to fill their vacancies because they are competing for the same people . . . There is a huge shortage of talent in the market right now”,
The report also mentioned that some firms were being forced to turn to temporary staff to meet the demand.
The time is right
The UK has been one of the world’s top immigration destinations for a long time, thanks to its stable economy, democratic society, high standard of living, and the strength of its currency. Despite the current cost of living crisis, the UK’s status as a preferred immigration destination has not suffered.
Given its current policy of welcoming more skilled professionals, many experts have said it is possible that overall net migration to the UK is now at higher levels than before the pandemic, particularly on skilled worker and healthcare visas, though no official figures are available yet.
The huge demand for legal professionals, coupled with the government’s policy of welcoming skilled workers into the country, makes this the perfect time for you to enter the UK legal activities market.
Once you qualify to practice as a solicitor, there are several visa options you can explore, either with or without a job offer. Which brings me to the many benefits of life as a solicitor in the UK.
Benefits of qualifying as an English solicitor
- Your professional profile is elevated to the highest, most prestigious level
- You can take on work that is only available to professionals with this qualification, working on a variety of national and international cases
- As a licenced English solicitor, whether you work in a London law firm or remain in your own country, your legal career will take on a whole new look
- You will be well-equipped with critical perceptions and guidance on the factual and legal elements of conducting business across numerous jurisdictions
- English law qualifications are crucial for providing clients with a global approach to meet their legal service needs because English law continues to be the most popular legal option for international trade, maritime law, and disputes resolution
Don’t you want to see yourself in this coveted position? There’s nothing to stop you once you clear the SQE.
Do you want to clear this exam in one go?
A major reason for taking the SQE route is that it is much easier than qualifying for a similar position in other countries. But “easier” does not mean “easy”.
The SQE is still a very rigorous, comprehensive set of assessments. You need a thorough understanding and expertise in the laws and skills that are assessed in the exam. But this understanding is not hard to acquire, as you will learn.
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