Withdrawn from the SQE course - is the career in commercial law still possible?

[Sunny-young]

Hi @Jessica Booker and everyone,

I’ve got a 2:1 in law and recently started the LLM SQE course, but I was withdrawn after failing one module. I’m planning to apply for vacation schemes and training contracts later this year, but I’m unsure how this might affect my chances.

There’s no official record of the failed course, but I understand any gaps on my CV might raise questions. I’m not trying to hide anything, but I’m not sure if it's still realistic to apply.

I meet the 2:1 requirement for most firms and still really want to qualify as a solicitor. Would really appreciate any honest thoughts or advice. 🥹


Thank you so much.

 

[Andrei Radu]

Hi @Jessica Booker and everyone,

I’ve got a 2:1 in law and recently started the LLM SQE course, but I was withdrawn after failing one module. I’m planning to apply for vacation schemes and training contracts later this year, but I’m unsure how this might affect my chances.

There’s no official record of the failed course, but I understand any gaps on my CV might raise questions. I’m not trying to hide anything, but I’m not sure if it's still realistic to apply.

I meet the 2:1 requirement for most firms and still really want to qualify as a solicitor. Would really appreciate any honest thoughts or advice. 🥹


Thank you so much.

Hi @Sunny-young if there is no official record of it and you are not required to disclose past SQE attempts as part of the application form, you probably should not disclose it. If so, your chances of progressing past the application stage will not be impacted by this. However, as you suggested, the gap in your CV may raise questions in an interview, and in such a situation, you will likely have to disclose the failed attempt. The extent to which this will significantly lower chances of progressing past the interview depends on your general interviewing skills, how well you explain why you have failed, and on if you can show you have taken steps to mitigate the issues that have affected your performance.

 

[trainee4u]

Hi @Sunny-young if there is no official record of it and you are not required to disclose past SQE attempts as part of the application form, you probably should not disclose it. If so, your chances of progressing past the application stage will not be impacted by this. However, as you suggested, the gap in your CV may raise questions in an interview, and in such a situation, you will likely have to disclose the failed attempt. The extent to which this will significantly lower chances of progressing past the interview depends on your general interviewing skills, how well you explain why you have failed, and on if you can show you have taken steps to mitigate the issues that have affected your performance.

I don't think that an internal module is likely to ever be disclosable - there isn't really a meaningful 'SQE prep course' qualification - it's the SRA/Kaplan-exam (i.e. FLK1, FLK2, or both) that would need to be disclosed if failed.

 

[TCLA Community Assistant]

If a firm’s application asks you to disclose any failed academic results, then you would need to disclose this even if there is no official record of your transcript. There will be a record of you being enrolled into the university somewhere, even if there is not an official transcript.

How long were you studying the course for before you failed the module and was withdrawn?

I must stress being withdrawn from a course due to one failed module is very rare too - normally you would just be allowed to resit the module. Were there any other circumstances as to why you were withdrawn (eg poor attendance of lectures/did not complete mock assessments/not paying tuition fees etc)? Feel free to PM me about this if you would prefer.