NAVIGATING THE SQE EXAM PREPARATION -

INTRODUCTION

The Solicitor Qualifying Examination (SQE) is an official centralized exam that rigorously makes assessments among the applicants & to grant the successful candidates the license to officially practice law as solicitors in the territory of England and Wales.

It is held by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority for all aspiring solicitors irrespective of their qualifications, background, or nationality as long as they meet the eligibility to be able to sit for the exam.

The SQE Exam format is divided into 2 stages:

SQE 1: It assesses the legal knowledge of the applicant i.e. the legal system of Wales & England, contract law, tort, criminal law, land law, solicitors accounts etc. It consists of 2 Functional Legal Knowledge exams (FLK) of 180multiple choice questions. Each FLK exam takes5 hours and 6 minutes and must be written together on the computer. They are offered over the course of two days. This stage must be completely cleared before sitting for the next stage.
SQE 2: It assesses the practical legal skills of the applicant i.e legal research , legal drafting, case matter analysis, advocacy etc. It consists of 12 written skill assessments which takes place over 2 half days and 4 oral skill assessments which takes place over 3 half days, making a total allotment of 5 days.

An SQE applicant has only 3 attempts to try the exam within a limit of 6 yearsas officially announced from the SRA.

If the applicant makes an attempt but fails to pass either SQE 1 or SQE 2, it will be considered a completely failed attempt at SQE itself. The applicant can try attempt again as long as they didn’t run out of their very limited number of attempts or if the 6 year period has already passed.

Syllabus OF SQE Exam:

The syllabus of SQE is divided into the following portions.

SQE 1

The syllabus portion is further divided into:

FLK Exam 1 Syllabus

- Dispute ResolutionContract LawTortLegal System of England and WalesConstitutional and Administrative Law
- EU Law and Legal Services
- Business Law and Practice*

FLK Exam 2 Syllabus

- Wills and the Administration of Estates*Solicitors AccountsLand LawTrustsCriminal Law and Practice
- Professional Conduct and Ethics
- Property Practice*

* Note: these subjects additionally & collectively cover the subject on the Principles of Taxation.

SQE 2 Exam

This stage requires the applicants to prepare for the 16 practical skills tests which consisted of 4 oral tests and the 12 written tests. Applicants will be assessed on 6 important skills which are:

Client interviewing
Advocacy/ persuasive oral communication
Case and matter analysis- including planning negotiations
Legal research and written advice
Legal writing
Legal drafting

The applicant is required to learn the following legal practice areas which the key skills depended on which are:

Criminal practice
Dispute resolution
Property
Wills and administration of estates
Business practice

MANDATORY REGULATIONS WHILE WRITING THE SQE

Regulation 1: Definitions

SQE = The Solicitors Qualifying Examination.
SRA = Solicitors Regulatory Authority which manages all solicitors and law firms in England & Wales. Introduces standards that the lawyers must adhere to.
External Examiners = Individuals appointed by SRA to oversee the assessments & evaluate the exam papers of the applicants.
Assessment Specification = the document produced by the SRA which information about the content of the SQE.
Assessment Window = A period of time determined by the SRA during which the applicants can write the respective SQE assessment i.e the alloted time for anFLK exam is split into 2 sessions where 153 minutes is alloted to 90 questions per session.
FLK = The Functioning Legal Knowledge required to qualify as a practicing solicitor in England and Wales according to the SRA.
Statement of Solicitor Competence = A list of competencies that are required to be fulfilled in order to qualify as a solicitor under the SRA.

Regulation 2:

Deals with commencement of the SQE Assessment Date which will be officially given by the SRA.

Regulation 3: Eligibility and Identification Requirements

Applicants must create an account and activate it before logging in to write the exam.
The registration after logging in will be completed after verification of the indentification of the Applicant.Amore clarified IDis recommended than the government issued ID.
Before booking and sitting for the SQE assessments, the applicant must complete pre-booking steps as early as possible before each SQE Assessment which are:
1. Complete a diversity survey in which has optional queries for sake of SQE equality. Confirm whether the applicant has an exemption or not i.e if you are a qualified lawyer or a foreign graduate, you can receive exemption to the requisite degree. Confirm whether or not the applicant wished to request Reasonable Adjustments to sit the assessments.
1. If the applicant has a certain physical condition or disability but still seeks to write the SQE assessments, it must be reported to the SRA helpline services in order to receive assistance to sit for the assessments on an equal footing.
Book the assessments as soon as possible after completing all the pre-booking steps.

Regulation 4: Deals with the structure of the SQE.

