YLAL is disappointed that our concerns about exploitative Qualifying Work Experience (‘QWE’) as part of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (‘SQE’) have been realised.
There is no longer a requirement to pay those candidates who are undertaking QWE. This was purportedly to allow candidates to use time spent volunteering, for example in a legal advice clinic whilst at university, towards their QWE.
Young Legal Aid Lawyers (‘YLAL’) has been made aware of an informal announcement by the SRA and Kaplan (who are responsible for assessing SQE examinations), which will mean a delay to many hoping to sit the SQE2 examinations scheduled for October 2022. This was communicated through a webinar.
Young Legal Aid Lawyers (‘YLAL’) implore the SRA, as our regulator, to take urgent and decisive action to address the concerning ethnic group attainment gap in SQE assessments.
On 14th December 2021 the Ministry of Justice announced an open consultation, entitled: Human Rights Act Reform: A Modern Bill of Rights opens as follows:
‘The Government is committed to updating the Human Rights Act 1998. This consultation seeks views on the Government’s proposals to revise the Human Rights Act and replace it with a Bill of Rights, in order to restore a proper balance between the rights of individuals, personal responsibility and the wider public interest.’
At our #YLALVirtual on Wednesday 16 February 2022 at 6.30pm, our incredible panel of legal aid practitioners and policy experts gathered to discuss the current government consultation that seek to replace the Human Rights Act with a ‘British’ Bill of Rights.
On 8th February 2022, Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) published its third and final report on the impact of Covid-19 on its members’ working lives. The report constitutes results from a survey that was conducted between 29th November 2021 and 20th December 2021 which we received 51 responses for. This report is an update and comparison to YLAL previous Covid-19 report, which was published on 25th May 2020.
Whilst we’re talking about different routes to qualification, there is another option to the LPC, separate from SQE, which has been available since 2019.
