Preparing for the SQE

[average_jo123]

Hi all,

Recent news about firms revoking TCs for failing the SQE1 has given me quite a lot of jitters. My offer letter also stipulates that my TC offer is conditional upon passing the SQE on first attempt, so failing really isn't an option for me and I want to give myself my best shot at getting this right.

I am due to start the LLM Legal Practice (SQE1&2) prep course at ULaw London Moorgate in September 2024. Was wondering if anyone here could shed some light on how best to prepare ahead of the course start date? If there is realistically nothing I can do ahead of the course starting, for those who have finished the SQE1, is there anything you wish you had known earlier when you first started the course that would have made the exams less painful?

Just for some context, I did a 3-year undergrad law degree, graduated in summer 2023.

 

[average_jo123]

Just wanted to add... I have also read bits and bops about how there's a lot of new content to be learnt whilst on the course but there is not enough time to catch up on actual black letter law. For those who have done the SQE with a course provider (e.g. BPP, ULaw), did you find that the materials provided by your provider was sufficient for learning on the go? Or did you have to essentially study e.g. contract law principles again from scratch? How much law did you need to know for the exam - do you need to go into detail of knowing the exact case authority which best fits the question?

I am on a gap year now and I honestly can't remember any law that I've learnt from my undergrad days because I clear that info from my brain as soon as I'm done with the exam. Should I be worried if I cannot remember ANYTHING from my undergrad days?

 

[AlexJ]

Just wanted to add... I have also read bits and bops about how there's a lot of new content to be learnt whilst on the course but there is not enough time to catch up on actual black letter law. For those who have done the SQE with a course provider (e.g. BPP, ULaw), did you find that the materials provided by your provider was sufficient for learning on the go? Or did you have to essentially study e.g. contract law principles again from scratch? How much law did you need to know for the exam - do you need to go into detail of knowing the exact case authority which best fits the question?

I am on a gap year now and I honestly can't remember any law that I've learnt from my undergrad days because I clear that info from my brain as soon as I'm done with the exam. Should I be worried if I cannot remember ANYTHING from my undergrad days?

You don’t have much time to learn the underlying law- although the materials we were given were quite helpful. It might be useful to get these off someone currently doing the course to look at over summer

 

[O]

Commenting to follow!

 

[rosec]

Don’t have any advice as I’m also starting in September but just wanted to drop by and say that you’re not alone with these worries, the thought of doing the SQE has me absolutely terrified 😭 my TC offer states the same so just know that we’re all in this together
Also don’t worry, I can’t remember anything from my undergrad modules either 😭

 

[plw]

Hi all,

Recent news about firms revoking TCs for failing the SQE1 has given me quite a lot of jitters. My offer letter also stipulates that my TC offer is conditional upon passing the SQE on first attempt, so failing really isn't an option for me and I want to give myself my best shot at getting this right.

I am due to start the LLM Legal Practice (SQE1&2) prep course at ULaw London Moorgate in September 2024. Was wondering if anyone here could shed some light on how best to prepare ahead of the course start date? If there is realistically nothing I can do ahead of the course starting, for those who have finished the SQE1, is there anything you wish you had known earlier when you first started the course that would have made the exams less painful?

Just for some context, I did a 3-year undergrad law degree, graduated in summer 2023.

Hey, I passed the SQE exams recently and pretty well too so can provide some insights.

Preparing for SQE 1

The SQE 1 is designed to test your mental bandwidth across 16 different subjects in two papers. It is looking more for the breadth of your knowledge rather than depth (which your LLB/LLM would have tested). This means that you have to be comfortable with toggling between different areas of law in one sitting. It does not expect you to remember different judges opinions, case names or dissenting commentary, its primary aim is to test your understanding of legal concepts and principles.

