All you need to know about SQE2

The SQE2 assessments represent half of the SQE examination requirement to qualify as a solicitor in England & Wales. The common next step following this is for the candidate to complete their QWE. If this requirement is already accomplished, then the candidate can proceed directly to apply for admission.

This article will only focus on the components and logistics of the SQE2 exam. If you wish to read tips on how to succeed in your assessments, stay tuned for a special edition on this topic!

Please note that the question of choosing a provider will not be treated in this article but in a separate article providing tips on the matter.

The SQE2 assesses the candidate's practical legal skills. Even if considered as a single exam, it is split into 16 assessments. Some of these are written and the rest are oral assessments, and they all must be completed within the same assessment window.

Some foreign qualified lawyers, but not all, are eligible for an SQE2 exemption unlike LPC graduates who are unlikely to get this exemption. To ensure to be exempted, best practice would suggest contacting the SRA directly on a case by case basis.

Areas of the law assessed

Just like the SQE1, the 16 assessments tests candidates on their knowledge of the following law areas:

• Dispute Resolution

• Property Practice

• Business Law

• Criminal Practice

• Wills and intestacy, probate administration and practice

While the SQE1 assesses purely theoretical knowledge, the SQE2 requires the candidates to apply this knowledge to find legal solutions in the written exams and to apply the notions learned in the oral exams.

Written and Oral assessments

The SQE2 exam takes place on 5 days. If written assessments are the same days for every candidate, each candidate can pick between 3-4 options of weeks to be assessed for oral exams.

Written assessments

The written skills assessed are:

• Legal research

• Legal writing

• Legal drafting

• Case and matter analysis

  
  

The 12 written assessments are spread over 3 consecutive days, usually 3 mornings. On each day, candidates will sit four assessments, split across two sessions with a break of 15-20 minutes in between. There is no specific order e.g. candidates could be assessed on Legal drafting and Legal writing first, then Legal research and Case and matter analysis after the break.

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Case and matter analysis	Case and matter analysis	Case and matter analysis
Legal drafting	Legal drafting	Legal drafting
Legal research	Legal research	Legal research
Legal writing	Legal writing	Legal writing
Two of these exercises will be in the context of dispute resolution and two will be in the context of criminal litigation	Two of these exercises will be in the context of property practice and two will be in the context of wills and intestacy, probate administration and practice	Candidates will sit all assessments in the context of business organisations, rules and procedures

Oral assessments

The oral skills assessed are:

• Client interviewing skills and completion of an attendance note

• Advocacy

The 4 oral assessments are spread over 2 consecutive half days. On each day, candidates will sit 2 assessments, with a break of 15-20 minutes in between. There is no specific order e.g. candidates could start with Client interview and continue with Advocacy or the contrary.

Day 1	Day 2
Advocacy (dispute resolution)	Advocacy (criminal litigation)
Interview and attendance note/legal analysis (property practice)	Interview and attendance note/legal analysis (Wills and intestacy, probate administration and practice)

Date and Location

To book the exam, the candidate will need to either log in to their SQE account on the SRA website, or create an account if they were exempt of the SQE1. New and SQE1 alumni can then book written and oral assessments accordingly. There are several windows during the year to take the exam. If written exams can be taken in the UK and overseas, SQE2 oral assessments will take place in an oral assessment centre, either in London, Manchester, Birmingham, or Cardiff. The SQE2 Welsh oral assessment will only be held in Cardiff.

The process of booking is quite straightforward, and once completed, an email will be sent to the candidate for each assessment day, confirming the time to report (could be different between candidates) to the centre, the location and the duration of the assessments.

On arrival at the test centre, the candidate will need to complete registration and present two different valid IDs. After registering, the candidates will have to put their personal belongings into lockers. No watch or personal belongings are allowed in the exam room. Even bottles of water will be left outside the room and candidates can raise their hand during the exam to go out of the room and drink. Such breaks, as well as using the restroom, will not discount time on the exam session.

For both written and oral exam day, candidates have a 15 minutes break more or less. During oral assessments days, the break will be between the client interview exam and the advocacy exam. As for written assessments days, the break will be after 2 assessments before continuing to complete the 2 others.

Costs and Fees

Aside from the preparation course fee, the SQE2 assessments cost approximately £2,902. Since the costs are subject to change by the SRA, please visit the SRA website to stay updated.

The cost of the preparation course will depend on the provider. Usually, it is expected to pay for a course for the SQE1 exam, and a second course for the SQE2 exam, but some providers do not separate the fees.

Exam fees are payable to Kaplan, organiser of the SQE exam, at the time the candidate books their seat and selects their exam date. Additional costs could be considered in case of resit. The fees for SQE2 must be repaid entirely if the candidate fails.

If you are interested in finding the best funding option for you, stay tuned for our next article tackling funding options for the SQE exam.

Pass mark and Pass rate

As a matter of clarification, the pass mark is different from the pass rate. To simplify, the pass mark is the grade that the candidate needs to obtain to have successfully passed the exam.  On the other hand, the pass rate is the percentage of candidates who passed the exam within a specific cohort.

Pass mark

The pass mark is determined based on a process designed to ensure fair and accurate comparisons between test-takers who sit different papers throughout the assessment window with different levels of difficulty.

Contrary to the LPC, the pass mark is not necessarily 50% but is more likely to be close to 61-62%.

Pass rate

The pass rate has no real importance for the candidates. It only gives a percentage of students who passed the exam (approx. 79%).

Results, Resit and Appeal

After taking the SQE2 assessments, results are accessible within 14-18 weeks of the assessment date. All results are accessible through the personal SQE account of the candidate with the SRA. An option to appeal the results is available under the SRA policy.

Both SQE1 and SQE2 exams must be passed within 6 years from the date of the first attempt at the SQE1 exam. The candidate has 3 attempts to pass SQE2 within the 6 years. If the candidate fails, they will have to take the entire 16 assessments again as they must obtain an overall pass mark.

We hope this article helped you! If you have further questions on this topic, do not hesitate to send a message to frenchlegalprofessionals@gmail.com.

Article by Aurelia Pyneeandee

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