The Graduate Jobs Crisis and the Struggle to Secure SQE Qualifying Work Experience

Written by Editor

Disclaimer: This article is for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, employment, careers or regulatory advice. Solicitors Qualifying Examination requirements and employment laws may change, and individual circumstances differ. Anyone seeking to register Qualifying Work Experience should consult the Solicitors Regulation Authority directly and discuss the proposed placement with the solicitor or Compliance Officer for Legal Practice who would be responsible for confirming it.

The UK Graduate Employment Market Is Contracting

As graduate vacancies decline, aspiring solicitors face growing competition for the practical legal experience required to enter the profession.

Graduates entering the UK employment market in 2026 are confronting an increasingly difficult and competitive landscape. Data reported by Reuters on 3 August 2026 showed that graduate job postings were approximately 7% lower than a year earlier and had fallen to their lowest level for that time of year since 2020. Overall UK job postings had declined by 11% between the beginning of 2026 and 17 July and remained approximately 32% below their pre-pandemic level.

Separate government-published analysis of LinkedIn hiring data found that the UK hiring rate was 14% lower year-on-year in April 2026, with every tracked industry experiencing a decline. Although entry-level hiring was falling broadly in line with the wider labour market, 30 of the 38 entry-level occupations examined were in decline. Entry-level hiring for legal assistants was reportedly down by approximately 14%.

Research from High Fliers also found that graduate recruitment among the UK’s leading employers had fallen by 24.5% since 2022. Graduate recruitment declined by 6.4% in 2023, 14.6% in 2024 and a further 5.1% in 2025, with another reduction forecast for 2026.

These figures suggest that the problem is not simply a matter of individual graduates failing to submit enough applications. There are fewer opportunities available, while growing numbers of applicants compete for each suitable entry-level position.

What Does This Mean for Aspiring Solicitors?

The decline creates a particular problem for law students and graduates following the Solicitors Qualifying Examination route.

Passing a law degree and the SQE assessments is not enough by itself to qualify as a solicitor. An aspiring solicitor must also complete at least two years of full-time Qualifying Work Experience, or its part-time equivalent, before applying for admission.

QWE is intended to offer a more flexible alternative to the traditional training contract. It may be completed before, during or after the SQE assessments and can be accumulated across a maximum of four organisations. It may include a traditional training contract, paralegal work, a university placement, work in a legal clinic, pro bono legal work or relevant experience from a previous role.

On paper, this flexibility appears to make the profession more accessible. In practice, however, students still need to find organisations willing to provide meaningful legal work, suitable supervision and confirmation of the experience.

The Experience Paradox

Many entry-level legal vacancies ask applicants to demonstrate previous office, casework, drafting or client-management experience. This creates a circular barrier:

Applicants need experience to obtain a legal role, but they need a legal role to gain the experience employers demand.

Students may have completed years of academic study, developed strong legal-research skills and produced high-quality written work, yet still be rejected because they have not previously worked within a law firm or legal department.

This can be especially frustrating for candidates who already operate businesses, manage publications, conduct legal and policy research, produce professional correspondence or support vulnerable communities. These activities may demonstrate valuable transferable skills, but they do not automatically become QWE.

The SRA’s test is based on the substance of the work, not simply whether it appears legal or is completed inside a legal organisation.

What Actually Counts as Qualifying Work Experience?

For work to count as QWE, it must involve the provision of real-life legal services and provide exposure to at least two competencies contained in the SRA’s Statement of Solicitor Competence.

The SRA explains that simulated legal exercises do not count. Furthermore, working for a law firm does not automatically make every role QWE. A position consisting entirely of reception duties, routine administration, marketing or data entry may not satisfy the requirements if the person is not providing legal services or developing the necessary competencies.

Examples of work that may contribute towards QWE include:

Conducting legal research connected with a real client or matter;
Interviewing clients or gathering relevant facts;
Drafting legal correspondence or documents;
Preparing case files;
Communicating legal information clearly;
Assisting with complaints, appeals or tribunal preparation;
Applying legislation and legal principles to real circumstances;
Managing cases or legal transactions;
Supporting supervised advice work; and
Demonstrating professional conduct, ethics and sound judgment.

