My name is Courtney, and I qualified as a Commercial Litigation Solicitor via the SQE in September 2024. Throughout my qualifying work experience, I undertook SQE1 and SQE2 preparatory courses with The College of Legal Practice, who have partnered with my employer, Acuity Law. Acuity partnered with The College of Legal Practice in 2022 for the SQE and have continued to use this provider to prepare their trainees since then.

I started my legal career with an LLB at Cardiff University, after which I had accepted a place there to do my LPC. When I received the SQE offer from Acuity, I chose to go down this route of qualification and withdraw my place on the LPC. During the course of my qualifying work experience at Acuity, I have completed rotations in our Commercial and Technology, Corporate, Commercial Litigation and Property Litigation departments. Through Acuity’s partnership with the College, I was able to complete my SQE studies part time while working full time at Acuity. 

Why I chose to study with The College of Legal Practice

The College of Legal Practice was a natural choice for me, as my SQE Prep has been paid for by my employer due to the partnership in place. In addition to this, the partnership allows for some study leave, and provides an understanding and supportive environment that recognises the challenges of completing studies whilst working full time. When picking your provider, it is really important to consider how you will fit your other commitments around the SQE Prep, as well as the SQE exams themselves. This is because different providers offer courses with different lengths and time commitments, with a range of prices to accompany these options. 

The flexibility offered by the College, was something that I found invaluable. It was really important that the course outline wasn’t excessively rigid due to my work commitments, and the College accommodated that. I did two 20 week courses - the SQE1 20 week prep course and the SQE2 20 week prep course. The College appreciates when you might have a heavy workload elsewhere, and recognises that sub-unit deadlines and non-summative tasks can be adjusted to fit in with your work schedule. You obviously still have to get things completed overall, but there’s an inherent flexibility that your tutor can work through with you. The College also offers highly flexible course options, including a 40 week prep course which provides for even greater  time and flexibility for completion. 

Reflections on the course

I started my SQE1 prep course in August 2022, with my  qualifying work experience starting in late September of that year. I particularly liked that the College released all of the information, deadlines and content in advance, so that I could get ahead during that interim period as I knew my workload with my firm would increase in the future. 

Acuity gives employees up to 1.5 days of study leave each month that they can use monthly or accrue and use as a chunk prior to the exams. I took the latter approach which I found incredibly useful when it came to preparing for the exams themselves as it meant that I was able to properly switch off from work and focus solely on the exams. I also worked through lunch times, evenings, and prepared as much as I could by looking at my work hours and course commitments, and setting a really clear timetable of what I needed to do and when. 

The style of a single best answer as part of the MCQs was a really alien format coming from my undergraduate studies. To help me prepare as much as possible, I worked through all of the COLP questions on the platform. If I got one wrong, I flagged it, noted the topic area and went back to the manual which the College provided, and refreshed that area of learning. 

I really recommend taking every opportunity you can to learn from your course provider. With the College you get direct access to qualified solicitors who tutor you, and who can give excellent feedback and advice.

Notable experiences

For me, the flexibility of the College was key to getting through the SQE Prep courses and exams, alongside the support from my employer. With both parties being really understanding of my dual commitments, I was able to get through what was (and is!) a really challenging process. I also found that having tutors with such expertise made me feel like I was well looked after with excellent knowledge around me.