Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Julie Brannan Director of Education and Training Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination The SRA Board has agreed to introduce a common assessment for anyone wishing to qualify as a solicitor – the SQE We will introduce it after a period of development and testing of the design and content of the SQE with an appointed assessment organisation We will continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders throughout the development and testing We have set a target date for implementation of 2020

Why did we make this decision? A common assessment will provide a gold standard for consumers: they will know all solicitors have had their core knowledge and skills assessed against a consistent standard. There will be more choice for students in how they train and more information about which training to choose. They will have a fair opportunity to qualify as a solicitor. Law firms will have a better guarantee of standards and could benefit from a widening of the talent pool. They will have more information about the performance of individual candidates and individual law schools. They will have more flexibility to tailor their training in a way which suits their businesses. Education providers will be able to demonstrate through a transparent and comparable assessment how effectively they are training their students. They will have more flexibility about how they train.

SQE: four requirements for admission

A possible structure for the SQE

A possible structure for the SQE

Possible new routes to qualification

Further work We have consulted separately on the regulations to introduce the SQE and on a common set of principles to recognise the legal competence of those holding other professional legal qualifications We will consult on transitional arrangements later this year. We will propose a period of transition in which the two systems will continue in parallel for a number of years We will work with stakeholders to develop a package of information and support materials for students, trainers, law firms

Procuring an assessment organisation We will appoint a single assessment supplier to design and deliver the SQE We will own the assessment specification and retain control of the performance standard We will have a mechanism to ensure the candidate fee is set fairly We will work with the supplier to develop a community of practice

Key milestones