The SQE was designed to open up qualification as a solicitor to people from a much wider range of backgrounds, and career changers are among its biggest beneficiaries. If you are moving into law later, the Qualifying Work Experience (QWE) requirement can feel like the hardest part, because you may not be starting from a traditional trainee position. In practice, the flexibility built into QWE works strongly in a career changer's favour. This guide explains how.
Why the SQE suits career changers
Unlike the old training contract route, the SQE does not require you to secure a single two-year placement at a law firm. QWE can be gained in any legal setting, anywhere in the world, paid or unpaid, and built up across up to four placements. For someone changing career, this means you can assemble qualifying experience from roles you can realistically access now, rather than competing for a scarce trainee position.
Experience you may already have
Many career changers underestimate the legal substance in work they have already done. Roles in compliance, contracts, regulatory affairs, HR with an employment-law element, financial services, or any position involving applying law and exercising legal judgement may demonstrate qualifying competences. The test is whether the work involved providing genuine legal services, not whether your job title said "lawyer". It is worth taking an honest inventory of your past and present roles before assuming you are starting from zero.
Building QWE deliberately
If your existing experience does not yet add up to the full two years, you can build the rest deliberately. Options that work well for career changers include:
- A current role with legal substance, counted while you continue in it.
- Paralegal or legal-adjacent positions taken on as a stepping stone.
- Volunteering and pro bono at law clinics, Citizens Advice or charities, which count the same as paid work.
- Past roles confirmed retrospectively, since QWE has no expiry date.
Because up to four placements can be combined, a career changer can mix and match these to reach the two-year minimum in a way that fits around existing commitments.
The confirmation advantage
Career changers often work in organisations with no solicitor on staff, which can feel like a dead end. It is not. The SRA allows your QWE to be confirmed by an independent solicitor who did not employ you, using feedback from your supervisor, who does not need to be legally qualified. This means the kinds of roles a career changer is most likely to hold can still be confirmed, without needing to land a job at a traditional firm first.
From compliance into law
Years of genuinely interpreting regulation and advising the business can demonstrate qualifying competences, confirmed independently even though your team had no solicitor.
Building experience part-time
You combine a current role with regular pro bono work at a law clinic. Across placements, the two add up towards your two years while you keep your income.
Counting a past career chapter
An earlier role involved real legal work. Since QWE has no expiry date, it can be confirmed retrospectively and counted towards your total.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a training contract to qualify through the SQE?
No. The SQE replaced the training contract requirement with QWE, which can be gained across up to four placements in any legal setting, paid or unpaid.
Could my previous career count towards QWE?
It can, if any of it involved providing genuine legal services and demonstrating at least two competences. Compliance, contracts and regulatory roles often qualify.
Can I build QWE while working in a non-legal job?
You can combine legal volunteering or pro bono with other experience, and any legal substance in your current role may also count. Up to four placements can be combined.
What if my employer has no solicitor to confirm it?
An independent solicitor can confirm your QWE using feedback from your supervisor. You do not need a solicitor at your workplace.
How do I work out what I already have?
A free assessment is the quickest way. Tell us about your past and present roles and we will identify which experience is likely to qualify and which competences it demonstrates.
What to do now
If you are changing career into law, the best first step is to map what you already have. Tell us about your experience using our short form, and we will respond within 24 hours with which roles are likely to qualify, which competences they demonstrate, and how to build towards the rest, with no obligation and no payment.