Education and Training Annual Report 2022/23

Solicitors currently enter the profession through a range of routes. Increasingly, each year, solicitors will enter the profession through taking and passing both parts of the SQE assessment (SQE1 and SQE2).

Transitional arrangements remain in place for aspiring solicitors who started their path to qualification before the SQE was introduced:

• Taking a qualifying law degree or a non-law degree and the common professional examination, followed by the LPC and then a period of recognised training (PRT).
• Qualifying as a solicitor under the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS).
• Qualifying as a Chartered Legal Executive and then going on to take the LPC.
• Applying as an assistant justice's clerk (conditions apply).
• Equivalent means (EQM). This allows individuals to qualify by showing they have met our requirements for a particular stage of training by demonstrating that they have equivalent experience.

In most cases, it has no longer been possible to start a route to qualification as a solicitor using one of the above routes since late 2021.

Swiss lawyers who are also a registered European lawyer (REL) can apply through the REL route. They are the only people who can apply through this route following the UK's exit from the EU in 2020.

The table below shows the number of individuals that joined the profession from each route from 2016 to 2023. The number of new solicitors entering the profession has steadily increased over the past seven years and averages at around 7,200 per year. The number of individuals entering the profession in 2022/23 reached 8,819, the highest number we have seen in the past seven years. This is due to the higher-than-average numbers of individuals who qualified through the LPC route. This is likely because the pandemic delayed some people from starting their PRT in 2020. This in turn delayed their admission to the profession – and we are now starting to see these individuals be admitted.

The number of RELs admitted to the profession flatlined in 2021/22. Following the UK's exit from the EU in 2020, only Swiss lawyers have been able to qualify through this route since January 2021, as discussed above.

The number of individuals entering the profession through the QLTS route almost doubled in 2021/22. The deadline for candidates wishing to qualify through this route was 31 March 2024, as we move towards all candidates taking the SQE. We expect QLTS numbers to tail off when we next come to report on these numbers.

Please note:

• The Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) was a precursor to, and was largely phased out and replaced by, the QLTS. A small number of individuals still enter the profession by this route.
• 'Other' can mean the individual was admitted via a Morgenbesser exemption application (this is a term used for candidates who were part-qualified under an EU qualification and were able to apply for exemptions in our admissions process).
• Some of these figures differ slightly from those we have reported in previous years. We are now collecting this information in a new way and have reviewed past data. This new approach allows for greater clarity on which route an applicant has taken, with more routes identified in the chart above. We have corrected any past data errors in the table above.
• Each year, we refuse a handful of applicants. The reasons are, generally, that the applicant has failed to disclose an important piece of information relating to their character or suitability, or they have failed to meet our requirements. The refusals we make each year are limited in number as some people withdraw their applications when they cannot meet our requirements. More information can be found in our Authorisation report.

Breakdown of admissions by the SQE route

The information in this section shows the breakdown of individuals who qualified through the SQE route. These individuals are made up of:

• individuals who passed SQE1 and SQE2 (excluding apprentices)
• apprentice individuals who passed SQE1 and SQE2
• qualified lawyers.

The number of individuals qualifying through the SQE route continues to grow as it becomes the main route into the profession. Numbers increased from 437 in 2021/22 to 1,469 in 2022/23.

The majority of individuals who qualified through the SQE between 2021 and 2023 were qualified lawyers. These individuals can be lawyers qualified in other jurisdictions or a qualified lawyer in England and Wales, such as a barrister. We expect to see the numbers of individuals admitted to the profession who are not already qualified lawyers (see figures in the first two columns of the table) increase in the next few years.

Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland solicitors are classed as qualified lawyers, and the numbers of individuals qualifying from these jurisdictions are captured under 'qualified lawyers' in the table below.

In spring 2024, we published the second year of reports from the SQE's assessment provider, Kaplan, and by the SQE’s Independent Reviewer, which reviewed the SQE. They showed the exam continued to perform well. The SQE Independent Reviewer said that the delivery of the assessment had improved year on year and the assessments were fair and reliable, while recognising there had been some operational issues.

The SQE annual report for 2022/23 does not cover the period when an error was made in the initial calculation of January 2024’s SQE1 results, where 175 candidates were incorrectly told they had failed one or both parts of SQE1. All results for that sitting were reissued. The error occurred when scaled scores were used for SQE1 results for the first time. This error, together with recent changes to improve candidates’ experiences, will be covered in the next set of SQE annual reports.

Under the LPC route, we authorise organisations to provide a PRT, the work-based part of a solicitor's training. Around three-quarters of these are law firms, and the rest are in-house legal teams or law centres. As a PRT does not form part of the SQE, we will no longer need to authorise organisations to provide it, and we will start to see these numbers decline.

Qualifying through a solicitor apprenticeship offers an opportunity to earn-as-you-learn on the job. It provides greater opportunities for people from all types of backgrounds to become solicitors.

We are pleased to see that the number of individuals registering as a solicitor apprentice continues to increase. All solicitor apprentices will take SQE1 and SQE2.

The figures below are taken from the summer of each year.

New registrations of solicitor apprenticeships

In the assessments we have seen so far, the SQE pass rates for solicitor apprentices have generally been higher than for other candidates.

A higher rights of audience qualification allows solicitors to act as an advocate in the higher courts. These are the Crown Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in England and Wales. The number of solicitors we regulate who have higher rights of audience can be seen in the table below.

Over the past seven years, there has been a gradual increase in the number of solicitors with a higher rights of audience qualification. This is largely due to the increase of individuals with a qualification to appear in civil cases, while there has been a drop in those who have rights for criminal cases and a slight decrease for those with both.

The percentages represent a proportion of how many individuals have rights to appear in civil cases, criminal cases, or both in each given year.

Please note, numbers may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination

Number of practising solicitors with Higher Rights of Audience

SRA corporate strategy 2023 to 2026

Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX)

A membership body that provides training to become a legal executive. CILEx Regulation regulates CILEX members.

Equivalent means (EQM)

A route to admission as a solicitor which allows individuals to show they have met our requirements for a particular stage of training by demonstrating that they have equivalent experience.

Legal Practice Course (LPC)

A compulsory training course usually taken just before the PRT under the LPC route transitional arrangements. It combines academic and practical training, to prepare students for work in a law firm or in-house legal team.

Period of recognised training (PRT)

Compulsory work-based learning under the LPC route, typically in a law firm or in-house legal team, which forms part of the vocational stage in the route to qualifying as a solicitor.

Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS)

This scheme involved assessments that people had to take if they were already qualified as a lawyer in another jurisdiction and wanted to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. Barristers qualified in England and Wales and who wished to cross-qualify as a solicitor will also have been able to qualify through this route. The QLTS has now been replaced by the SQE.

Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT)

This test pre-dated and performed the same role as the QLTS. It was largely phased out and replaced by the QLTS. A small number of individuals still enter the profession by this route.

Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE)

A single rigorous assessment introduced in September 2021 that all new aspiring solicitors will, in due course, take to qualify as a solicitor. It is split into two parts, SQE1 and SQE2, and assesses practical legal knowledge and practical legal skills. To qualify through the SQE, candidates need to pass the SQE1 and 2, have a degree or equivalent, gain two years qualifying work experience and pass our character and suitability test.