Building the pipeline for junior talent—what benefits can the SQE bring to in-house teams?

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February’s virtual session for in-house counsel saw professionals from BARBRI, BMW and RBS join LexisNexis, Flex Legal and Radius Law to discuss the benefits of employing junior lawyers and the opportunities the new route to qualification—the SQE—can bring to in-house teams.

Victoria Cromwell and Lucie Allen of BARBRI global took us through the reasoning behind the shift to the SQE and its benefits. Catherine Geddes and Neil Campbell provided their own insights on how this new route to qualification is helping their businesses.

Sophie Gould, head of learning and development at Flex Legal introduced the session and asked participants for their views on key skills they are looking for in juniors, as well as the work they can do in an in-house team.

What is this ‘SQE’?

Victoria Cromwell of BARBRI Global—an e-learning platform with specific SQE preparation courses, took us on a whistlestop tour of what the SQE is and why it has replaced the LLB or GDL plus LPC route.

The SRA introduced the SQE (or Solicitors Qualifying Examination) to:

• increase access to the profession—both for professionals and the public
• ensure consistent, high standards at the point of admission to the profession

To qualify under this route, prospective solicitors need:

• a degree in any subject or equivalent level 6 qualification
• two years of qualifying work experience (QWE) at a maximum of four organisations
• to successfully complete SQE1—a two-day assessment with 65 hours of testing each day in the form of a 360 question MCT. Broadly, it covers the material in the GDL as well as the procedural elements in the LPC
• to successfully complete SQE2—an assessment of practical legal skills such as advocacy and interviewing
• a character and suitability assessment

Victoria highlighted that the new SQE tests are administered by a centralised body, Kaplan, which will ensure that all those entering the profession do so at the same standard.

Furthermore, the replacement of the training contract with QWE enables students to build up a portfolio in more settings than they may previously have been able to, such as legal clinics. 

As an in-house lawyer, what does the SQE mean for you and your business?

Both Victoria and Lucie Allen, BARBRI managing director, spoke of the benefits this route could bring to in-house legal teams:

• more flexibility for employers—employers will be able to fit ‘trainees’ into existing roles, instead of having to create a rotational training contract. It could also be a good way to upskill those already in the business
• better cost efficiency—online, tech-led course delivery will reduce costs for employers
• increases talent pool—one of the primary drivers of the SQE was to increase accessibility, which will increase diversity, widening the talent pool 

Industry views on building the pipeline

Catharine Geddes, senior employment counsel at BMW, spoke of her company’s journey to secure their talent pipeline. She acknowledged that their journey is still near the beginning but that support within the business is strong and positive steps are being taken.

One issue within her team was the lack of headcount, which led to a lot of the work being delegated elsewhere in the business or to external lawyers.

They are seeking to solve this through:

• training colleagues, including senior colleagues, to be able to train and delegate tasks to juniors
• trialling new options—for example they will soon have a secondee from a law firm as well as a Flex Trainee
• mid-level legal support coming in through secondment arrangements with law firms—this enables them to have flexibility as they do not have to commit to a long-term hire. However, they are also looking to recruit a mid-level lawyer in order to have the long-term commitment

Neil Campbell, managing legal counsel at RBS, gave us his insights into how his business focuses on professional development. Key themes which came up were:

• encourage multilateral development—as well as focusing on skills which are within their role, encourage employees to branch out and develop their interests—if someone has a particular interest in data analytics or behavioural economics let them develop it, it could be useful to other areas of the business and will keep employees motivated and engaged
• have frequent conversations—Neil has ‘great place to work’ conversations with his team every six months, discussing colleagues’ drivers and concerns, as well as how to achieve goals

What are you doing to bring in and develop talent?

The breakout rooms (held under Chatham house rules) also proved fruitful in sharing ideas and best practice. Participants suggested: 

• let talent see the wider side of the business—similar to what Neil suggested, participants felt that it is important to see which areas new hires want to develop in, for example by offering project opportunities outside the team
• offer legal opportunities to people from other areas of the business—in a similar fashion to enabling those in legal roles to expand outside their team, why not bring in those interested in getting to know more about the role of in-house counsel and collaborate on certain projects

• remember there is a return on investment—participants acknowledged that bringing in junior talent does take up time, resources and energy, which some firms feel is too much, however, effectively trained junior talent will undoubtedly prove efficient in the longer term
• put mentor schemes in place—to ensure smooth sailing throughout the juniors’ career

If you have more questions on the SQE and what it means for you and your business, check out the LexisPSL SQE sub-topic.

Join us later this month for Radius Law’s Iain Larkins and Sandra Martins ‘whistle stop’ tour of the big commercial and employment law developments in the last six months and their impact on business.

Date: Wednesday 30th March 2022

Time: 10:00 – 11:00

Register now