Solicitors are lawyers who are qualified to give legal advice and are generally office-based rather than representing clients in court like barristers. They may work with private or commercial clients depending on the size of their firm. Although they usually specialise in one area of law, a solicitor's training is more broad than that of a legal executive.
The Solicitors Qualification Exam (SQE) has been introduced and requires law and non-law graduates to sit two exams - the SQE 1 & SQE 2. See our training page for more information.
Candidates will also need to complete two years of qualifying work experience. This could be a law apprenticeship, paralegal role, work placement or volunteering.
If you started your law degree by 21 September 2021, you can still take the old qualification route. This would involve taking the LPC followed by a training contract.
The transition period to take this old route lasts until 2032. However, it is likely that universities will start removing LPC courses before then.
Another option is to qualify as a solicitor via the CILEX training route.
These sectors may be of interest to those who want to work in a legal profession:
