I meet a lot of French lawyers who have quietly decided the SQE is not for them before they have really looked at it. The reasoning usually goes: English law is a different world, I trained in a civil law system, and surely requalifying means starting from scratch. I understand the instinct. It is also, for the most part, wrong.
So let me lay it out plainly, the way I wish someone had done for me: what the Solicitors Qualifying Examination actually asks of a French lawyer, what is genuinely hard, and what is easier than you fear.
The good news first
There is no training contract. That single fact changes everything. The old route funnelled everyone through a scarce two-year contract at a firm; the SQE replaced it with Qualifying Work Experience, which you can build across up to four organisations, including in-house teams and legal clinics. For an experienced avocat, that flexibility is a gift.
Better still, if you are already a qualified lawyer, you may be eligible for an exemption from SQE2, the skills stage. That is assessed case by case by the SRA, but it means many French lawyers effectively face SQE1 as their main hurdle rather than the whole assessment.
Now the honest part
The real challenge is not memorising rules. It is a shift in legal reflexes. French training builds a codified, deductive way of thinking; English law leans on cases, precedent and a more pragmatic, fact-led style. SQE1 tests that common law reasoning through single best answer questions, and civil-law-trained candidates often find the format, not the content, is what trips them up at first.
The second hurdle is language, and not in the way people assume. Your English is probably fine. Legal English is another matter: the precise, slightly archaic vocabulary of English practice takes deliberate practice. It is very learnable. It is just rarely something you can skip.
Where to actually start
Map the mountain before you climb it. Our free SQE Planner will build a realistic timetable around your exam date and the hours you can spare around work. Then get around other people doing the same thing. That is the whole point of our French SQE study group: prep designed for lawyers coming from a civil law background, with mentors who have made exactly this transition, plus legal English support built in.
Two questions I always get
Do I need to redo a law degree?
No. You need a degree (any subject) or equivalent, plus your QWE. Your French legal qualifications are an asset here, not a reset button.
Can I keep practising in France while I prepare?
Most of our French candidates do exactly that. The SQE is built for people qualifying alongside a career, which is precisely why the study group runs at hours that respect a working week.
If you have been circling this decision for a while, come and talk to us. Start with the SQE courses or simply join the study group and see how it feels.
— Dr Olga Pogrebennyk
Related reading: SQE for Indian lawyers and the SQE route for Ukrainian lawyers.