Returning to law at 41: SQE2 study and retraining advice

[Cate132914]

Hi all,
I'm just looking for some advice from anyone who's been through similar or is in the legal profession.

I'm 41 with 3 kids, youngest is starting school next sep.

I've got a degree 2:1 in English literature, and also Graduate diploma in Law (GDL) and the Legal Practice Course (LPC). I worked in a law firm for a couple of years (never qualified as a solicitor) and since then, for the past 16 years or so (!) Have been looking after my kids and working part time in schools as a teaching assistant/ technician roles.

I'm probably having a bit of a mid-life crisis, but I'm really bored in my job and definitely don't want to do this potentially for the next 25 plus years. I'm solely doing it cos it means school hols off and I can do the school runs.

Am I naive in thinking I could study for the SQE2 at home? I understand having the LPC already means i dont have to do SQE1? I'd look to get one or two days a week volunteering at a law firm and then potentially get a job in the legal sector as a paralegal or similar? I understand the LPC route stops in 2032. I'm interested in family law and conveyancing (conveyancing is the department I worked in previously) mostly so probably small high street firms would be where I'd be wanting to work.

Is any of this possible? I'd be grateful for any advice.

Thank you.

I don't think you need to do SQE2 do you? I think you can still do the professional skills course and qualifying work experience.

I would give it a go, look for a training contract or graduate apprenticeship ideally but a paralegal job in any area of law would be a stepping stone and help you start building QWE. As a TA you are probably not going to find paralegal salaries too disappointing!

I generally don't advise people to get into law if they are uncertain but you already have LPC and are on a fairly low salary so the risks are low. You can always go back into education without difficulty if it doesn't work out.

Thanks #WorriedRelative I appreciate your reply. I'm not sure about the SQE, I've seen somewhere that if you already have the LPC you don't need to do SQE1 but perhaps the 'old' route is still possible for a while?

Ha yes any salary would be better than what I'm currently on! Though that's not really my main driver.

Thanks again

It is quite a complicated topic as you are in the transitional period. Your LPC will run out at end of 2032.
In 2014 a new route for LPC people (not SWE) came out called "equivalent means" by the way. I don't know if your two years at the law firm all those years ago could be signed off my someone there who still knows you and you thus are qualified immediately under the equivalent means route as I don't know if it was retrospective before about 2014. So you might need to do a lot of checking on tghat kind of thing. Equivalent means people today with the LPC and without a training contract but 2 years of the relevant experience can qualify with no more exams but it must be 2 years at the same place with someone at the same law firm signing it off and usually you keep a very detailed diary of the work you did in your 2 years.

Leaving equivalent means aside, you can still qualify with the LPC if you do a training contract and the professional skills course which is just attending some courses etc which are not hard and part time. My twins were some of the last to qualify via LPC route and were my trainess so I got quite into how to qualify as they were nearly in the new SQE system but am certainly not an expert.

If you cannot get a TC even if you went to work in a commercial company in-house in an area of interest to you, then you could instead take an SQE2 course (you can get a masters loan for it )( but it may be hard to pass without having passed the SQE1 but may be okay. It will certainly be easier than doing SQE1 as well.

In theory if you qualify now eg via equivalent means without more exams and based on your 2 years with a firm (but I am not sure if that will apply as long ago) then you can even set yourself up to work as a solicitor as a freelance solicitor without doing reserved work (ie no court work etc). immediately. You used to have to work in a firm for 3 years before you could set up on your own.