Guidance

[MP]

Hi everyone!

(Apologies if this is not the right thread where to post this)

By way of introduction my name is Marek and I am currently completing the LPC on a part-time basis.

I have also been working as a corporate/commercial paralegal for a private aviation company for the past 5 years and my experience ranges from PE acquisitions, corporate restructuring, negotiating airport licences/leases, intragroup loan agreements to drafting general aviation commerce contracts.

I currently find myself in a bit of a precarious situation at my company as we no longer have an in-house solicitor who is registered with the SRA, and I am therefore unable to commence my training contract at the said company.

Frankly speaking, panic has been setting in ever since this was communicated to me considering that law firms are gradually phasing out the LPC route to qualifying.

In the past few days, I got organised and created a spreadsheet with all the current TC application deadlines/events etc.

However, the issue is that I do not really have any experience in drafting answers to application form questions and have not networked with any law firms – which I think is really important especially in my case.

Unfortunately, I have obtained a 2:2 in my undergraduate degree due to an illness and the fact that I have been working full time since the first year of my undergraduate studies.

I have been following the TCLA almost since its inception (but never really got involved apart from a couple of instances) and find it to be an invaluable source of information and guidance.

I do plan on going full steam ahead and applying to law firms this autumn even those whose minimum requirements are a 2:1 – one needs to try anyway.

Any tips and pointers in the right direction on which TCLA courses to take and/or other guidance especially in terms of networking/application help & how to stand out will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you for taking the time to read my rant/cry for help. 😊

Regards,

Marek

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Marek - given your experience, have you thought about qualifying with your current employer via the SQE?

You would only need to complete SQE2 given you have completed the LPC and you could get an external solicitor to sign off your qualifying work experience.

This would effectively replace your training contract and may mean you'd even qualify earlier because you could use your past qualifying work experience rather than relying on a future training contract.

 

[MP]

Hi Marek - given your experience, have you thought about qualifying with your current employer via the SQE?

You would only need to complete SQE2 given you have completed the LPC and you could get an external solicitor to sign off your qualifying work experience.

This would effectively replace your training contract and may mean you'd even qualify earlier because you could use your past qualifying work experience rather than relying on a future training contract.

Hi Jessica - thank you for your response and advice.

I am exploring this option and have booked a session with an SQE preparation course provider for some more information as it would be good to get an understanding of the duration of the course and fees.

What I am worried about is that SQE1 materials are examinable in SQE2 syllabus so would be good to make sense of it all since I will not be studying SQE1.

In relation to getting an external solicitor to sign off on my work experience, this is proving quite difficult.

My company approached our external counsel who is a major city law firm but they said they will not be able to sign off on my prior work experience as they had no oversight over my work so I believe I will have to pursue law firm applications even if I complete SQE2.

Unfortunately, I did not have a solicitor (regulated by the SRA) overseeing my work. My manager is a lawyer in Australia but not in England.

A move to private practice does not sound bad though!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica - thank you for your response and advice.

I am exploring this option and have booked a session with an SQE preparation course provider for some more information as it would be good to get an understanding of the duration of the course and fees.

What I am worried about is that SQE1 materials are examinable in SQE2 syllabus so would be good to make sense of it all since I will not be studying SQE1.

In relation to getting an external solicitor to sign off on my work experience, this is proving quite difficult.

My company approached our external counsel who is a major city law firm but they said they will not be able to sign off on my prior work experience as they had no oversight over my work so I believe I will have to pursue law firm applications even if I complete SQE2.

Unfortunately, I did not have a solicitor (regulated by the SRA) overseeing my work. My manager is a lawyer in Australia but not in England.

A move to private practice does not sound bad though!

Does your company have a compliance officer? If so, they can also sign it off.

Often lawyers will not sign it off because there is no evidence - if you have kept a log of what you have worked on and the competencies achieved, any qualified solicitor can sign it off if they are happy to do so, and many will if they can see the evidence of your work, and especially if it is backed up by your manager (ie they agree you have completed the work, they just need someone to sign it off where they are not qualified in E&W).

 

[MP]

Does your company have a compliance officer? If so, they can also sign it off.

Often lawyers will not sign it off because there is no evidence - if you have kept a log of what you have worked on and the competencies achieved, any qualified solicitor can sign it off if they are happy to do so, and many will if they can see the evidence of your work, and especially if it is backed up by your manager (ie they agree you have completed the work, they just need someone to sign it off where they are not qualified in E&W).

We do have a compliance officer but she is based in the US and is a Florida registered attorney.

We were an English FTSE250 company but following a PE acquisition in 2021, our functions have moved over to the US - leaving a very small legal team in EMEA (my manager and myself).

There are currently no E&W registered solicitors in the company.

 

[Jessica Booker]

We do have a compliance officer but she is based in the US and is a Florida registered attorney.

We were an English FTSE250 company but following a PE acquisition in 2021, our functions have moved over to the US - leaving a very small legal team in EMEA (my manager and myself).

There are currently no E&W registered solicitors in the company.

I would still explore whether someone else can sign it off. There are some qualified lawyers who provide this service, albeit at a cost.

 

[MP]

I would still explore whether someone else can sign it off. There are some qualified lawyers who provide this service, albeit at a cost.

Oh, I was not aware of this - that's very helpful. Thank you!