SQE – The beginning of the end of the Career Immigration Paralegal?

Introduced in 2021, the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) provided a new route for aspiring solicitors to qualify, diverging from the traditional LPC/training contract method. Similar to the US Bar, it follows an examination process covering all areas of UK law with the aim of ensuring that all prospective candidates meet the same high standard for the profession. The SQE is intended to become the long-term successor of the LPC, but at this moment, you can still qualify by both methods. This period of transition is in place until the SQE completely replaces the LPC qualification process from Jan 1st, 2033.

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As this is just under 9 years away, the transition for firms to move away from the traditional method isn’t an urgent requirement. One key factor, in addition to passing the SQE exams, is the requirement for 2 years of approved legal working experience to become a qualified solicitor.

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As a discipline, immigration has never made it a strict requirement for practitioners to be qualified solicitors to provide advice. Obviously, within a law firm environment, it is the general expectation, but there are several alternative avenues candidates can choose. Whether you work as an OISC-accredited Advisor, as part of an HR team providing advice to a company’s employees, a university/education provider, Big 4, or even as a career paralegal within a law firm, there have always been plenty of options available.

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We have noticed immigration has become a very popular specialism over the last 18 months for candidates looking to go the SQE route to qualification. Candidates can now use their 2-year immigration law experience as a basis to pass the SQE rather than having to go through the training contract process. But what could be the potential implications for the industry?

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Immigration advice is often based on a fixed fee per application, and from a law firm perspective, immigration departments regularly utilise paralegals to undertake parts of the application process. Historically, qualification is often of interest to candidates, but the practical process can often lead to some just focusing on their working experience. Appreciate the exam is still very difficult and by no means is it guaranteed, but now with the new route to qualification placing the emphasis on the candidate, could there be potential implications for maintaining the profitability of the department?

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Once qualified, the general rule for salaries is to increase in line with becoming a qualified solicitor. If we are now considering a lifespan of 2 years for paralegals in a role rather than the 3/4/5 years you may get for paralegalling plus the time spent over the training contract, could this start to create issues around the profitability of immigration departments with the expectations of paying higher salaries, increasing costs?

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The new process also appears to cut down qualification timescales. Thus, alluding to the issue of succession planning for departments. With the lifespan of 2 years to achieve qualifying legal work experience, could this necessitate the need for a more proactive approach in hiring paralegals?

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On the flip side; from a candidate perspective, could this devalue the earnings potential for candidates once they have reached qualification? In basic economics, if you increase supply, with no increase in demand, price decreases. As we are seeing an influx in the number of candidates going the SQE route in immigration, could we see this impact the salaries offered negatively? With more qualified candidates on the market than vacancies, are we going to see more qualified solicitors having to work in paralegal roles?

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There are also implications for wider firms working within the immigration sector. Having already seen qualifying legal work experience accepted from OISC firm and different country legal jurisdictions, could this lead to more candidates not currently in the law firm environment seeking qualification to make the move to it? Could we start seeing solicitor qualification becoming mandatory outside of law firms i.e. HR teams or Universities?

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We are still in the very early stages, but as we are currently in the transition period away from the traditional training contract, it will be interesting to see how the legal industry in general adapts to the changes to the new qualification process. We have noticed in immigration specifically; it seems to be becoming a more popular route for candidates looking to take the qualification route in recent months. Time will tell, but it will be interesting to see the potential impact it could have on the wider immigration industry not just within the law firm environment over the coming years…