Introduction

What would it take for me to qualify for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)? Do I have to go to the United Kingdom and start figuring this out from scratch?

I have a degree and license to practice from India. I do not think I am eligible for the SQE.  It is only for lawyers who are based out of England & Wales.

I am a first-generation lawyer and have practised in various courts within India. I’ve hit a plateau and do not know how to grow my practice further.

I think the SQE requires a superior degree of knowledge and acumen and it is not my cup of tea.

I want to set up a base in the UK and look forward to practising in the UK. But I do not know how to do it.

I think I am too young to start preparing for the SQE.

I have a license to practice law in India and I want to certainly clear the SQE in my first attempt. I have heard that it is a very difficult examination for a lawyer who has not practised in England & Wales.

I think clearing the SQE will help me with my clientele even if I want to continue practising in India.

I have clients who are based out of the UK. I want to be able to file cases for them.

If these questions come to your mind or resonate with you, you are at the right place.

We have solutions to all these questions. This is India’s one and only course where we prepare lawyers for the SQE.

The best part about our course is that you get an entire team to work with you for your success.

You get to put to use all your strengths only if you know how and where to use them. 

Even if you have never read laws pertaining to the UK, our experts will guide you through it and provide an anecdotal experience of the exam itself.

We will ensure that you are equipped with enough skills through regular mocks, essay writing and other sessions to appear for the examination. 

Things you would want to learn before attempting the exam

• How to fulfil eligibility conditions for SQE?
• How to approach the examination and balance time between your practice and examination?
• Sound knowledge of what works and what does not
• Ability to analyse the past year question papers and do a trend analysis
• Ability to write clear and concise analytical answers
• Ability to pass the simulation and practical examination aspects of the exam

Who should take this course

• Anyone who has cleared the first stage of the SQE exam including FLK 1 and FLK 2. 
• Anybody who has (or is currently studying) an undergraduate degree or graduate diploma in any subject (not necessarily a law degree) or equivalent degree, and wishes to qualify as a solicitor of England & Wales is allowed to sit for the SQE exam. 
• Qualified professionals with work experience as a legal practitioner in their home jurisdiction.

How is this course different from other test prep courses

About the Examination & Examination Pattern

Overview

In early 2021, the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) of the UK decided to completely change the assessment pattern for aspiring lawyers who wished to qualify as a solicitor in England & Wales. All aspiring applicants after September 2021, will sit for the same examination.

Previously, the qualification route to becoming a solicitor in England & Wales was different for UK lawyers and foreign lawyers. With the introduction of SQE, all lawyers irrespective of jurisdiction, background and designation will only be giving one exam, i.e. the SQE. This means all aspiring solicitors, including UK university law graduates, non-graduates, apprentices, legal executives, paralegals, and qualified foreign lawyers, will sit the SQE exam.

This change to the qualification route has been introduced by the SRA so that all solicitors of England & Wales meet the same high standards in a consistent way.

Exam Format 

The SQE will be divided into 2 stages, the first stage must be passed before moving on to the second stage.

SQE 1 - Functioning Legal Knowledge assessment. Functioning Legal Knowledge is further divided into two exams - FLK 1 and FLK 2, which takes place over 2 days.

It is assessed by single best answer multiple-choice questions over a two-day period. Ethics and Professional Conduct will be examined across FLK1 and FLK2. 

Please check our Landing page for further information on SQE 1. Link https://lawsikho.com/course/crack-the-solicitors-qualifying-examination-sqe

SQE 2 - Practical legal skills assessment

The assessment topics for SQE2 are listed below. The assessment is taken over five days and involves a combination of written and oral-based tasks. Ethics and professional conduct are assessed throughout.

You are assessed on the following six skills:

• Client interview and attendance note/legal analysis
• Advocacy
• Case and matter analysis
• Legal research
• Legal writing
• Legal drafting
• ​​Although there is no separate assessment called negotiation, all deliveries of SQE2 will contain at least one assessment involving negotiation. Negotiation may be assessed in either interview and attendance note/legal analysis and/or case and matter analysis and/or legal writing.

The practice areas in which these legal skills are assessed are:

• Criminal Litigation
• Dispute Resolution
• Property Practice
• Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice
• Business organisations rules and procedures

All aspects of the SQE2 assessment are compulsory.

Career options after qualifying as a solicitor in England & Wales

Once you pass the SQE and are admitted as a solicitor in England & Wales, you can work:

• As an in-house counsel in an organisation taking care of all their legal needs;
• In private practice. This would include working in private law firms also that look after the legal needs of multiple clients;
• As a sole practitioner, setting up your own practice as a principal solicitor; and
• As law professors at a law school or university. 

