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Will the SQE's Legal Research Assessment Produce Solicitors Who Can Carry Out Legal Research Effectively?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2024

Greg Bennett
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Abstract

With the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) having been introduced in 2021 the training of solicitors has changed. But what impact will its legal research assessment have on their ability to do this sort of work? Here Greg Bennett, who works at BPP in London – where in addition to being a law librarian he is also studying the LPC – gives an overview of the situation and outlines his own concerns.

Keywords

education and traininglegal educationprofessional legal educationlaw collegeslegal research
Type
Main Features
Information
Legal Information Management , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , March 2024 , pp. 32 - 35
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by British and Irish Association of Law Librarians

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References

Footnotes

1 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Briefing’ (August 2020) para 7 <https://www.sra.org.uk/globalassets/documents/sra/news/sqe-briefing.pdf?version=4a3d31> accessed 2 January 2024.

2 ibid para 5.

3 Jemma Slingo, ‘Fees for SQE Fail Diversity Test’ [2021] Law Society's Gazette 9.

4 Ciara Bartlam and Crash Wigley, ‘We Are Concerned That the SQE Fails to Reduce High Up-Front Training Costs’ [2021] Legal Action 19.

5 Niamh Dunne, ‘Liberalisation and the Legal Profession in England and Wales’ [2021] Cambridge Law Journal 274.

6 Emily Hinkley, ‘Report Flags Differences in SQE Pass Rates between White and BAME Candidates’ (Legal Cheek, 16 March 2023) <https://www.legalcheek.com/2023/03/report-flags-differences-in-sqe-pass-rates-between-white-and-bame-candidates/> accessed 31 January 2024.

7 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Briefing’ (n 1).

8 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘Legal Research (Sample Practice Area Criminal Litigation)’ <https://sqe.sra.org.uk/exam-arrangements/assessment-information/sqe2-sample-questions/legal-research> accessed 29 January 2024.

9 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘SRA Response to the SQE2 Pilot’ (8 June 2020) <https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/policy/solicitors-qualifying-examination/pilot/sqe-pilots/sqe2-pilot/sra-response-sqe2-pilot/> accessed 8 January 2024.

10 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Briefing’ (n 1) para 35.

11 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘Statement of Solicitor Competence’ (24 March 2015) <https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/resources/continuing-competence/cpd/competence-statement/> accessed 8 January 2024.

12 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘Costs and Fees | SQE | Solicitors Regulation Authority’ <http://sqe.sra.org.uk/about-sqe/costs-and-fees> accessed 17 January 2024.

13 ‘The Solicitors Qualifying Examination’ (SQEWebsite) <https://sqe.sra.org.uk> accessed 31 January 2024.

14 I am aware that the SQE no longer requires its graduates to complete a training contract as such, rather two years of Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) is what is required, but I have used the term trainee throughout this article to mean someone who has passed their exams, but who hasn't yet completed two years of experience.

15 Solicitors Regulation Authority, ‘Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) Briefing’ (n 1) para 7.

16 Bennett, Greg, ‘Is ChatGPT Any Good at Legal Research – and Should We Be Wary or Supportive of It?’ (2023) 23 Legal Information Management 219CrossRefGoogle Scholar.