Passed SQE1? What Happens Next? Your Guide to Preparing for SQE2
You passed SQE1. Congratulations!
After months of revision, practice questions, memorising rules and getting through two demanding FLK assessments, seeing that pass result is a huge achievement.
Take a moment to enjoy it.
And then comes the inevitable question:
What now?
If your goal is to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales, passing SQE1 is a major milestone — but it is only one part of the journey.
For many candidates, the next challenge is SQE2.
And while it may be tempting to think of SQE2 as simply the next exam, preparing for it requires a different approach.
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First: Understand What Changes With SQE2
SQE1 primarily tests whether you can identify and apply legal principles through single best answer questions.
SQE2 moves the focus towards practical legal skills.
Instead of choosing an answer from a list of options, you need to demonstrate that you can perform tasks expected of a newly qualified solicitor.
The assessment covers six key skills:
Client interviewing and attendance note/legal analysis
Advocacy
Case and matter analysis
Legal research
Legal writing
Legal drafting
Your functioning legal knowledge still matters. But now you need to use that knowledge in a practical context.
That requires a change in mindset.
You are moving from:
“Do I know the correct answer?”
to:
“Can I use what I know to handle this task effectively as a solicitor?”
Don't Approach SQE2 Like SQE1
This is one of the most important things to understand when moving from SQE1 to SQE2.
The revision techniques that helped you pass SQE1 will still have value, particularly when maintaining your legal knowledge, but they shouldn't form your entire SQE2 strategy.
You cannot learn advocacy simply by reading about advocacy.
You cannot become confident at client interviewing by memorising a checklist.
And reading examples of good legal writing isn't the same as producing clear, professional advice yourself under time pressure.
SQE2 preparation needs to involve doing.
Write.
Draft.
Research.
Speak.
Analyse.
Practise.
Review.
Then do it again.
Step 1: Familiarise Yourself With the SQE2 Assessment
Before creating a study timetable, understand exactly what you are preparing for.
Look at the different assessment types and understand what each one requires.
Ask yourself:
What am I expected to produce?
How much time will I have?
What does a strong performance look like?
Which legal knowledge could be tested within the exercise?
Knowing the assessment structure helps you avoid spending weeks preparing in a way that doesn't reflect what you will actually have to do.
Step 2: Assess Your Starting Point
You don't need to be equally good at every SQE2 skill when you begin.
In fact, you probably won't be.
Someone who regularly writes professionally may feel relatively comfortable with legal writing but struggle with advocacy.
Someone with paralegal experience may already be familiar with drafting and file analysis but have little experience interviewing clients.
So before creating your preparation plan, identify your starting point.
Rate your confidence in each of the six skills.
For example:
Client interviewing: ConfidentAdvocacy: Needs significant practiceCase and matter analysis: ModerateLegal research: ConfidentLegal writing: ModerateLegal drafting: Needs practice
This gives you something much more useful than simply saying:
“I need to study for SQE2.”
Now you know what you need to work on.
Step 3: Create an SQE2 Study Plan
Once you understand the assessment and your starting point, turn your preparation into a structured plan.
Don't simply write:
Monday – SQE2 revision
Be specific.
A study session might instead be:
Monday: Complete one timed legal writing exercise and review it.
Tuesday: Practise a client interview and produce the attendance note.
Wednesday: Review functioning legal knowledge and complete a case analysis exercise.
Thursday: Prepare and deliver an advocacy exercise aloud.
Saturday: Complete two timed written exercises and review mistakes.
This makes your progress measurable.
You know exactly what you have completed and what still needs attention.
Step 4: Start Practising Earlier Than You Think
Don't wait until you feel completely prepared before attempting SQE2-style exercises.
Practice is part of the preparation.
Your first advocacy attempt may feel uncomfortable.
Your first legal drafting exercise may take far too long.
Your first client interview may sound unnatural.
That's useful information.
It shows you what needs work.
The goal of early practice isn't to perform perfectly. It is to identify the gap between where you are now and where you need to be.
Step 5: Practise Speaking Out Loud
This is particularly important for the oral assessments.
Thinking through an advocacy submission in your head isn't the same as actually delivering one.
Say it aloud.
Better still, record yourself.
When you listen back, ask:
Is my argument structured?
Do I sound clear and professional?
Am I speaking too quickly?
Am I repeating myself?
Can someone easily follow my reasoning?
Am I applying the relevant law to the client's circumstances?
The same principle applies to client interviewing.
You need to become comfortable listening, asking appropriate questions and communicating naturally rather than simply working through a memorised script.
Step 6: Keep Your Legal Knowledge Active
Passing SQE1 doesn't mean you can forget everything you learned.
SQE2 assesses practical skills in the context of legal practice, so functioning legal knowledge remains important.
However, your revision can now become more targeted.
Instead of spending all your time rereading entire textbooks, identify the legal areas relevant to your practice exercises and revisit weaknesses as they appear.
Your practical work can help guide your legal revision.
If an exercise exposes a gap in your knowledge, add that topic to your revision list.
This creates a useful cycle:
Practise → identify weakness → revise → practise again.
Step 7: Learn to Work Under Time Pressure
Knowing how to complete a task and being able to complete it within the assessment time are two different things.
Early in your preparation, it can be useful to work more slowly while you learn the correct approach.
But don't stay there.
Gradually introduce timed exercises.
You need to become comfortable reading the information, identifying the relevant issues, organising your response and completing the task without having unlimited time to reconsider every decision.
This is particularly important if you have a tendency to overthink your answers.
SQE2 requires judgement.
At some point, you need to decide on your approach and execute it.
Step 8: Review Your Practice Properly
Completing ten exercises isn't necessarily better than completing five.
What matters is what you learn from them.
After every practice exercise, ask:
What did I do well?
What did I miss?
Where did I lose time?
Was my structure clear?
Did I apply the law rather than simply state it?
What will I do differently next time?
Keep a record of recurring mistakes.
If the same problem appears repeatedly, it should become a priority in your study plan.
From SQE1 Candidate to Future Solicitor
There is something important about reaching this stage.
SQE1 required you to absorb an enormous amount of information.
SQE2 asks you to start turning that knowledge into professional performance.
That can make the preparation challenging, but it can also make it feel more connected to the reason you started the SQE journey in the first place.
You are no longer preparing simply to answer examination questions.
You are practising how to analyse a client's problem, communicate advice, draft documents, research unfamiliar issues and advocate effectively.
In other words, you are moving closer to actually doing the work.
So, You Passed SQE1. What Should You Do Now?
Celebrate your result first.
Then:
Understand the SQE2 assessment structure.
Assess your strengths and weaknesses across the six skills.
Create a realistic preparation timetable.
Start practising practical exercises early.
Keep your functioning legal knowledge active.
Introduce timed practice progressively.
Review your performance and track recurring weaknesses.
Adjust your study plan as you improve.
Most importantly, don't allow the size of SQE2 to turn into another overwhelming list of things you need to master.
Break it down.
One skill. One exercise. One improvement at a time.
You already proved that you could get through SQE1.
Now the objective changes:
from knowing the law to learning how to use it.
Ready to Start Planning Your SQE2 Preparation?
Moving from SQE1 to SQE2 can feel difficult because the preparation is much less about simply working through a syllabus and much more about balancing different practical skills.
A structured plan can help you see what you've covered, identify the skills that need more attention and keep your preparation moving forward.
The SQE2 Study Planner has been designed to help candidates organise their preparation, track their progress and build a structured study routine for the next stage of the SQE journey.
Start planning early. Practise consistently. Track your progress.
And congratulations again - SQE1 is behind you. Now onto SQE2.
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