Choosing a TC start date

[anxiouslawyer]

Hi everyone! Super pleased to say that after completing my winter vac scheme, I have been offered a TC at a firm that I really like!

I have (very surprisingly) been offered TC start dates in 2023, I have the option of either March or September. The thing that makes this choice difficult for me is that if I choose the March intake I will be in the firm's last batch of LPC trainees and would start the Accelerated LPC in July 2022. Whereas if I go for September then I'd be doing the SQE as part of the firm's City Consortium programme with BPP, and would start the SQE prep in September 2022.

I've attended a couple of events discussing LPC vs SQE and the LPC seems like it would be "easier", in terms of the assessment style and the fact that I wouldn't need to revise my old core law modules again, which I would have to do for the SQE 1. My TC terms have specified that all modules are to be passed at the first attempt.

I am however hesitating on picking the earlier start date as I have also been offered a policy role with the Civil Service to start in January, in a department that is relevant to an area of law that is of great interest to me. It's a great opportunity that I'm keen to take on before starting my law course / TC. If I go for the earlier March 2023 intake I don't think it's really worth accepting the role as it would mean I only have about 6 months in it, which seems a bit too short to be worth it.

Any thoughts / advice would be greatly appreciated @Jessica Booker keen to hear your thoughts as well!

 

[James Carrabino]

Hi everyone! Super pleased to say that after completing my winter vac scheme, I have been offered a TC at a firm that I really like!

I have (very surprisingly) been offered TC start dates in 2023, I have the option of either March or September. The thing that makes this choice difficult for me is that if I choose the March intake I will be in the firm's last batch of LPC trainees and would start the Accelerated LPC in July 2022. Whereas if I go for September then I'd be doing the SQE as part of the firm's City Consortium programme with BPP, and would start the SQE prep in September 2022.

I've attended a couple of events discussing LPC vs SQE and the LPC seems like it would be "easier", in terms of the assessment style and the fact that I wouldn't need to revise my old core law modules again, which I would have to do for the SQE 1. My TC terms have specified that all modules are to be passed at the first attempt.

I am however hesitating on picking the earlier start date as I have also been offered a policy role with the Civil Service to start in January, in a department that is relevant to an area of law that is of great interest to me. It's a great opportunity that I'm keen to take on before starting my law course / TC. If I go for the earlier March 2023 intake I don't think it's really worth accepting the role as it would mean I only have about 6 months in it, which seems a bit too short to be worth it.

Any thoughts / advice would be greatly appreciated @Jessica Booker keen to hear your thoughts as well!

Congratulations on both of these offers, what a huge achievement! It depends how much you think you will enjoy the policy role - if you find that the Civil Service is your true calling then a year would be too short. I think that 6 months is not too short of a time to get a decent amount out of your Civil Service role and to have something interesting on your CV as a result, if that is what you are hoping for.

Regarding LPC vs SQE, I would not worry about the format of the exam or whether one is easier than the other. Thousands have done the LPC and thousands will do the SQE - you will be fine either way. The only thing you said about having to study your old modules means that it could be a bit more tedious but if you really want to spend more than 6 months in the policy role then it is probably worth it!

Congratulations again - the choice you have is a very enviable one

 

[AvniD]

Hi everyone! Super pleased to say that after completing my winter vac scheme, I have been offered a TC at a firm that I really like!

I have (very surprisingly) been offered TC start dates in 2023, I have the option of either March or September. The thing that makes this choice difficult for me is that if I choose the March intake I will be in the firm's last batch of LPC trainees and would start the Accelerated LPC in July 2022. Whereas if I go for September then I'd be doing the SQE as part of the firm's City Consortium programme with BPP, and would start the SQE prep in September 2022.

I've attended a couple of events discussing LPC vs SQE and the LPC seems like it would be "easier", in terms of the assessment style and the fact that I wouldn't need to revise my old core law modules again, which I would have to do for the SQE 1. My TC terms have specified that all modules are to be passed at the first attempt.

I am however hesitating on picking the earlier start date as I have also been offered a policy role with the Civil Service to start in January, in a department that is relevant to an area of law that is of great interest to me. It's a great opportunity that I'm keen to take on before starting my law course / TC. If I go for the earlier March 2023 intake I don't think it's really worth accepting the role as it would mean I only have about 6 months in it, which seems a bit too short to be worth it.

Any thoughts / advice would be greatly appreciated @Jessica Booker keen to hear your thoughts as well!

