By Jess Randall
I recently passed both the SQE1 and SQE2 examinations at the first attempt and qualified as a solicitor. Here is what that means to me and why the path I took matters more than I expected.
When I walked into Circe Law for a month’s work experience in June 2023, I had no idea that three years later I would be sitting here as a qualified solicitor. I do not say that as a cliché – I mean it quite literally. The path I have taken to qualification is not the one most people imagine when they think of becoming a solicitor, and I think it is worth talking about honestly.
The route less taken
The traditional image of a solicitor’s career tends to follow a familiar script: university, legal practice course, training contract. For many people, that is the right path. But it is not the only one, and it was not mine.
I qualified through the Graduate Solicitor Apprenticeship route, which means that I trained on the job at Circe Law whilst working towards my qualification. I sat the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (both SQE1 and SQE2) and I am proud to say that I passed both at the first attempt.
What makes this particularly meaningful to me is the financial reality of the SQE. The examinations are not cheap, and for many aspiring solicitors, myself included, the prospect of funding them independently is a significant barrier. The apprenticeship route meant that I could train, earn, and qualify without carrying the weight of that financial burden alone. I do not underestimate how much of a difference that makes.
How it started
Before any of this, I studied Law at Royal Holloway, University of London, where I graduated with a First Class degree. During my time there, I volunteered at the University’s Legal Advice Clinic, working on pro bono matters alongside my peers. It was there that I first understood what it really meant to sit with someone who needed help and to be the person who could provide it.
After university, I came to Circe Law for what was meant to be a month’s work experience. I never left. I started as a Paralegal, built my experience within the Private Client team, and in 2024 was awarded Best Paralegal at the national Probate Industry Awards: which, given that I had been in the industry for less than a year at that point, still feels surreal to say out loud.
What qualifying actually means
I have been asked a few times what it feels like to qualify, and I have found it difficult to put into words. The honest answer is that it feels like validation, not of my intelligence or my ability, but of the choice I made to pursue this career in the way that I did.
The apprenticeship route is still viewed with some scepticism in parts of the legal world. There is an unspoken assumption that it is somehow a lesser path – that qualifying this way counts for less than qualifying through the traditional route. I want to be clear: it does not. The SQE is the same examination regardless of how you prepared for it. Passing it at the first attempt, whilst working full-time and managing a caseload, is not easy.
What comes next
I continue to work within the Private Client team at Circe Law, assisting clients with Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney, and estate planning matters. I have a particular interest in developing my expertise in Inheritance Tax planning and Trust work, which I intend to pursue further over the coming years – including, in time, through the STEP qualifications.
But for now, I am allowing myself a moment to appreciate how far this journey has come – from a month’s work experience to a qualified solicitor, through a route that I am proud of, in a team that I am grateful to be part of.
Breaking barriers – and we are just getting started
What I am perhaps most proud of is that my story is not unique within Circe Law. From the outset, Circe Law has been a firm that genuinely believes that talent should not be determined by the route taken to qualification, the university attended, or the ability to self-fund a traditional path into the profession. That belief is not just something written in a mission statement, it is reflected in the people who work here and in the opportunities that have been created for them.
I am one of a number of people at Circe Law who have taken a non-traditional route into the law, and that is something the firm is actively proud of. Whether through apprenticeships, career changes, or simply giving people a chance when others might not have, Circe Law has consistently chosen to invest in people over pedigree. The legal profession has historically been one of the most difficult to break into without privilege, connections, or financial resource, and firms like ours have a responsibility to change that.
If you are reading this and wondering whether a career in law is within reach for you, I hope that what I have shared offers some reassurance. The barriers are real, but they are not insurmountable – and there are firms out there that are actively working to lower them. Circe Law is one of them, and I am proud to be part of that effort.