Areas in which we will help you to develop knowledge and skills

• Trends analysis of Past Year Paper
• Answer Writing Skills
• Time Management
• How to approach SQE 2

Paperwork to be submitted

Complete the online registration process for SQE assessment on the Solicitors Regulatory Authority website.

Exam Fees

The total candidate fee for the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is £3,980.
- SQE1 - £1,558
- SQE2 - £2,422

All fees are VAT exempt.

Training Methodology

Online 24/7 access

Access to basic study material through an online learning management system, Android and iOS app

Monthly Time-table for self study and Practice Assignments and Mocks

The monthly time-table helps you in completing your syllabus in time. The assignment portal will help you with practicing SQE 2 Written assessments and mock interviews and mock courts will help you with the oral assessments.

Live Online Sessions/Class

Based on the divisions of the Syllabus there will be a live video based online class. You can ask questions, share your personal feedback in this class.

Convenient Class timings

Classes are held after regular working hours ​​quadraple in a week. Typically classes are kept on i.e. Thursday, Friday & Saturday after working hours and Sunday afternoon.

Live Doubt Clearing

You can ask questions, get your doubt cleared live as well as through online forums

Certification

This course is recognized by the National Skill Development Corporation, a PPP under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the Government of India. You will receive a certificate cobranded by NSDC and Skill India on successful completion.

This is how the certificate from NSDC and Skill India will look as per the current applicable format (may change as per the approval authorities):

Course Description

• The targeted timeline for the Course Launch is 1st August 2023. The classes will commence from 4th August 2023. .
• As the design of the Course is self Paced, the enrollment will be open twice a year. 
• Post the Launch, the Course would be granted at a one-time payment of Rs. 1,65,000/- (Rupees One Lakh and Sixty Five Thousand).
• The duration of the course is 6 months, access extendable for 5 years.

SQE 2 Assessment Syllabus

SQE 2 is divided into 2 parts i.e. Writing assessment and Oral assessment. 

SQE 2 Written assessment takes place in a Pearson VUE test centre, like the SQE 1. in India we can find these centers at: Ahemdabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Calcutta, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mumbai, New Delhi, Patna, Pune, and Ranchi. 

SQE 2 Oral assessment takes place at ‘Oral assessment centre’ either in London, Manchester, or Cardiff.  

SQE 2 - Writing Assessment

There are 12 writing assessments, conducted over 3 consecutive days. Everyday you will need to write 4 writing assessments: 
Case and matter analysis 

- Legal drafting
- Legal research
- Legal writing

The themes for each day are as follows:

Day 1: Dispute Resolution; Criminal Litigation
Day 2: Property Practice; Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration, and Practice.
Day 3: Business Organisations, Rules, and Procedures

In SQE 2 both oral and written assessment will be scored together. There is no separate score as SQE 1 for FLK 1 and FLK 2. 

You need to prepare for each of the above types of questions. However, the practice area knowledge and skills that you will be tested on are limited to the following 6 areas (both for oral and written assessment): 

- Criminal Litigation and criminal liability (including advising clients at the police station). 
- Dispute Resolution in the light of Contract Law and Tort. 
- Property Law and Land Law (including taxation).
- Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration, and Practice and Trust (including taxation)
- Business organisation, rules, and procedures (including money laundering and financial services) in the light of Contract Law (including taxation)
- Professionalism and Ethics 

Examination Details 

Case and matter analysis

A candidate gets 60 minutes to complete the assessment including preparation through the document provided and the writing task.

Please check Sample questions here. 

Legal Research 

The duration of this assessment is 60 minutes. 

The candidate will be provided with various resources including primary and secondary resources to assist his/her research. 

The topic provided to the candidate will be outside the scope of Functioning Legal Knowledge.

Please check the Sample question here.

Legal Writing

The candidate will be required to write a legal document like a letter to a client. He/she will get 30 minutes to complete this task. The examiner will provide you with supportive documents to make the legal writing. 

Please check the Sample question here.  

Legal Drafting

The candidate will be required to draft a legal document such as a reply to the notice received by the client. He/she will get 45 minutes to complete the task. The examiner  will provide all the necessary documents and facts to make such drafting. 

Please check the Sample question here. 

SQE 2 - Oral Assessment 

SQE 2 Oral Assessment will be conducted at the ‘Oral assessment centre’ either in London, Manchester, or Cardiff. 

