Solicitors Qualifying Examination : SQE Exam Explained
The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is your gateway to becoming a solicitor in England and Wales. This comprehensive assessment is divided into two parts - SQE1 and SQE2 - testing your legal knowledge and practical skills.
To qualify as a solicitor you will need
The SQE is split into two assessments :
SQE1 and SQE2 (Update Sept-2021)
Degree or equivalent
You must have a degree in any subject (or equivalent qualification or work experience).
SQE assessments
You'll have to pass both SQE assessments - SQE1 focuses on functioning legal knowledge and SQE2 on practical legal skills and knowledge.
Qualifying Work Experience
You will need to complete at least two years’ full-time (or equivalent) Qualifying Work Experience (QWE). Know more about : SQE Qualifying Work Experience (QWE)
Character and Suitability
Your character and suitability will be treated as seriously as your knowledge and skills.
The “Day One Solicitor” Standard
The questions in SQE are designed to assess legal skills using fundamental rules and principles at the level required of a competent newly qualified Solicitor.
They are not designed to test specialist practice which is unlikely to be encountered at the level of a Day One Solicitor.
Candidates are required to apply relevant core legal principles and rules appropriately and effectively, at the level of a competent newly qualified solicitor in practice, to realistic client-based and ethical problems and situations.
6834 +
Students preparing SQE
3482 +
Student took SQE in 2022
56 %
SQE1 pass rate in 2023
71 %
SQE2 pass rate in 2022
Understanding SQE1
SQE1 consists of two Functioning Legal Knowledge assessments - FLK 1 and FLK 2: each of 180 single best answer Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ).
- Assessment Day: split into two sessions of 2 hours 33 minutes with 90 questions in each session. There will be a 60 minute break between the sessions.
- FLK 1: Business Law and Practice; Dispute Resolution; Contract; Tort; Legal System of England and Wales; Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law and Legal Services .
- FLK 2: Property Practice; Wills and the Administration of Estates; Solicitors Accounts; Land Law; Trusts; Criminal Law and Practice.
Ethics
Criminal Law
Criminal Practice
Wills
Property Practice
Land Law
Dispute Resolution
Legal Services
Legal system of England
Solicitors Accounts
Business Law
Contract
Tort
Trust
Constitutional, Administrative & EU Law
Understanding SQE2
The SQE2 assessment is divided into two parts, although there is one pass mark for the assessment as a whole:
SQE2 Syllabus
- Criminal Litigation
- Dispute Resolution
- Property Practice
- Wills and Intestacy
- Probate Administration
- Practice Business Law
SQE2 Written
- CMA case and matter analysis
- LR legal research
- LW legal writing
- LD legal drafting
SQE2 Oral
- Interview and attendance note/legal analysis
- Advocacy
Timing
- 2 Oral assessments per day, 4 in total over 2 half days
- 4 Written assessments per day, divided into 2 sessions of 2 each over 3 days
- Sessions: 2 sessions of 1 hour 30 minutes each, with 15 minutes break
- Total: 5 days
Format
- Practical legal skills assessment
- Oral: Client interview & Advocacy
- Written: CMA, LR, LW, LD
- 5 Areas of Law: CL, DR, PP, WI, BL
Each grade representation
Candidates will be evaluated based on specific assessment criteria for each of the six types of legal skills stations in SQE2. Trained assessors will make judgments on your performance using a grading scale from A to F. Here's what each grade represents
Superior performance
Your performance exceeds the competency requirements of the assessment.
Clearly satisfactory
You clearly meet the competency requirements of the assessment.
Marginal pass
Your performance just meets the competency requirements of the assessment, but only by a small margin.
Marginal fail
Your performance just falls short of meeting the competency requirements of the assessment, but only by a small margin.
Clearly unsatisfactory
Your performance clearly does not meet the competency requirements of the assessment.
Poor performance
Your performance is well below the competency requirements of the assessment.
SQE2 in Numbers
5 Days - 4 Oral Assessments and 12 Written legal skills assessments
The Exam Day
-
D1 8AM
Advocacy and Cl. Interview
Dispute Resolution - Property Practice -
D2 8AM
Advocacy and Cl. Interview
Criminal Litigation - Wills and Probate -
D3 2PM
Written: CMA - LD - LR - LW
Criminal Litigation - Dispute Resolution -
D4 2PM
Written: CMA - LD - LR - LW
Property Practice - Wills and Probate -
D5 8AM
Written: CMA - LD - LR - LW
Business Law
Popular Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Course
You can only be admitted to the roll of solicitors once you have:
- passed all SQE assessments
- have a degree (in law or another subject) or equivalent qualification or experience (such as a solicitor apprenticeship)
- completed a minimum period of two years of Qualifying Work Experience (qualified lawyers are exempt)
- meet the SRA character and suitability requirements
You will need to apply to the roll of solicitors and undergo screening, as well as pay the SRA fees. Become Solicitor - SQE
Fees for assessments
SQE1 - £1,622 (£811 for FLK1 and £811 for FLK2)
SQE2 - £2,493
All fees are VAT exempt.
New fees
The SRA has agreed an increase in the candidate fee for the SQE assessment. Across the two exams this means SQE1 will go up from £1,622 to £1,798 (i.e. £899 for FLK1 and £899 for FLK2) and SQE2 from £2,493 to £2,766 (overall increase of 11%). The fee rise will take effect from September 2023. It will therefore apply to anyone booking to take the SQE2 in October 2023 (booking opens for the October SQE2 at 10am (UK time) on 21 June 2023) and subsequent assessments.
This increase is due to inflation. The SRA has a rigorous annual monitoring process in place to review candidate fees with Kaplan. This is to make sure the SQE continues to offer good value for money and any increase in fees is justified.
Candidates are required to apply relevant core legal principles and rules appropriately and effectively, at the level of a competent newly qualified solicitor in practice, to realistic client-based and ethical problems and situations. Your assessment for the SQE exams will evaluate your legal knowledge at the level expected of a Day One Solicitor.
Everyone has only three attempts at each assessment, to be passed within six years from the first sitting of an SQE assessment. Wasting an attempt by having a go before you are ready is not only expensive, but could risk being demoralising and slowing down your qualification journey.
Don’t just take our word for it
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