Regulations 5& 6: Explains the formats of SQE 1 & SQE 2

Regulation 7: Governs the time limits and attempts given by the SRA

Applicants have 6 years from the date they first sat an SQE assessment to either finish the entire SQE or to re-attempt it.Applicants who still have further assessments to sit beyond the end of this period will need to reapply for the SQE all over again. .
If an Applicant fails FLK1, FLK2&/or SQE 2 three times during this six year period they must wait until the expiry of the six-year period before reapplying.Previous passes will not be carried forward.
Under exceptional circumstances, applicants may apply to the SRA to extend the six-year period in Regulations 1and/or 7.2 and/or 7.3. The time period of the extension is left to the SRA to be determined.
Candidates will not be permitted to resit an assessment they have passed in order to improve their marks under any circumstances.

Regulation 8:

Contains the constitution for the Assessment Board.

Regulation 9:

Contains exemptions that are officially determined and announced by the SRA.

Regulation 10:

Contains a Fit to Sit policy in which the Applicants, before sitting for the SQE Assessment, must sign a declaration that they are capable of taking the exam.

Regulation 11:

Contains the Statement of Solicitor Competence that assesses all candidates and the Threshold Standard that must be achieved by the candidate in order to qualify for the position of solicitor. This regulation also allows the applicants with conditions that can impair their ability to appear for the exam to make reasonable requests of accommodation on a case-by-case basis.

Regulation 12:

Deals with mitigating circumstances which can or are likely to affect the participant’s quality of performance or results in the SQE.

Such circumstances include proved biases or irregularities in the conduct of the assessment. If a participant had found proof that their performance and/or results have been or likely to have been affected by such circumstances may make a claim for mitigating circumstances.

This claim cannot be made in the situation where the participant failed to arrive for both FLK exams. All claims should be made according to the SQE Mitigating Circumstances Policy.

Regulation 13:

Identifies and lays down the official means to deal with malpractices and improper conduct by a participant for the SQE.

It also investigates allegations of malpractice in a meticulous process and if proved true, would be sent to the Assessment Board which will inform the SRA of their decision.

Regulation 14:

Contains the SQE Terms and Conditions that allow candidates who seek to withdraw either before or during the SQE Assessments.

Regulation 15:

Allows a candidate to write a first stage appeal or final appeal to the Assessment Board on the given grounds in accordance with the SQE Appeals Policy.

RECEPTION AND MANAGEMENT OF OBSTACLES IN SQE PREPARATION

Every aspect of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination is difficult but manageable and yet there are common obstacles that applicants will naturally face.

Having a clear schedule to be able to sit for the SQE 1 &SQE 2
The SQE assessments have a difficult gap in the ratio between the no of questions given and the official time alloted per assessment i.e the SQE 2 takes 5 whole days, with the written assessments occupying 3 half-days and the oral assessments occupying 2 half days.
Each assessment of SQE had to be completed in a given number of days than just a single day.
Excluding applicants who are well funded or sponsored, there are other applicants whose circumstances will cause some form of difficulty in affording time to be able to take the Assessments which will cause the following risks:
1. The applicant shall lose an attempt without completing the SQE if they are absent on the day of one of the assessments due to circumstances that led to no free schedules to be able to write an assessment during an entire period, uninterrupted according to Regulation 7.
1. Inability to determine the appropriate time for the applicant to decide whether to withdraw from writing SQE 1 or attempt it.
Means of Management

The applicant upon receiving the dates of the respective assessments must throughly plan to ensure that by the time of the assessments, they have a free uninterrupted time schedule to sit the assessments. It can be time consuming and will cost a bit but it is a very viable alternative in ensuring that the applicant needn’t waste all 3 attempts during the 6 year period nor miss a day &fail in completing the assessment (FLK 1, FLK 2, SQE 2).

Applicants who happen to have a remote occupation and/or still in an academic graduate must establish a study plan immediately after choosing the SQE route which must be structured to ensure that the occupational/academic work does not interfere with the Exam Practice.

Burden of Preparation
All applicants to the SQE have to prepare for the syllabus & exam format on their own. There is no institution nor program that will specifically and directly teach the aspirants on acing the Exam.
This also means each applicant has their own speed of progress before they can sit for their assessments. Some applicants have more resources to be able to afford adequate teaching materials to better their learning than others.
SQE exam papers from the previous years are still confidential to accquire.

Means of Management

Potential study groups held by available applicants that have attempted and reapplied for the SQE Assessments with new applicants who can explain the exam question pattern, enabling the management of burden and reading materials which were proved to be reliable.
- Attending official online or offline study courses that cover most of the subjects and practice areas that are a broadly covered by the SQE Syllabus.

The applicants must thoroughly read up on the regulations and sub-rules provided by the SRA in advance so that they can maximize their probability of being able to attend all assessments and to avoid as many risks as they could possibly manage on their own. It will highly benefit the candidates who are not well funded, lacked time or legal experience to amount to qualifying for the SQE.

CONCLUSION

To sum it up, the SQE is time-intensive, difficult to understand let alone predict and will take the most out of anyone that chooses to attempt it but the rewards are greater than the risks, if strived to the point of complete success.

NAVIGATING THE SQE EXAM PREPARATION