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Charity talks to Alexandria Shahade, Immigration Specialist at Kingsley Napley and Licensed US Attorney about the SQE Review -from a Candidates perspective.
In December 2024, The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) commissioned the IFF, a social and market research agency, to conduct an independent review on the premise of evaluating whether the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) is achieving its objectives.
As a candidate who actually completed the SQE courses and assessments, what is your general view of the SQE as a route to qualification?
My general view of the SQE is that it’s very expensive and about two days too long. If the US can vet future lawyers in 2 days the SQE does not need 5 days to accomplish the same.
There seem to be concerns about the pass rate (in particular for the SQE1 assessments).
For example, in October 2024, the pass rate hit an all time low of 44%.
What do you think are the contributing factors? and
I’m hopeful that candidates who are able to use a prep program can pass SQE 1. However, any learning differences requiring accommodations, which the SQE examiners are unable to provide to the candidate, have to be considered. The big assumption here is that you can afford a prep program. It’s frustrating that highly qualified candidates are not able to make it to test day because of this.
My US bar exam prep course and SQE 1 prep course taught essential multiple-choice strategy. Facing 5 possibly correct answers is truly daunting when you’ve got multiple subject areas swirling around in your head. A prep course helps you strategize in this way. Without it, I assume candidates struggle to score enough points in FLK1 and 2, thus the low pass rate.
I’d also assume the examiners are still refining their exam questions given the newness of the SQE exam.
Unfortunately, the SQE 1 and 2 prep courses are cost prohibitive for many, especially when the exams themselves are thousands of pounds each. I passed the US bar exam using Barbri and benefited from an alumni discount for their SQE 1 and 2 prep courses. I trust their program. If I wasn’t working full time I would not have been able to afford it and I appreciate many students don’t have this luxury. Working full time brought its own challenges.
What solutions would you as a former SQE candidate suggest to remedy this?
I think test takers should have the ability to take both SQE 1 and SQE 2 within the same ‘session’ or within a few weeks of one another. Forcing test takers to put their lives on hold for nearly a year while taking SQE 1 and SQE 2, and waiting for the results, is unfair to the candidate and their future/current employer(s).
The SQE 2 - the practical portion of the SQE - should only be 1-2 days long. I appreciate hiring live actors for the real ‘client’ experience and renting huge test centres is expensive. However, reducing the exam days from 3 to 1 would alleviate this cost which appears to be passed onto the candidates.
What do you perceive to be the positive aspects of the SQE? and
I understand why the examiners want to test candidates on their ability to interact with a live client. However, it seems the skills required can be examined in a client interview alone. If the court submission must be included then I’d recommend paring the SQE 2 down to one court submission and one interview.
The negative aspects of the SQE?
Above all, the cost. And the 5-day duration.
I was randomly placed in the ‘evening’ group for SQE 2 which meant I was among the candidates who were held at the test centre from 12:30PM until 7:30PM, without the ability to leave.
Other candidates in the ‘early’ group were only at the centre for 4.5 hours while we were there for a full 7 hours, on both days. It was not pleasant and placed candidates in this group at a disadvantage. When I took the SQE 2 exam the first time I was in the early group and I can confirm the shorter day made for a much better testing experience.
As a former candidate, what advice and guidance would you give to those wishing to qualify through the SQE route?
The best advice that I received while prepping for the US bar exam - and which I used for the SQE - has nothing to do with the exam and it’s this: Get very clear with yourself, and the people close to you, on what will be expected of you during this time (exam prep and exam days). These exams are some of the most time consuming and emotionally draining experiences I’ve had in my life. So, know that people may not be able to rely on you in the same way during this time. And you likely will need to rely on them more in some ways. You will have to say ‘no’ to a lot – for up to a year, or more. Set these boundaries and expectations early, if you are able to.
What aspects of the SQE do you think could be improved to enable the SRA to achieve its goal of advancing social mobility in the legal profession? and
What feasible steps does the SRA need to take to ensure they achieve this?
The main step to reduce the cost is to reduce the number of exam days which should reduce the associated costs i.e. hiring ‘client’ actors, examination space rental/maintenance, etc.
More candidates of all socio-economic backgrounds should be able to take this exam and the cost makes that very difficult.
It’s our responsibility as a profession to ensure these opportunities are available and more importantly, accessible.
Alexandria Shahade
Immigration Specialist at Kingsley Napley
Licensed US Attorney
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandria-shahade-05761b61/
Interviewed by Charity Mafuba
Commissioning Editor,
Solicitor (England and Wales), New York Attorney