QWE - Qualifying Work Experience

External and Remote Monitoring and Confirmation of SQE’s Candidates Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) – the New Route from September 2021 to Qualify as an English Solicitor

What is QWE?

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) requires any Aspiring Solicitor who takes the SQE assessments (with the exception of qualified lawyers) to complete two years (or equivalent) of QWE (Qualifying Work Experience) before they can apply for admission.

Confirming Solicitor

For your experience to count when you submit evidence of your two years QWE to the SRA, it needs to have been ‘signed off’ by a Confirming Solicitor. The Confirming Solicitor needs to be regulated by the SRA (currently on their roll; they do not need to have a current practising certificate).

The Confirming Solicitor needs to have seen evidence of the work and then sign the form which the Aspiring Solicitor has completed. The form requires the Aspiring Solicitor to give examples of work done to show that they have had the opportunity to gain the competences required by the SRA and state what evidence has been shown in support.

Where the Aspiring Solicitor does not have someone in their organisation who is able and willing to act as their Confirming Solicitor, the Aspiring Solicitor may seek external assistance from a solicitor regulated by the SRA.

Ingemar Hunnings

Ingemar Hunnings (SRA Number 156976), lead consultant at HCL, has been closely liaising with the SRA following which he has developed a service to help Aspiring Solicitors in this situation. Ingemar has been helping Aspiring Solicitors in this role since September 2020. One of his Aspiring Solicitors is believed to be the first person ever to have submitted their QWE for approval and had it approved by the SRA.

Fee

The QWE confirmation service is charged at an hourly rate of £200/hr. While it is difficult to precisely predict how much work will be required, as each Aspiring Solicitor will have their own personal QWE journey to which our work will be tailored, the total fee for the work will be capped at £800. VAT will be applied to UK clients.

The Process of Confirming QWE

How does this service work:

1. Ingemar will first organise a free no-obligations Zoom call with the Aspiring Solicitor to talk through the process and his charges. If it turns out there is a better option for the Aspiring Solicitor, Ingemar will advise them to take that instead of instructing him (eg there is someone in their organisation who could fulfil the role of Confirming Solicitor at no cost to the Aspiring Solicitor).

2. If the Aspiring Solicitor wishes to proceed, Ingemar will send out a Contract for the work he is to do as Confirming Solicitor. He will advise the Aspiring Solicitor to speak with their supervisor and gain their agreement and obtain an NDA for Ingemar to sign, as the organisation will want to be assured that any evidence shown to him by the Aspiring Solicitor will be held in complete confidence.

3. After the Contact and the NDA are signed, Ingemar will share with the Aspiring Solicitor the form for them to complete with examples of the work done against the SRA competencies (Ingemar will have given guidance at point 1 on how to fill this in) and schedule a Zoom call to go through this once completed by the Aspiring Solicitor.

4. A Zoom call to go through with the Aspiring Solicitor their completed SRA form will be carried out during which Ingemar will remote to the Aspiring Solicitor’s computer. The Aspiring Solicitor can then show Ingemar the evidence they have in support of their work examples meeting the SRA competencies criteria. Ingemar will advise where what is written could be improved, and where evidence is needed or could be improved. There may need to be another Zoom call depending on this.

5. Once Ingemar is satisfied with the evidence presented to him, the Aspiring Solicitor will send to him a copy of their form. Ingemar will check and send back a signed copy – which is the Aspiring Solicitor’s evidence for the SRA. It may be that the Aspiring Solicitor does not already have two years QWE to be signed off at the time of the Zoom call. They can agree with Ingemar when the remainder of the QWE can be reviewed (see the process above) and signed off.

6. In addition, the SRA require that feedback be obtained from the supervisor of the work. Ingemar will therefore need to organise a Zoom call with the Aspiring Solicitor’s supervisor for a discussion about their work and conduct. Ingemar will write up the notes and send them to the supervisor for approval, signature and return. Ingemar will then sign the notes and send the signed copy to the Aspiring Solicitor to hold as their evidence for the SRA. This should complete the SRA’s requirements for the QWE.

Any Questions?

Please complete the form on this page and you will be contacted by Ingemar Hunnings for a free and initial consultation.

i) This is a third party service and not monitored or supervised by QLTS School.

ii) QLTS School assumes no liability to the service and whether your QWE submission will be approved by the SRA.

iii) Your submission of the form does not commit you, QLTS School, or Ingemar Hunnings, in any way whatsoever, to engage in the delivery of the service.