The Lawyer‘s Christian Smith, Catrin Griffiths, Richard Simmons, Katy Dowell and Charlotte Lear are joined by College of Legal Practice CEO Giles Proctor for this emergency episode of The Lawyer Podcast as they discuss the latest Solicitors Qualification Exam debacle: marking errors that led to 175 students being incorrectly told they had failed. What went […]
Nearly 200 law students were incorrectly told they had failed their first set of Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) exams, in what the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has called “the most serious operational mistake that we’ve made in the last two and half years.” Kaplan, the exam administrator for the SQE, has […]
As pass rates for the first stage of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) stagnate at a 52 per cent average for 2022/23, City firm recruiters and early careers leaders are voicing concerns about their future pipeline planning. Certainly, a consistent pass rate confirms the goals of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to create what it […]
Newly-qualified solicitors (NQs) at Shearman & Sterling are set to miss out on an extra £20,000 in salary when the firm merges with Allen & Overy next month. A decision has been made to align NQ salaries with A&O, where NQs are currently on £125,000. NQs at Shearman are currently on £145,000. Not only will […]
The UK’s next generation of solicitors is performing well in SQE across ethics and professional conduct… but what’s going on with legal services and wills? The Lawyer dives into the most recent round of SQE performance statistics.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is set to hike fees for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) for the second time in two years, while glossing over issues in the rollout of the exam in its latest annual report. From September this year, the cost of the SQE exams will increase by 5 per cent across […]
Name: Ainslie Cranwell Organisation: Volvo Group Role: Group Litigation Counsel Based: London Trained at: Dentons (formerly Fisher Jeffries – Adelaide, South Australia) Year qualified: 2010 What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? I was sent on quite a few errands as a trainee. I took the view that they were nice breaks from […]
Name: Spencer Davis Organisation: Lifezone Metals Role: Group General Counsel Based: London Trained at: Lewis Silkin Year qualified: 2002 What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? There are so many. Playing cricket in a square behind Fleet Street, running down to the RCJ to pay fees, microfiches and bundling at all hours, learning […]
Controversy surrounding rescinding training contract offers from future trainees after they fail the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) on their first try has divided elite City firms. Where Clifford Chance and Slaughter and May have been reported to have rescinded training contract offers from future trainees who have failed SQE1 on their first attempt, Freshfields Bruckhaus […]
Trowers & Hamlins has become the latest firm to offer an innovation seat to its trainees as a part of its training contract. From the beginning of April, trainees at Trowers will have the option to sit in the innovation team and develop their competency in legal tech. Trowers’ training contract is divided into four […]
Name: Sarah Rafi Organisation: Ardonagh Advisory Role: Deputy General Counsel Based: London Trained at: Ashurst Year qualified: 2010 What’s your most vivid memory from being a trainee? Strangely, after so many years, quite a lot of my training contract remains incredibly vivid – probably because it was a time of so many new experiences and […]
Name: Kajetan Wandowicz Organisation: 4 Pump Court Role: Barrister Location: London Trained at: 4 Pump Court Year qualified: 2018 What’s your most vivid memory from being a pupil? Being invited to join my chambers. It was a sunny morning in late June, still some three months away from the completion of pupillage, and my co-pupil […]