Congratulations on your offers- such amazing achievements! 👏 👏 👏

From what you're describing, the TC can wait but the civil service role can't and since you have the opportunity to do both roles without compromising on either, I'd say go for the later start date.

As @James Carrabino said, don't worry about LPC v. SQE- you'll have more than enough support in whichever route you pick. The LPC is hard in its own way, and many struggle with the sheer volume of things they need to learn, even if the content is 'easier' than the SQE. So don't make this decision based on what you think will be easier because there's no way of knowing that until you do both.

Let us know how this goes for you!

 

[Jessica Booker]

I take a different view on this to James and Avni.

The SQE is likely to be more difficult to pass based on the assessments it is designed from. Although we haven’t seen anyone pass the SQE yet (won’t until mid 2022), the assessments are very similar to the QLTS which has some pretty low pass rates.

There are a range of arguments as to why those pass rates are low (predominately non English native speakers/typically working while trying to pass) but all the time we haven’t seen any reliable pass rate statistics for the SQE, I would say taking the SQE route is riskier.

There are some other things to consider with the SQE too. For instance, you aren’t guaranteed employment for two years like you would be with the LPC route.

 

[anxiouslawyer]

There are some other things to consider with the SQE too. For instance, you aren’t guaranteed employment for two years like you would be with the LPC route.

Not sure I understand this, what do you mean by not guaranteed employment? Isn't the TC virtually the same whether you do the LPC or SQE?

Also thanks @James Carrabino and @AvniD for the congratulatory messages and input!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Not sure I understand this, what do you mean by not guaranteed employment? Isn't the TC virtually the same whether you do the LPC or SQE?

Also thanks @James Carrabino and @AvniD for the congratulatory messages and input!

A traditional TC was pretty much guaranteed employment for two years - firms don’t have things like probationary periods in LPC TCs because the commitment was two years of training with one employer. Only things like misconduct would have really allowed a firm to terminate your TC (or the firm going bust). The TC was attached to your employer (they were regulated) as much as it was tied to you as an employee and that gave trainees a range of protections.

With the SQE, firms are no longer regulated as training providers. You can also qualify by gaining qualifying work experience with multiple employers, and so a firm has no requirement to keep you on (like they currently do) as ultimately you could still qualify with another organisation. The qualification process is solely with you as an individual. It’s not attached to the firm in anyway.

So I would expect firms to be much more like the investment banks and professional services firms who recruit graduates, and start to have probation periods in employment contracts. They could technically make you redundant too if they wanted to - something that would be almost impossible for them to do now.

 

[anxiouslawyer]

A traditional TC was pretty much guaranteed employment for two years - firms don’t have things like probationary periods in LPC TCs because the commitment was two years of training with one employer. Only things like misconduct would have really allowed a firm to terminate your TC (or the firm going bust). The TC was attached to your employer (they were regulated) as much as it was tied to you as an employee and that gave trainees a range of protections.

With the SQE, firms are no longer regulated as training providers. You can also qualify by gaining qualifying work experience with multiple employers, and so a firm has no requirement to keep you on (like they currently do) as ultimately you could still qualify with another organisation. The qualification process is solely with you as an individual. It’s not attached to the firm in anyway.

So I would expect firms to be much more like the investment banks and professional services firms who recruit graduates, and start to have probation periods in employment contracts. They could technically make you redundant too if they wanted to - something that would be almost impossible for them to do now.

Interesting, I didn't realise there was this change too tbh - though on my end I have no way of knowing how it's going to affect my employment terms with the firm I'm signing on to, as I wouldn't see the actual employment contract until later. I can only see that currently the expectation is to still complete 2 years of training with the firm.

It looks like historically the pass rates for the QLTS multiple-choice tests are around 50-60%, if the SQE pass rates sort of track onto that then firms are going to start losing like half their potential trainees but no real way of knowing until next year which doesn't help me as I have to make a decision within a month 😅

Thanks for the input - am leaning towards the later start date at the moment simply because I'm reluctant to pass up the Civil Service opportunity, but you've given me a lot to think about!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Interesting, I didn't realise there was this change too tbh - though on my end I have no way of knowing how it's going to affect my employment terms with the firm I'm signing on to, as I wouldn't see the actual employment contract until later. I can only see that currently the expectation is to still complete 2 years of training with the firm.

