How is the legal profession changing?
For decades, the Legal Practice Course (LPC) has been the route to become a qualified solicitor in England and Wales.
For decades, the Legal Practice Course (LPC) has been the route to become a qualified solicitor in England and Wales. Aspiring solicitors would need to have graduated with a qualifying law degree (LLB) or have completed a law conversion course, such as the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) or the Postgraduate Diploma in Law (PGDL), before undertaking the Legal Practice Course.
The introduction of the SQE means that you are no longer required by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to have a law degree or law conversion course - or follow a specific postgraduate solicitor training programme. The new route simply requires that you have a degree (in any subject), pass two stages of exams (SQE1 and SQE2), complete two years’ Qualifying Work Experience and pass the SRA’s character and suitability assessment.
This crucial change has set a key challenge for training providers to consider how to design training programmes that will instil the relevant knowledge and skills that trainee solicitors will need to pass each stage of the SQE and prepare for a career in practice.
Emphasis on future skills
Our ongoing collaboration and extensive research with several of the UK’s leading law firms that we partner with highlights the gap between the knowledge and skills assessed as part of the SQE and the specialist knowledge and broader skills that employers seek from their new trainees.
This analysis of the future skills needed by solicitors has been vital for fine-tuning our SQE training courses that have been designed in close collaboration with leading law firms, regulators, and professional bodies. They reflect the high standards that employers want, with options to develop the specialist knowledge you’ll need for the area of practice you aspire to, and the wider professional skills you’ll need for your successful career, while giving you every chance of success in your assessments.
What you can expect from our courses:
Teaching built around real-world case studies to help build your legal knowledge and skills
Realistic cases, transactions, scenarios, and issues that mirror legal practice in a law firm through our innovative Virtual Practice Environment
Build an online portfolio of professional skills that demonstrate your ongoing development and establish a habit of reflection
Live collaborative workshops, led by expert tutors from practice
Gain depth of knowledge and understanding through lively discussions and smaller group work
Experience our AI-powered learning platform, BPP Adapt, which tracks and consolidates your learning progression to identify your strengths and areas for improvement
Your successful career is our focus
BPP’s focus has always been to prepare students for a successful and rewarding career. Our range of SQE courses and packages has been specifically designed to not only help you pass the challenging SQE assessments but to also build and develop the specialist legal knowledge and broader professional skills that employers seek beyond the basic SQE curriculum.
The kind of knowledge and skills that enhance your employability by providing you with the edge you need in a competitive employment market. The courses that will help you become the solicitor you want to be.
