The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced the distribution of £360,000 to 11 organisations to help candidates from disadvantaged backgrounds with the costs associated with taking the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).
The funding, sourced from financial penalties imposed on the SQE provider Kaplan, is intended to promote greater social mobility and diversity within the legal profession. The fund’s creation was previously announced back in March.
The money will be shared among organisations offering legal, educational and social mobility services, assisting applicants in qualifying as solicitors by covering the £1,934 entry fee for SQE1 and the £2,974 fee for SQE2. Eligible candidates could sit their first exam as early as January 2026.
The 11 organisations set to benefit from the funding include: Aberystwyth Veteran’s Legal Link Clinic, Accutrainee, Black and Proud CIC, Bristol Law Society, the College of Legal Practice, The Law Society’s Diversity Access Scheme, the Law Training Centre, the Legal Social Mobility Fund, the Social Welfare Solicitors Qualification Fund, the University of Lancashire and the University of Law.
Paul Philip, the outgoing chief executive of the SRA, commented: “One of the objectives of the SQE is to promote a diverse profession by removing artificial and unjustifiable barriers. Our decision to distribute the fund in this way reflects our commitment to meeting the SQE objectives. The fund recognises that talent, not financial circumstances, should determine who can become a solicitor,” adding that up to 190 candidates could be supported through the scheme.
The Law Society welcomed news that its Diversity Access Scheme (DAS) was among the recipients. The DAS aids aspiring solicitors from disadvantaged backgrounds in completing their legal education, gaining work experience and accessing meaningful mentorship opportunities.
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “Our work to support aspiring solicitors who face significant personal barriers to qualify will be greatly helped by the funding provided by the SRA. This funding will promote social mobility and work towards increasing diversity within the legal profession by supporting individuals who face social, educational, financial or personal challenges to qualifying as a solicitor.”
Patrick McCann, incoming CEO of the City of London Law Society, also welcomed the award on behalf of the Social Welfare Solicitors Qualification Fund (SWSQF), a collaboration between BARBRI SQE Prep, CLLS, The City of London Solicitors’ Company, City Solicitors Educational Trust and Young Legal Aid Lawyers Group.
McCann explained: “The SRA has granted our funding application of £40,000, which we will use to pay for SQE assessments for qualifying members of our current cohorts, of which approximately 80 were in progress, with 32 already qualified.”
Allowing the SWSQF to deploy this sum swiftly will fund another three new candidates through the entire SQE process, he said.
He concluded: “We see this as a significant endorsement of the work we do and, more importantly, the work our cohort members and their employers do, delivering legal representation to the most vulnerable members of society across the country.”
Rebekah Sutcliffe, the current chair of the Junior Lawyers Division, said back in March that the fund provided “much-needed financial assistance for talented, diverse individuals that may otherwise have been prevented from accessing the legal profession due to financial limitations and personal circumstances”.
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