"The SQE Is a Disaster" - Inside Law's Most Hated Exam - James Richardson

The SQE was supposed to make legal education cheaper, fairer and more accessible. Instead, pass rates are falling (in July last year 59% of students failed SQE1), costs are rising, and thousands of aspiring solicitors are being sold a dream that may never lead to a legal career. James Richardson, qualified at a major international firm, now Head of Legal at Cuvva, and co-founder of Law Student Academy, explains how the SQE has completely failed on its promises and why the profession needs to confront some uncomfortable truths. James reveals: ▪ How up to three out of five students now fail the SQE ▪ Why the exam bears little resemblance to real legal practice ▪ The false hope being sold to aspiring solicitors ▪ Why the SQE hasn't improved diversity in law ▪ How the SRA ignored warnings from the profession ▪ Why Kaplan's role (as the sole exclusive provider of the exams) raises serious questions ▪ What needs to change to fix legal education (00:00) – Why the SQE is one of the hardest exams in law (00:58) – Meet James Richardson (01:36) – Why James founded Law Student Academy (02:57) – Falling pass rates and rising costs (04:47) – Why the exam doesn't reflect legal practice (06:45) – Who designed the SQE and why? (07:13) – How the SRA ignored widespread criticism (08:53) – The SQE has failed diversity (11:26) – The false hope around qualifying work experience (13:56) – Elitism and the reality of legal recruitment (14:38) – One thing the SQE got right (16:31) – Exam failures, IT issues and procedural problems (17:07) – Why the SRA needs greater oversight (17:54) – Lessons from the Axiom Ince collapse (18:32) – Why the current approach to legal education isn't working (19:11) – The Kaplan contract controversy (20:07) – How Kaplan became the exclusive provider (20:56) – Why the SQE doesn't create better lawyers (21:35) – Does the whole system need an overhaul? New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe so you don't miss out. Follow James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamrichardson/ Law Student Academy: https://www.lawstudent.academy/ Lawyer Unleashed Join 10,000+ lawyers behind the mic: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7429575878885564419/?displayConfirmation=true Website: https://lawyer-unleashed.com/mailinglist LU on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lawyer-unleashed-podcast/ Helen Pamely on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenpamely/ Helen Pamely on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helenpamely/ A note on accuracy in this episode: figures on Kaplan's revenue from the SQE contract are our own estimate based on current public candidate numbers and fees, not a confirmed company figure. On the SRA's original SQE consultation, a clear majority of respondents who took a position were opposed, rising to over 80% among academic respondents specifically.