The total experience must amount to at least two years of full-time work or its part-time equivalent. The SRA does not prescribe a universal mathematical definition of “full-time equivalent”, so organisations are expected to apply a common-sense assessment of the hours and duration involved.

Who Must Confirm the Experience?

QWE must be confirmed by a solicitor of England and Wales or by a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice.

The person confirming it must verify:

The period during which the work was completed;
That the candidate provided legal services;
That the candidate had the opportunity to develop at least two solicitor competencies; and
That no character or suitability concerns arose during the placement.

The confirming solicitor does not necessarily have to work for the same organisation. However, an external solicitor must have reviewed the candidate’s work and received feedback from the person who supervised it.

This requirement can present another barrier. A small charity, community organisation or Member of Parliament’s constituency office may offer valuable legal or rights-based casework but may not employ a solicitor who is able and willing to confirm the experience.

Students therefore need to ask about confirmation at the beginning of a placement, rather than discovering months later that nobody is prepared to sign it off.

Why Disabled Candidates May Face Additional Barriers

Disabled students and graduates can face obstacles that are not experienced equally by every applicant. These may include:

Recruitment processes that rely heavily on telephone calls;
Inaccessible online application systems;
Assessment centres that require lengthy travel;
Interviews held in physically inaccessible buildings;
Employers refusing to consider remote or hybrid arrangements;
Rigid full-time working patterns;
Fatigue, pain or fluctuating health conditions;
The cost of specialist equipment or support;
Employers making assumptions about capability; and
Gaps in education or employment caused by illness or treatment.

Employers must make reasonable adjustments where a disabled applicant or worker would otherwise be placed at a substantial disadvantage. Adjustments during recruitment could include accessible interview locations, alternative communication methods, additional time, accessible testing arrangements or appropriate use of technology.

This does not mean that every request for remote work must automatically be accepted. Whether an adjustment is reasonable depends on matters such as the role, the organisation, practicality, cost and the disadvantage experienced by the applicant. Nevertheless, legal employers should not automatically assume that supervision, client communication or casework must always take place in a traditional office.

Mature Students and Carers Are Also Disadvantaged

Mature students may have substantial professional and life experience but can still be treated as inexperienced when attempting to enter the legal profession.

Many have mortgages, rent, household bills or caring responsibilities. They may be unable to relocate to London, accept an unpaid internship or abandon existing work for a short placement with no guarantee of future employment.

Students studying part-time or through distance learning may also have fewer informal networking opportunities than students attending a campus every day. They may not have regular access to law fairs, legal societies, local firms or face-to-face clinical programmes.

This does not mean they lack commitment. In many cases, they are balancing study with employment, disability, parenthood, caring duties or running a business. These experiences can develop resilience, organisation, communication, commercial awareness and an understanding of the difficulties faced by real clients.

The Problem With Unpaid Legal Experience

The SRA permits QWE to be gained through paid or voluntary roles. This provides flexibility for charities, law centres and advice organisations, but it also raises questions about economic accessibility.

A person with independent financial support may be able to complete months of unpaid legal work. Someone responsible for paying rent, supporting children or managing disability-related costs may not.

When unpaid experience becomes the unofficial gateway to paid employment, the profession risks favouring applicants who can afford to work for nothing. This may indirectly exclude people from lower-income backgrounds, disabled applicants, carers and mature students.

Voluntary opportunities can provide enormous public value, particularly in advice centres and charities. However, they should not become a substitute for properly funded junior legal employment.

Could Remote QWE Help?

Remote and hybrid placements could make QWE more accessible while allowing organisations to draw from a wider pool of candidates.

Many legal tasks can be completed remotely, including:

Legal and policy research;
Reviewing documents;
Preparing case chronologies;
Drafting correspondence;
Producing file notes;
Conducting supervised client meetings by video;
Assisting with written complaints and appeals;
Monitoring legislative developments; and
Supporting legal education and public-information projects.