It looks like historically the pass rates for the QLTS multiple-choice tests are around 50-60%, if the SQE pass rates sort of track onto that then firms are going to start losing like half their potential trainees but no real way of knowing until next year which doesn't help me as I have to make a decision within a month 😅

Thanks for the input - am leaning towards the later start date at the moment simply because I'm reluctant to pass up the Civil Service opportunity, but you've given me a lot to think about!

SQE2 is also based on the QLTS OSCE and that also is around the 60-70% pass mark

QLTS | Kaplan Assessments

The Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) is no longer available. The Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) has taken its place. Find information on transitional arrangements and more.

qlts.kaplan.co.uk

 

[Velikilawyer123]

Hey, if I can chime in here as well, I was in a similar position re doing a role I really liked or having to pass up on it (or severely limit it) for an earlier start date. The earlier one guaranteed doing the LPC, while the later one meant I'd have to do the SQE. I went with the later start date as I reasoned that I'm capable of taking another exam, I've done hard exams in my life and I'm not going for stellar grades here, just a pass, but the role was something I wouldn't be able to do at a later date and it would be very relevant to my future career and goals.

So ultimately the choice is fully yours, just make sure you're happy / aware of what you're gaining / giving up either way

 

[anxiouslawyer]

Hey, if I can chime in here as well, I was in a similar position re doing a role I really liked or having to pass up on it (or severely limit it) for an earlier start date. The earlier one guaranteed doing the LPC, while the later one meant I'd have to do the SQE. I went with the later start date as I reasoned that I'm capable of taking another exam, I've done hard exams in my life and I'm not going for stellar grades here, just a pass, but the role was something I wouldn't be able to do at a later date and it would be very relevant to my future career and goals.

So ultimately the choice is fully yours, just make sure you're happy / aware of what you're gaining / giving up either way

Thank you so much! I feel better after hearing about what you chose in a similar position, so thank you for sharing

As an update, I phoned up grad rec to discuss this with them and it turns out even if I'd chosen March 2023 they were unlikely to have allocated it to me anyway as they're prioritising the earlier intake for those who've already completed / are completing the LPC. So I ended up not really having to make a choice which is actually a bit of a relief 😅 so the SQE it is for me!

Either way - I've sent in my TC acceptance and am now officially a future trainee solicitor!! I never imagined myself in this position a few years ago and I am ecstatic to be here now. Thanks to everyone who offered their support!

 

[James Carrabino]

Thank you so much! I feel better after hearing about what you chose in a similar position, so thank you for sharing

As an update, I phoned up grad rec to discuss this with them and it turns out even if I'd chosen March 2023 they were unlikely to have allocated it to me anyway as they're prioritising the earlier intake for those who've already completed / are completing the LPC. So I ended up not really having to make a choice which is actually a bit of a relief 😅 so the SQE it is for me!

Either way - I've sent in my TC acceptance and am now officially a future trainee solicitor!! I never imagined myself in this position a few years ago and I am ecstatic to be here now. Thanks to everyone who offered their support!

It seems that you are somewhat relieved and happy to have had this decision made for you... which tells me it was the right decision Congratulations again on both incredible opportunities you have coming up in the next few years!

 

[Velikilawyer123]

Thank you so much! I feel better after hearing about what you chose in a similar position, so thank you for sharing

As an update, I phoned up grad rec to discuss this with them and it turns out even if I'd chosen March 2023 they were unlikely to have allocated it to me anyway as they're prioritising the earlier intake for those who've already completed / are completing the LPC. So I ended up not really having to make a choice which is actually a bit of a relief 😅 so the SQE it is for me!

Either way - I've sent in my TC acceptance and am now officially a future trainee solicitor!! I never imagined myself in this position a few years ago and I am ecstatic to be here now. Thanks to everyone who offered their support!

Congrats on the decision then, and best of luck with the Civil Service role! If you don't mind me asking, which firm will you be joining?

 

[anxiouslawyer]

Congrats on the decision then, and best of luck with the Civil Service role! If you don't mind me asking, which firm will you be joining?

Herbert Smith

 

[James Carrabino]

Herbert Smith

Meet your future colleague @George Maxwell 😊

 

[George Maxwell]

Herbert Smith

@anxiouslawyer do reach out! Would be great to chat with you. Very happy to learn about someone joining the same firm as me 🚀

I am really glad too to hear that things were simpler than initially thought. I know that will have relieved some of the stress of deciding (it definitely would have for me!).

@Jessica Booker thank you for providing some fantastic advice on here too about the SQE. Really interesting insight some of which I was not aware of either.