Examples of Qualifying Work Experience SQE

Описание: What counts as Qualifying Work Experience?

Examples of QWE

Domestic firms
Slaughter & May (Magic circle)
Ashurst (Silver circle)
DLA Piper (Global)
Kirkland & Ellis (US)
Mishcon de Reya (Mid-sized)
Leigh Day (Specialist)
Judge & Priestley (High Street)
Didlaw (Boutique)
In house
Barclays
Vodaphone
Sainsburys
Government / Government entities
Government Legal Department
Local government / councils
HMRC (where the role involves the application of the law or the resolution of legal disputes)
Volunteer work at legal clinics
Citizens Advice (National)
Islington Law Centre (Local)
Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre (Law school)
Nucleus Legal Advice Centre
Foreign experience
Bredin Prat Advocats (France)
Cazimir (Belgium)
Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein (Germany)
Notarial activities
Kobalt Notaries Limited
Castelo Notaries
MSC Notaries
Exercising a right of audience
LPC law
McKenzie Friend
Free Representation Unit
Conveyancers
Premier Property Lawyers
Advantage Property Lawyers
Gordon Brown Law

You have to complete two years' full-time the qualifying work experience to become a solicitor through the SQE route. QWE can be any activity that involves providing legal services under section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007.

This can include volunteer work, for example with Citizens Advice, or working as a paralegal. Importantly for those cross-qualifying from overseas, QWE does not need to be gained in England or Wales, or even cover English and Welsh law. Your QWE must be confirmed by an SRA registered solicitor (i.e. from England or Wales) or a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP).

You can complete your QWE before, during, or after taking the SQE assessments. There is no further definition of what amounts to two years’ full time experience as a part-time equivalence, in fact the SRA states:

“We will not prescribe what full time (or equivalent) means. We expect QWE providers/employers to take a common-sense view of what they mean by full time.”

Therefore this should be considered by the confirming solicitor. The solicitor does not need to approve that the candidate is suitable for admission to the roll, only that they have gained the relevant experience.

Helpfully, there is no limit to how far back QWE can be claimed, however it can only be gained at up to four organisations.

In this example, the candidate has gained 3.5 years of QWE, over the two years required. The QWE has been at five different organisations, so the candidate will have to pick four of them that add up to the two years. Here, any four of the five periods of QWE will add up to two years of QWE. Also, they can pick the experience they got at any of the organisations. Again, there is no time limit / expiry date to using a period of experience towards the two years of QWE.