Remote work does not have to mean an absence of supervision. Organisations can provide structured meetings, secure case-management systems, written feedback, competency reviews and regular contact with a supervising solicitor.

The SRA’s guidance states that good-quality QWE should involve varied work, meaningful support, regular reflection and clear discussions from the outset about expectations and who will confirm the placement. Repetitive administrative work is unlikely to provide the broad development an aspiring solicitor needs.

Could Work for an MP Count?

An MP’s constituency office may deal with housing problems, welfare benefits, immigration matters, discrimination, public services, healthcare complaints and disputes involving government departments.

Experience in such an office could be valuable and may potentially count as QWE where the candidate is providing real-life legal services, develops at least two solicitor competencies and can have the work properly confirmed.

However, general community engagement would not automatically qualify. Activities such as delivering leaflets, political canvassing, organising public events, managing social media or attending general meetings may strengthen a CV but would not ordinarily amount to providing legal services.

A candidate considering an MP’s office should ask whether the role would involve supervised legal research, rights-based constituency casework, drafting formal representations or helping to progress matters involving legislation and public bodies. They must also establish whether a solicitor is available to review and confirm the experience.

Artificial Intelligence and the Disappearance of Junior Work

The growing use of artificial intelligence adds another dimension to the graduate-employment crisis.

In June 2026, AI or related technologies were mentioned in a record 9.4% of UK job postings. At the same time, graduate opportunities were declining.

AI may be used to conduct initial research, review documents, summarise cases and produce basic drafts, tasks traditionally undertaken by junior employees. However, the available evidence does not yet prove that AI alone is responsible for the decline in entry-level hiring. Government analysis found that some of the largest hiring reductions were in roles exposed to improving AI capabilities, but cautioned that this did not establish causation.

If employers automate too much junior-level work, they may create a future skills problem. Senior solicitors cannot emerge fully formed. They need opportunities to practise research, drafting, communication, judgment and ethical decision-making under proper supervision.

AI should support the development of junior professionals rather than eliminate the pathway through which they learn.

What Should Legal Employers Do?

Law firms, charities, local authorities, universities, MPs and in-house legal departments could help by creating shorter, structured and accessible QWE placements.

Organisations should consider:

Offering remote or hybrid placements where practical;
Advertising part-time opportunities;
Removing unnecessary requirements for previous legal employment;
Providing paid placements whenever funding permits;
Separating essential criteria from desirable experience;
Making application systems accessible;
Accepting alternative forms of communication;
Providing written feedback and competency reviews;
Identifying the confirming solicitor at the outset; and
Recognising transferable skills gained through business, caring, publishing, volunteering and community work.

A placement does not have to last two years. Because QWE can be accumulated across as many as four organisations, a shorter placement can still make a meaningful contribution to a candidate’s qualification journey.

What Should Universities and the SRA Do?

Universities should provide clearer information about QWE from the beginning of a law degree, rather than waiting until students approach graduation.

Students need practical guidance explaining:

What counts as providing legal services;
How to record their hours and responsibilities;
How the solicitor competencies apply;
Who can confirm QWE;
How to approach organisations;
How part-time experience may be calculated;
What to do if an organisation refuses confirmation; and
How to obtain accessible or remote experience.

The SRA should continue monitoring whether the flexibility promised by the QWE system is working equally for disabled candidates, mature students, carers, distance learners and people from lower-income backgrounds.

Flexibility exists within the rules, but flexibility has limited value when organisations do not offer suitable opportunities.

Practical Steps for Aspiring Solicitors

Students seeking QWE should consider approaching:

Law firms;
University law clinics;
Citizens Advice services;
Law centres;
Pro bono organisations;
Human-rights charities;
Disability organisations;
Housing and welfare-rights organisations;
Local authorities;
Trade unions;
MPs and constituency offices;
In-house legal departments;
Regulatory organisations; and
Charities providing supervised legal advice.