It took me a while to get used to this system of testing but ultimately the best resource is question banks. ULaw provides an amazing database full of questions that will test your ability to recall answers and look for keywords to quickly pick the answer (1 minute 42 seconds is the time recommended per question)

There are other free and paid resources out there (and more will soon follow) that you can use if you would like something different from ULaw. Ultimately, candidates sign an NDA before taking the exam so it is impossible for prep courses and schools to know what comes out. Therefore, it is worthwhile to try a couple of resources as opposed to relying on just one resource.

I made a post back in December on the question banks currently available that are free or affordable that you can check here:

Best SQE 1 Resources

Hey everyone, I recently sat the SQE 1 exams and got high 70s in them. I had a course provider but mainly used other resources to help with revision and practice. I hope they can help, especially for those sitting in January 2024. Question Banks - https://britishlawacademy.com/?p=1545 (Free)...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

What you can do now

For now, all you can realistically do is brush up on your underlying legal knowledge (criminal law, trust law, contract law, tort law, public law, land law, and legal systems). It is unlikely that ULaw will go through these with you during classes as they will be teaching you new subjects such as criminal litigation, civil dispute resolution, business law, property practice, wills, and ethics. Therefore, I highly recommend you get a head start on the underlying law subjects as these are given equal weightage as the new subjects you will learn with ULaw.

Depending on ULaw, you may be given early access to their database of questions maybe 1-2 months before your course starts. So in the meantime, you may revisit some old notes or use some of the question banks currently in the market to start testing your MCQ instincts.

You can start by practicing studying concepts, such as active recall and spaced repetition, and reminding yourself that this exam is not concerned with nuanced commentary and judges' opinions, it is about testing your efficiency and accuracy with concepts. Keep your notes simple, neat, and to the point considering the sheer breadth of the content. By doing this now, you will be less overwhelmed once ULaw teaches you the new subjects.



I'll end by saying this, the SQE is a tough and intense exam. Some may only need 4 months of prep to get a distinction and some may need 9-10 months to pass. It mainly comes down to your consistency and whether you're willing to adapt to this unorthodox method of testing legal knowledge. Considering you are already intrigued to learn at such an early stage, you may be less caught off guard once you start the course. I hope this helps and best of luck, you will be fine.

 

[Seabird15]

I would seriously recommend starting the black letter law while you can. Like you, I had done my LLB some time ago and was also on my gap year before I started at BPP. Finishing making flashcards for 3/4 modules on the black letter law before the course even started was a godsend. I had SO much less to do and could actually take most weekends off during the course (except in the month before SQE 1 obviously), whereas most of my classmates simply could not keep up or left it right until the last minute. Do not underestimate how important the non-taught subjects are, especially tort and legal services in my opinion. Almost the entirety of my SQE 1 exams were black letter law based for both FLK 1 and FLK 2.

 

[Seabird15]

Just wanted to add... I have also read bits and bops about how there's a lot of new content to be learnt whilst on the course but there is not enough time to catch up on actual black letter law. For those who have done the SQE with a course provider (e.g. BPP, ULaw), did you find that the materials provided by your provider was sufficient for learning on the go? Or did you have to essentially study e.g. contract law principles again from scratch? How much law did you need to know for the exam - do you need to go into detail of knowing the exact case authority which best fits the question?

I am on a gap year now and I honestly can't remember any law that I've learnt from my undergrad days because I clear that info from my brain as soon as I'm done with the exam. Should I be worried if I cannot remember ANYTHING from my undergrad days?

1. Do not be worried that you don't remember anything from your undergrad days. It will come back to you really quickly and in any case, the SQE only tests the surface legal principles rather than critical legal thought like at Uni.

2. You needed to know A LOT of legal principles but not legal argument. If there was a 'landmark' case I did actually try and remember the facts of the case (not the name) because I had heard that many of the questions in the exam mirrored a case authority and didn't want to leave it to chance. This worked in my favour but it is certainly not disastrous if you don't want to.

 

[InvesmentBanker]

As stated above, revise your underlying law (criminal, trusts, land, tort and contract) as much as possible. This is about 50% of the exam and won't be taught in your preparation course. There is very little time to study everything and so getting that head start is incredibly useful.

