How to Demonstrate and Confirm QWE?
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To document and verify Qualifying Work Experience (QWE), you can use a template provided by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to track your progress and demonstrate how your work aligns with solicitor competencies. Although using this template is optional, it serves as an effective training and recording tool. The essential requirement is that QWE must be confirmed by a solicitor of England and Wales or a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP). The confirming solicitor or COLP does not need to hold a practising certificate and may even be unaffiliated with your organisation, provided they are willing to verify the experience.
The confirming solicitor must have reviewed your work during the relevant period and obtained feedback from the person(s) who supervised your tasks. Certain legal professionals, such as barristers cost lawyers, patent attorneys, trademark attorneys, CLC lawyers, and CILEX lawyers, cannot confirm QWE unless they are also a solicitor or COLP regulated by the SRA. This ensures that the confirmation process maintains the specific legal standards required for the role of a solicitor in England and Wales.
When confirming QWE, the solicitor verifies three main aspects: the duration of the work experience, that you provided legal services and had the chance to develop at least two competencies, and that there were no conduct issues affecting your character or suitability for admission as a solicitor. It is important to note that confirming QWE is not an endorsement of your overall competence or suitability to practise. Competence is formally assessed through the SQE exams, and character suitability is reviewed when you apply for admission as solicitors.
Confirming QWE also does not require the solicitor to evaluate the quality of the your training or the standard of your work. However, confirming solicitors may request specific evidence from you to ensure the experience aligns with the criteria for QWE. This confirmation process thus centres on verifying the factual aspects of your experience rather than making subjective judgments about your readiness to practise, leaving the final determination of competence to the SQE assessments.
The confirming solicitor must have reviewed your work during the relevant period and obtained feedback from the person(s) who supervised your tasks. Certain legal professionals, such as barristers cost lawyers, patent attorneys, trademark attorneys, CLC lawyers, and CILEX lawyers, cannot confirm QWE unless they are also a solicitor or COLP regulated by the SRA. This ensures that the confirmation process maintains the specific legal standards required for the role of a solicitor in England and Wales.
When confirming QWE, the solicitor verifies three main aspects: the duration of the work experience, that you provided legal services and had the chance to develop at least two competencies, and that there were no conduct issues affecting your character or suitability for admission as a solicitor. It is important to note that confirming QWE is not an endorsement of your overall competence or suitability to practise. Competence is formally assessed through the SQE exams, and character suitability is reviewed when you apply for admission as solicitors.
Confirming QWE also does not require the solicitor to evaluate the quality of the your training or the standard of your work. However, confirming solicitors may request specific evidence from you to ensure the experience aligns with the criteria for QWE. This confirmation process thus centres on verifying the factual aspects of your experience rather than making subjective judgments about your readiness to practise, leaving the final determination of competence to the SQE assessments.
