Closed Consultation
Information for lawyers making an application under the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations – Draft guidance
8 August 2019
This consultation is now closed.
Applications made under regulations 6, 10 and 11 of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations
Experience requirement
Supervised practice of the law of England and Wales is a fundamental requirement for those who qualify in England and Wales without relying on a qualification previously gained in another jurisdiction. Clients, the courts, employers and the public generally could reasonably expect that all solicitors admitted in England and Wales have experience of the practice of the law of England and Wales.
It is also in the interests of an individual that they have had an opportunity to experience, and to gain insight into, the working of the legal profession and the application of the law in England and Wales before they are admitted to the roll of solicitors and take on the responsibilities that membership of the profession automatically brings with it.
When determining applications made under regulations 6, 10 and 11 of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations (QLTR), the SRA will require all applicants to demonstrate that, within the previous five years, they have met the following requirements. These requirements must be satisfied before applicants can be admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales:
- At least two years' experience of working in legal practice in a common law jurisdiction gained either after qualification in their home jurisdiction and/or as part of a regulated qualification scheme that resulted in their qualification as a lawyer in their home jurisdiction of which
- At least one year must be gained by practising the law of England and Wales under the direct supervision of a solicitor who has been admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales. The supervising solicitor must hold a current practising certificate for England and Wales and have held at least four such practising certificates previously and
- Experience of three distinct areas of law including both contentious and non-contentious practice sufficient to gain a reasonable insight into the practice of law in those areas. This requirement may be satisfied by way of experience gained in either the common law and/or the law of England and Wales.
For the avoidance of doubt:
- the experience of the law of England and Wales need not be undertaken in England and Wales. It is recognised that attributing legal practice to a particular jurisdiction is not always straightforward. However when determining whether an applicant has experience of practising the law of England and Wales evidence that the applicant has worked within the following will be looked for:
- the procedural requirements of the civil and criminal courts in England and Wales, for example with regard to evidence and disclosure
- the regulatory and professional frameworks operating in England and Wales, including the frameworks for financial and property transactions and the Solicitors Code of Conduct published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
- the funding arrangements for different types of legal matter available within England and Wales
- statutory provisions in force in England and Wales
- proceedings and legal transactions conducted in the English language
- the two years' experience of working in a common law jurisdiction can include the one year practising the law of England and Wales under supervision. However, additional experience in a common law jurisdiction other than England and Wales does not reduce the experience of practising the law of England and Wales that will be required.
- the three distinct areas of law may be undertaken in either, or a combination of, the law of England and Wales or another common law jurisdiction. There is not a finite list of the different areas of law in which the experience may be undertaken, but the following is illustrative of the types of areas of practice in which experience might be gained:
Banking
Civil Litigation
Commercial law
Company law
Construction
Consumer law
Criminal Litigation
Employment
Environmental law
EU law
Family
Housing
Immigration
Insolvency
Insurance
Intellectual property
Local government
Magisterial
Personal injury
Planning
Professional negligence
Property
Shipping & aviation
Tax and financial planning
Trusts
Welfare
Wills and probate
- there is no set period during which each of the areas of law must have been undertaken. However, it is unlikely that reasonable insight into any area can be gained in less than three months' full time experience
- the regulations do not require the applicant to be in paid employment when gaining their experience. Appropriate voluntary work, appropriately supervised, may contribute to the experience requirement. However, real rather than simulated experience is required
- where an applicant is, or has been, working part-time a full-time equivalent period or periods of experience will be acceptable. This applied to periods of voluntary work too
- the experience may be gained before or after the application is made under the QLTR. However, where the requirement has not been fulfilled before the application is made, admission to the roll of solicitors will be dependent on the experience requirement being fulfilled and evidenced to the satisfaction of the SRA. Any additional experience to be undertaken prior to admission will be detailed in a Certificate of Eligibility issued by the SRA
- Section 87 of the Solicitors Act 1974 provides a definition of contentious and non-contentious experience
- the supervision provided by a solicitor qualified in England and Wales must have been provided on a day to day basis by a solicitor working in close contact with (i.e. not at a distance from) the applicant
Evidence requirements
To demonstrate that the experience requirements have been fulfilled the applicant will need to provide the following:
- the name and address of all firms or other legal practice environments in which they have worked and the exact dates during which they worked
- the full name of the solicitor(s) qualified in England and Wales who supervised their experience of working in the law of England and Wales, together with the dates of both that solicitor's admission in England and Wales and of the issue of each of their five practising certificates
- a summary of the range of work undertaken during the two years (or equivalent) experience on which they are relying to support their application, with particular reference to their experience of working within the law of England and Wales.
- letters or statements from the solicitor(s) qualified in England and Wales who supervised their work confirming the periods of supervision and the nature of the work undertaken. This must include details of the supervision arrangements.
- letters or statements from other lawyers who are in a position to confirm any remaining legal practice experience on which the applicant is relying to support their application, including any period of self-employment
Applications made under the provisions of regulations 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11
Test requirements
The Schedule to the QLTR sets out the heads of the QLTT that applicants qualified in each of the jurisdictions covered by the QLTR are required to pass before they can be admitted in England and Wales.
Exemptions from these heads will be granted only in exceptional cases. In determining whether an exemption should be granted evidence will be looked for that the applicant has demonstrated, by way of examination or other formal assessment passed within the previous five years, their knowledge of the areas covered by the particular head of the test. The specification for the test is published by the SRA.
An applicant who is seeking an exemption from a specific head of the test should provide details of when and how they have demonstrated their knowledge of the areas of law and practice covered by the test. Applicants should recognise that the QLTT is assessing knowledge of law and practice in England and Wales. Applicants relying on their previous success in an examination/assessment that covered the same areas of law and practice should provide with their application full details of the examination/assessment and the examination/assessment provider.
Applications made under Regulation 12 of the QLTR and pursuant to European Communities Directive number 2005/36/EC
This draft guidance confirms established practice and follows that published by the European Commission.
In order to make an application under Regulation 12 of the QLTR, an applicant must be a national of a Member State. Applicants who did not qualify in a Member State but whose professional qualification was subsequently recognised by a Member State, will need to demonstrate, in addition to their nationality that:
- Their initial professional qualification has been recognised by a Member State in accordance with its national legislation or a bilateral agreement signed by that Member State AND
- Their qualification permits the applicant to practise a regulated profession in that Member State AND
- They have actually practised that profession in the Member State for three years AND
- They have a certificate issued by the relevant authority in the Member State attesting to that period of practice