 

[legallyblonde500]

I would seriously recommend starting the black letter law while you can. Like you, I had done my LLB some time ago and was also on my gap year before I started at BPP. Finishing making flashcards for 3/4 modules on the black letter law before the course even started was a godsend. I had SO much less to do and could actually take most weekends off during the course (except in the month before SQE 1 obviously), whereas most of my classmates simply could not keep up or left it right until the last minute. Do not underestimate how important the non-taught subjects are, especially tort and legal services in my opinion. Almost the entirety of my SQE 1 exams were black letter law based for both FLK 1 and FLK 2.

This is very helpful, thank you! Can I ask how you found the BPP prep course and how you went about making your flashcards for the Black Letter law subject ahead of your course start date? Would be great to know if you relied on your uni notes, or whether you used any of the Revise SQE or ULaw textbooks (which are heard are pretty good). Thanks in advance I am in the same boat as the person who started this thread and am currently also thinking how I can make best use of my time head of the course start date.

 

[Seabird15]

This is very helpful, thank you! Can I ask how you found the BPP prep course and how you went about making your flashcards for the Black Letter law subject ahead of your course start date? Would be great to know if you relied on your uni notes, or whether you used any of the Revise SQE or ULaw textbooks (which are heard are pretty good). Thanks in advance I am in the same boat as the person who started this thread and am currently also thinking how I can make best use of my time head of the course start date.

The BPP prep course was average, definitely wouldn't give it anymore credit than that. The tutors were very good given the limited knowledge they have of the SQE, but the Apply tasks were pointless and overwhelming, as was the reflection portfolio that was due the day after we sat SQE 1. Most of their content was just regurgitated from the LPC so had a lot of waffle and I didn't feel it was focused on the SQE, although I'm sure that some people will disagree with me and their strong pass rates must reflect that they are doing something right. Personally, I purchased ULaw books because I had such a hard time with the BPP content, mostly because their complicated formatting with random images everywhere meant it took FOREVER to paste it into a word document so that I could make my own flashcards, that I just gave up with it in the end.

I did not rely on my uni notes at all and I solely used the ULaw books as I thought my uni notes were too comprehensive for a MCQ exam that it would have taken forever to memorise all of it. The ULaw books were really good for making flashcards as they were clearly divided into each subtopic and always had the SQE spec on the front of each chapter so you know that you have covered all the spec once finished with them.

 

[Miafris]

Hey, I passed the SQE exams recently and pretty well too so can provide some insights.

Preparing for SQE 1

The SQE 1 is designed to test your mental bandwidth across 16 different subjects in two papers. It is looking more for the breadth of your knowledge rather than depth (which your LLB/LLM would have tested). This means that you have to be comfortable with toggling between different areas of law in one sitting. It does not expect you to remember different judges opinions, case names or dissenting commentary, its primary aim is to test your understanding of legal concepts and principles.

It took me a while to get used to this system of testing but ultimately the best resource is question banks. ULaw provides an amazing database full of questions that will test your ability to recall answers and look for keywords to quickly pick the answer (1 minute 42 seconds is the time recommended per question)

There are other free and paid resources out there (and more will soon follow) that you can use if you would like something different from ULaw. Ultimately, candidates sign an NDA before taking the exam so it is impossible for prep courses and schools to know what comes out. Therefore, it is worthwhile to try a couple of resources as opposed to relying on just one resource.

I made a post back in December on the question banks currently available that are free or affordable that you can check here:

Best SQE 1 Resources

Hey everyone, I recently sat the SQE 1 exams and got high 70s in them. I had a course provider but mainly used other resources to help with revision and practice. I hope they can help, especially for those sitting in January 2024. Question Banks - https://britishlawacademy.com/?p=1545 (Free)...

www.thecorporatelawacademy.com

What you can do now

For now, all you can realistically do is brush up on your underlying legal knowledge (criminal law, trust law, contract law, tort law, public law, land law, and legal systems). It is unlikely that ULaw will go through these with you during classes as they will be teaching you new subjects such as criminal litigation, civil dispute resolution, business law, property practice, wills, and ethics. Therefore, I highly recommend you get a head start on the underlying law subjects as these are given equal weightage as the new subjects you will learn with ULaw.

