The College of Legal Practice (CoLP) has unveiled its preparatory courses for the new Solicitors Qualification Exam (SQE), declaring them a “generational change for legal education.”
The full online programme preparing students to pass the SQE1 and SQE2 examinations will launch in summer 2021 and is called Developing Legal Professionals (DLP). It is divided into three distinct courses which can either be taken separately or combined as part of a Master of Laws (LLM) in Legal Practice.
They are the Solicitors Legal Knowledge (SLK) course, which provides preparation for the SQE1 examination; the Solicitors Legal Skills (SLS) course to prepare for the SQE2 examination; and legal skills modules, which provide a range of transactional training units across core practice areas.
Hopes of removing ‘artificial and unjustifiable’ barriers to the profession have been dealt a blow as costs for the new SQE are unveiled, renewing fears of a two-tier system.
Hopes of removing ‘artificial and unjustifiable’ barriers to the profession have been dealt a blow as costs for the new SQE are unveiled, renewing fears of a two-tier system.
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February 10 2021
The UK is home to some of the leading law schools in the world.
The most traditional way to become a lawyer in the UK is to study for a law degree (LLB). Students who have studied a different subject at undergraduate level can take the graduate diploma in law conversion course. Most students will also need to take further courses and training in order to specialise. These include the Bar Practice Course (replacing the Bar Professional Training Course), which allows graduates to prepare and practise as barristers in England and Wales, and the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (from 2021).
The ethics section is always the hardest.
Kaplan, the exam setter for the upcoming Solicitors Qualifying Examination, was beset by a rash of cheating in its assessment for foreign lawyers qualifying in the UK, RollOnFriday can reveal.
Kaplan is the sole authorised provider of assessments under The Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS), the gateway exam which costs £3,000 to take and determines whether foreign lawyers can practice as solicitors in England and Wales.
The QLTS is set to be superceded by the SQE in September 2021, which has been designed by Kaplan and will replace all routes to becoming a solicitor.
The expected rollout of Covid vaccines means the SQE should arrive in less chaotic circumstances than those endured by Kaplan in 2020. However, the experience of QLTS candidates has exposed flaws in the integrity of its invigilation process this summer.