Most SQE candidates walk into interviews apologising for the wrong things. They brush past years of retail shifts and volunteering, then lean hard on a single week of shadowing a solicitor. Fiona Anthony watched this happen again and again while running the trainee programme at nplaw, where she also built
Learn how to build public speaking confidence when nerves hit, with one research backed trick and four habits you can start this week. Most of us spend our study days in silence. Headphones in, notes open, a library that smells faintly of coffee. Then someone asks you to stand up
Picture a client nodding along as you explain the timeline for their dispute. They say they're happy with it. But their answers get shorter, they stop making eye contact, and they're turning a pen over in their hands. If you only listen to the words, you&
The best career advice I've heard recently had nothing to do with law. It was three words: be someone worth finding. I assumed the answer was always more rooms and more handshakes. It is not. š§šµš² š»š²ššš¼šæšøš¶š»š“ ššæš®š½ Think about what actually happens at a law fair or a generic legal
The SRA confirmed this week that SQE 1 drops to 170 questions from January 2027, with the changes applying to every candidate from that sitting onwards, first sitters and resitters alike. If you are sitting in January 2027 or later, here is what actually changes and what stays the same.
Bringing back an old one from 2020 where I was invited to speak on how to build practical negotiations skills to Fiverr's community of users and entrepreneurs. This issue shares take aways from the talk and practical actionable points you can start using. How to build Practical Negotiation
SQE 2 results were released earlier this week. Some of you opened the email and read the word pass. Some of you did not. Both groups are about to find out the same thing, which is that the exam was never the hard part of this route. The hard part
How much does the SQE actually cost in 2026 is a question some candidates answer with a single number. The exam fees are only the starting point. Prep course prices vary by thousands of pounds for the same two exams, exam fees rise in September 2026, and qualifying work experience
The Minto Pyramid Principle: stop making your reader wait for the point. That's the whole idea behind a framework Barbara Minto built at McKinsey more than fifty years ago, and it's one of the most useful things you can steal for your legal writing before you&
Many SQE candidates lose marks before they ever sit the exam. Not because they study too little, but because they study the wrong way. Understanding active recall versus passive studying might be the single highest leverage change you make to your preparation. šŖšµš Rš²š®š±š¶š»š“ Yš¼ššæ Nš¼šš²š Fš²š²š¹š Pšæš¼š±šš°šš¶šš² Rereading a chapter
Don't wait to start on LinkedIn after qualification. This week I share a practical guide to LinkedIn for SQE candidates, even if you have no legal experience yet and your profile currently sits empty. šŖšµš ššš®šæš šÆš²š³š¼šæš² šš¼š š¾šš®š¹š¶š³š Many recruiters and hiring managers search LinkedIn before they read your CV. More importantly
Best newsletters for SQE candidates is a question I sometimes get asked, usually by someone who has just realised how much of legal practice sits outside the textbook. The honest answer is that most of them will not help you pass. That does not make them a waste of time.