Depending on ULaw, you may be given early access to their database of questions maybe 1-2 months before your course starts. So in the meantime, you may revisit some old notes or use some of the question banks currently in the market to start testing your MCQ instincts.

You can start by practicing studying concepts, such as active recall and spaced repetition, and reminding yourself that this exam is not concerned with nuanced commentary and judges' opinions, it is about testing your efficiency and accuracy with concepts. Keep your notes simple, neat, and to the point considering the sheer breadth of the content. By doing this now, you will be less overwhelmed once ULaw teaches you the new subjects.



I'll end by saying this, the SQE is a tough and intense exam. Some may only need 4 months of prep to get a distinction and some may need 9-10 months to pass. It mainly comes down to your consistency and whether you're willing to adapt to this unorthodox method of testing legal knowledge. Considering you are already intrigued to learn at such an early stage, you may be less caught off guard once you start the course. I hope this helps and best of luck, you will be fine.

Do you have any advice for brushing up on legal knowledge? Are there any good materials or textbooks etc

 

[FCL25]

The BPP prep course was average, definitely wouldn't give it anymore credit than that. The tutors were very good given the limited knowledge they have of the SQE, but the Apply tasks were pointless and overwhelming, as was the reflection portfolio that was due the day after we sat SQE 1. Most of their content was just regurgitated from the LPC so had a lot of waffle and I didn't feel it was focused on the SQE, although I'm sure that some people will disagree with me and their strong pass rates must reflect that they are doing something right. Personally, I purchased ULaw books because I had such a hard time with the BPP content, mostly because their complicated formatting with random images everywhere meant it took FOREVER to paste it into a word document so that I could make my own flashcards, that I just gave up with it in the end.

I did not rely on my uni notes at all and I solely used the ULaw books as I thought my uni notes were too comprehensive for a MCQ exam that it would have taken forever to memorise all of it. The ULaw books were really good for making flashcards as they were clearly divided into each subtopic and always had the SQE spec on the front of each chapter so you know that you have covered all the spec once finished with them.

Hi. Thanks for this insight. I’m due to start the SQE LLM course at BPP in a week and foolishly did not anticipate the amount of pre-reading and LLB recap that needed to be done! Please could you share the links to the ULaw books you used to cover the underlying law subjects? I’m about a week away from term time workshops and anxiously hoping I haven’t left this preparation too late!

 

[John Doe 555 333]

Hi. Thanks for this insight. I’m due to start the SQE LLM course at BPP in a week and foolishly did not anticipate the amount of pre-reading and LLB recap that needed to be done! Please could you share the links to the ULaw books you used to cover the underlying law subjects? I’m about a week away from term time workshops and anxiously hoping I haven’t left this preparation too late!

In the exact same position, I'm afraid? Does anyone know someone who would be so kind as to share their access to the ULAW question bank?

 

[Katia O]

Hello everyone and apologies in advance for the long message!

I am a foreign lawyer (Greek), coming from civil (not common law) jurisdiction and all but my LLM (in Maritime Law) studies were based on civil legal systems knowledge.

I want to start studying for the SRA exams and eventually pass it, but I would really need (and extremely appreciate) your assistance.

I work in a maritime company (full time, mother of two - one toddler one teenager) and have almost everyday dealing with English law matters (mostly contact matters) but I am always aided by our insurers' legal teams, who provide the English law consultancy. Therefore I am the least familiar in here with English law.
However, I would like to pass the SRA exams, as this shall be an opportunity to delve into English law, understand it more in practice and obviously elevate my skills as a legal professional. I do not aspire to engage actively in litigation, but I want to be able to give correct legal advise and be more knowledgeable to legal principles when dealing with my company's cases (I am currently depending on the few things I have learned during my LLM and what I have learned form other English legal professionals during the 12 years in maritime industry).