Before beginning any placement, candidates should ask:

Will I be providing real-life legal services?
Which solicitor competencies could I develop?
Who will supervise and review my work?
Who will confirm the experience?
How will my hours and responsibilities be recorded?
Can reasonable adjustments be provided?
Is remote or hybrid participation possible?
Will I receive feedback and varied legal work?

Candidates should also keep a detailed record of dates, hours, responsibilities, anonymised examples of work, feedback and the competencies developed.

A Profession Cannot Demand Experience While Withholding Opportunity

The legal profession rightly expects aspiring solicitors to demonstrate competence, ethics and practical ability. Clients must be protected, and professional standards must remain high.

However, standards should not be confused with unnecessary barriers.

When graduate vacancies are falling, legal-assistant recruitment is declining, and employers continue to demand previous experience for junior roles, students can become trapped between academic achievement and professional admission.

Disabled applicants, mature students, carers and people who need remote or flexible arrangements may be particularly affected. Their difficulties should not be dismissed as a lack of ambition or commitment.

The solution is not to remove the QWE requirement. Practical experience is essential. The solution is to create more accessible, properly supervised and meaningful opportunities through which candidates can obtain it.

The future of the legal profession depends on who is permitted to enter it. If access remains restricted to those who can relocate, work unpaid, attend traditional offices and already possess the experience required to gain experience, the profession risks losing talented people with valuable lived experience and a genuine commitment to justice.

Can a Law Graduate Open a Law Firm Without Qualifying as a Solicitor?

A law graduate who cannot secure traditional legal work experience is not necessarily prevented from becoming an entrepreneur within the legal-services sector. In England and Wales, it is possible for a person who is not a qualified solicitor to own or help manage a regulated law firm through a structure commonly known as an Alternative Business Structure, or ABS.

An ABS is an authorised legal business that may include non-lawyer owners, investors or managers. Under the SRA Authorisation of Firms Rules, a licensed body must have at least one manager who is an authorised legal professional. This means that a law graduate or businessperson may potentially establish and own the company while employing or partnering with properly qualified solicitors to provide its regulated legal services.

SRA Authorisation Would Still Be Required

The graduate could not simply register a company, describe it as an SRA-regulated solicitors’ firm and begin accepting every type of legal case.

The proposed firm would need to apply to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for authorisation as a licensed body. The SRA would examine the proposed owners, managers, compliance arrangements, financial position and suitability of those involved.

Among other requirements, an authorised firm must ordinarily:

Have at least one authorised legal professional as a manager;
Identify and obtain approval for relevant owners and managers;
Appoint a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice;
Appoint a Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration;
Obtain the required professional indemnity insurance;
Have access to an individual who has practised as a lawyer for at least three years; and
Comply with applicable accounts, anti-money-laundering and consumer-protection requirements.

The SRA must be satisfied that managers, owners and compliance officers are fit and proper to occupy positions involving responsibility and public trust.

The Graduate Could Be an Owner, but Not Pretend to Be a Solicitor

Owning a legal business would not make the graduate a solicitor. They could describe themselves accurately as the founder, owner, director, manager or law graduate, depending on the circumstances, but they could not claim to be a solicitor until they were admitted to the roll.

It is a criminal offence for an unqualified person wilfully to pretend to be a solicitor or use a title or description implying that they are qualified as one. The word “lawyer” is broader and does not have the same protected legal status in the United Kingdom, which is why members of the public should always check the professional title and regulatory status of anyone providing legal services.

The business would also need to be transparent about whether the organisation itself was regulated by the SRA. Merely employing an individual solicitor does not automatically make the entire business an SRA-regulated law firm.

What Could the Graduate Do Within the Firm?

A graduate owner could potentially undertake business-management and support responsibilities such as:

Developing the firm’s strategy and services;
Managing staff and business operations;
Marketing the firm;
Conducting general legal and policy research;
Preparing background information;
Supporting qualified solicitors;
Managing technology and administrative systems;
Developing accessible client services; and
Helping to build partnerships with charities and community organisations.