There are two types of skills tests in Oral Assessment: 
- Client interview and attendance note/legal analysis
- Advocacy

The oral assessment will be conducted on 2 consecutive days and each day is divided into 2 parts:

Part 1 - Client Interview and attendance note/legal analysis 
Day 1 - Property Practice 
Day 2 - Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice)

Part 2 - Advocacy 
Day 1 - Dispute resolution
Day 2 - Criminal litigation

Examination Details 

For Client Interview and attendance note/legal analysis 
 
The candidate will be provided with one or more documents stating who the client is and providing an indication of what the client has come to discuss. 

Then the candidate has 10 minutes to prepare. 

After the preparation he/she will have to conduct a 25 minutes interview with the client. The assessor who plays the role of the client in the interview will assess the candidate only on his skills and not on application of law.

The candidate then has 25 minutes to write, by hand, an attendance note/legal analysis of the interview he/she just completed.

Note: Professionalism and ethics will be core parts of SQE2. Questions on ethics will be pervasive throughout SQE2.

Please check the Sample assessment here. 

Advocacy
 
The candidate is provided with documents with case details, he/she then has 45 minutes to consider the documents provided.

This assignment takes place before a judge (role played by a solicitor of England and Wales). The duration of this assessment is 15 minutes. 

Please check the Sample assessment here.

Please note that Professional Ethics is the core part of SQE 2 assessment.

Examination Timeline

What Is Unique About This Course

• Personal guidance: Every candidate will be given personal attention for the preparation on their examination. This is not like a coaching center with hundreds of students in a batch, where teachers don't know your name or your dreams.
• Smart training techniques: Every candidate will be guided about how to write effectively in writing assessments and will be trained for oral assessments. 
• Live session: Live online sessions will be conducted to train you with varoius techniques on the written and oral assessments. 
• Bank of Written Assignments: A bank of assignments will be provided on the topics so that you can practice them on regular basis.
• Conduct of Oral Mocks: Oral Mocks will be conducted on Advocacy and Clint Interview by experts to give you real exam experience.
• Solutions to queries through various platforms: You can ask your queries to our mentors, experts, evaluators, and support team on various platforms like our Learning management system (LMS), WhatsApp groups, emails, calls, and in live sessions.
• Experts: The live sessions will be conducted by the QLTS and SQE-qualified experts. 
• Time management: Personalized time management sessions will be conducted to balance your work and study.
• Actionables and Deliverables will be provided so you can come prepared in the class and can and what you have to do after the class. 
• Time-Table - Monthly schedule for assisting your preparation.

What Will You Learn

• Understand and adopt the writing technique. 
• Exhaustively cover the relevant syllabus, specifically from an examination point of view. 
• To manage your time effectively during the examination.
• Techniques to research for the practical implementation of theory after cracking the examination.

Course Syllabus

Writing Assessment 
Case and matter analysis on each theme 

Theme 1:   Dispute Resolution; 
Theme 2: Criminal Litigation
Theme 3: Property Practice; 
Theme 4: Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration, and Practice.
Theme 5:  Business Organisations, Rules, and Procedures

Theme-wise assignments for this skill- 10 Assignments (indicative)

Legal Drafting

Theme 1:   Dispute Resolution; 
Theme 2: Criminal Litigation
Theme 3: Property Practice; 
Theme 4: Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration, and Practice.
Theme 5:  Business Organisations, Rules, and Procedures

Theme-wise assignments for this skill- 10 Assignments (indicative)

Legal research

Theme 1:   Dispute Resolution; 
Theme 2: Criminal Litigation
Theme 3: Property Practice; 
Theme 4: Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration, and Practice.
Theme 5:  Business Organisations, Rules, and Procedures

Theme-wise assignments for this skill- 10 Assignments (indicative)

Legal writing

Theme 1:   Dispute Resolution; 
Theme 2: Criminal Litigation
Theme 3: Property Practice; 
Theme 4: Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration, and Practice.
Theme 5:  Business Organisations, Rules, and Procedures

Theme-wise assignments for this skill- 10 Assignments (indicative)

Oral Assessments

Client Interview and attendance note/legal analysis 

Theme 1: Property Practice 
Theme 2:  Wills and Intestacy, Probate Administration and Practice)
Theme-wise oral mocks for this skill- 5 Assignments (indicative)

Advocacy 

Theme 1: Dispute resolution
Theme 2: Criminal litigation
Theme-wise oral mocks for this skill- 5 Assignments (indicative)