I am prepared to dedicate to the study. I have just finished my second Masters degree (MBA) and I always look ways to improve my self. I should have done this years ago but circumstances (and personal finances) were not favorable.

I would like to know if studying core legal concepts is mandatory, or if I can go through them during the preparation, which due to my work and family schedule, shall be around an academic year at least - I want to give it the proper time. If so, how can I have access to the books and which books should I buy.

Further, I am thinking of enrolling in a preparation course. Please suggest providers that worth the money and the time. Textbooks for the preparation are a must for me, as I have no idea how to deal with all this new information. Common law system is pretty different from Civil law system.

Any other advice is welcome, especially from those that face the same difficulties with me.

Thank you all in advance!

Katia

 

[Katia O]

Hello everyone and apologies in advance for the long message!

I am a foreign lawyer (Greek), coming from civil (not common law) jurisdiction and all but my LLM (in Maritime Law) studies were based on civil legal systems knowledge.

I want to start studying for the SRA exams and eventually pass it, but I would really need (and extremely appreciate) your assistance.

I work in a maritime company (full time, mother of two - one toddler one teenager) and have almost everyday dealing with English law matters (mostly contact matters) but I am always aided by our insurers' legal teams, who provide the English law consultancy. Therefore I am the least familiar in here with English law.
However, I would like to pass the SRA exams, as this shall be an opportunity to delve into English law, understand it more in practice and obviously elevate my skills as a legal professional. I do not aspire to engage actively in litigation, but I want to be able to give correct legal advise and be more knowledgeable to legal principles when dealing with my company's cases (I am currently depending on the few things I have learned during my LLM and what I have learned form other English legal professionals during the 12 years in maritime industry).

I am prepared to dedicate to the study. I have just finished my second Masters degree (MBA) and I always look ways to improve my self. I should have done this years ago but circumstances (and personal finances) were not favorable.

I would like to know if studying core legal concepts is mandatory, or if I can go through them during the preparation, which due to my work and family schedule, shall be around an academic year at least - I want to give it the proper time. If so, how can I have access to the books and which books should I buy.

Further, I am thinking of enrolling in a preparation course. Please suggest providers that worth the money and the time. Textbooks for the preparation are a must for me, as I have no idea how to deal with all this new information. Common law system is pretty different from Civil law system.

Any other advice is welcome, especially from those that face the same difficulties with me.

Thank you all in advance!

Katia

 

[LillyandSilver]

I'm doing the SQE now and lots of people on my course are foreign qualified lawyers. Quite a few of them have done a separate prep course covering the basics of English law before going on to do a SQE prep course because there is loads of information. If you aren't in any hurry and arent looking for one of these foundation courses then I think QLTS might be a good one for you. It is based around self-study with no time specifics which means you could start studying and then when you feel ready you pick the SQE exam that is right for you rather than picking a prep course which aims to get you ready for a specific exam. Another thing I did was shop around and sign up for callbacks from these places. They are businesses so they get back to you pretty quickly and you can explain your circumstances to them.

 

[Katia O]

I'm doing the SQE now and lots of people on my course are foreign qualified lawyers. Quite a few of them have done a separate prep course covering the basics of English law before going on to do a SQE prep course because there is loads of information. If you aren't in any hurry and arent looking for one of these foundation courses then I think QLTS might be a good one for you. It is based around self-study with no time specifics which means you could start studying and then when you feel ready you pick the SQE exam that is right for you rather than picking a prep course which aims to get you ready for a specific exam. Another thing I did was shop around and sign up for callbacks from these places. They are businesses so they get back to you pretty quickly and you can explain your circumstances to them.

Thank you you are awesome! I have engaged some UK based Greek colleagues and am waiting for feedback, upon receipt of which I shall share same.

 

[hmevey]

Do you need your undergrad materials for the SQE? I recently lost all of my undergrad notes due to an issue with my computer and now have nothing from my 3 years and I am quite worried about this.