They might also undertake supervised legal work, provided that their role remained within the law and the qualified solicitors maintained proper responsibility for regulated matters.

However, an unqualified owner could not personally conduct reserved legal activities merely because they employed solicitors. The SRA has emphasised that a person who is not authorised to conduct litigation may support an authorised solicitor but cannot themselves take over responsibility for conducting the litigation.

What Are Reserved Legal Activities?

The Legal Services Act 2007 identifies six categories of work that may ordinarily be conducted only by someone who is authorised or legally exempt. These are:

Exercising a right of audience before a court;
Conducting litigation;
Reserved instrument activities, including certain conveyancing work;
Probate activities;
Notarial activities; and
Administering oaths.

Carrying out a reserved legal activity without being entitled to do so can amount to a criminal offence. Therefore, qualified and appropriately authorised professionals would need to control and undertake these services within the firm.

Could the Graduate Operate an Unregulated Legal-Services Business Instead?

Another option may be to establish a business that provides only unreserved legal services. Not every service connected with law is reserved. Certain forms of general legal advice, research, assistance, document support and information may be offered outside an SRA-regulated firm, depending on the exact work involved.

An unregulated business can also employ solicitors to provide some non-reserved legal services to external clients. However, it must not mislead clients into believing that the business itself is regulated by the SRA simply because an employee is an individually regulated solicitor. An unregulated business also cannot provide reserved legal services to the public unless it obtains the necessary authorisation. Additional regulation may apply to areas such as immigration advice, claims management and certain financial services.

Consumers using an unregulated provider may not receive the same protections that commonly accompany an authorised law firm, including regulatory oversight, compulsory professional indemnity insurance, access to particular complaints procedures and possible compensation arrangements. Any business using this model must therefore explain its regulatory position clearly and avoid making misleading claims.

Would Owning the Firm Replace SQE Qualifying Work Experience?

Opening or owning a legal business would not, by itself, allow someone to qualify as a solicitor. The owner would still need to satisfy the SRA’s requirements, including passing the SQE assessments, completing two years of Qualifying Work Experience or its equivalent, meeting character and suitability requirements and applying for admission.

Work completed within the graduate’s own business might potentially contribute towards QWE only where it genuinely involved providing legal services, offered opportunities to develop the required solicitor competencies and could be properly reviewed and confirmed by a solicitor of England and Wales or another eligible person. Company ownership, marketing, publishing general articles and managing employees would not automatically count.

The business must not be used as an artificial way of signing off experience that has not genuinely been undertaken. Any confirming solicitor would need sufficient knowledge of the work and must be able to confirm it honestly and independently.

An Alternative Route for Entrepreneurial Law Graduates

The ABS model demonstrates that law-firm ownership and professional qualification are related but separate matters. A person may have the entrepreneurial ability to establish a legal business before being personally authorised to practise as a solicitor.

For a graduate who ultimately wishes to work independently, one possible pathway could be to:

Continue completing the law degree and SQE requirements;
Build relationships with experienced solicitors;
Obtain supervised QWE through suitable organisations;
Develop a detailed legal-business plan;
Recruit or partner with qualified professionals;
Seek specialist regulatory and insurance advice; and
Apply for SRA authorisation when the business is ready.

This route would require significant funding, regulatory preparation and professional oversight. It would not remove the need for competence, supervision or consumer protection. Nevertheless, it could provide an alternative for entrepreneurial graduates who struggle to enter the profession through conventional recruitment channels.

Conclusion: Ownership Should Not Be Confused With Qualification

A graduate may be capable of owning and developing a successful legal business while employing experienced solicitors, but they must remain transparent about their own professional status.

They should never present themselves as a solicitor before qualification, personally carry out work reserved for authorised professionals or imply that an unregulated organisation is protected by SRA regulation.

Opening a firm may therefore be legally possible, but it is not a shortcut around the SQE or QWE requirements. It is a business-ownership route that must operate alongside, rather than replace, the formal process of becoming a solicitor.