LEGAL EDUCATION IN UNIVERSITIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES: THE CHALLENGES OF INTRODUCING THE SOLICITORS QUALIFICATION EXAMINATION (SQE)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2523-4269-2026-94-121-125Keywords:
lawyers, training of lawyers, solicitor, barrister, solicitor qualification examinationAbstract
The article examines the features of legal training in England and Wales, highlighting the main stages of training for solicitors and barristers: academic, first professional and second professional. The author considers the introduction of the Solicitor Qualification Examination (SQE) in 2021 and analyzes its impact on legal education at universities in England and Wales. It is noted that the introduction of the SQE has created new challenges for law schools, but at the same time it has given a chance to rethink approaches to training lawyers. Law schools had to decide: whether to remain part of the professional training of lawyers with an orientation towards external quality control (SQE) or to become academic centers that provide education, not a profession. The results of the study highlight three models of adaptation of universities in England and Wales to the SQE. The conclusion is made about a gradual transition to professionally oriented legal education.
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