From legal secretary, to employment lawyer, to SQE senior tutor, Joanne White has seen it all. We sat down with BARBRI’s SQE2 lead to hear her top tips for success
When she left school at 16, Joanne White had no plans to qualify as a lawyer. Now, with 15 years of experience in practice behind her, she is helping the next generation of students take their first steps into the profession as senior tutor and SQE2 lead at BARBRI.
“I took a bit of an alternative route into the legal profession” Joanne tells me, “I left school at 16 and didn’t go to college or university at that time. I left home and became a secretary.” While continuing to work full-time, Joanne eventually went back to night school to do her A levels followed by a law degree. Joanne completed her law degree while working as a secretary in a law firm, who then encouraged her to take the LPC. “I had never intended to do the LPC, I just wanted to see if I could get a degree!” she says. Nine years after she started night school to pick up her studies, Joanne was a qualified employment lawyer.
Having spent 15 years as a practising lawyer, Joanne moved into legal education in 2019. She finds that her unconventional route to qualification has motivated her to inspire others in a similar position to enter the profession. The route that I took was so laborious: it took me nine years as I was also working full-time, and I didn’t have a cheerleader,” she explains, “It’s rewarding for me and beneficial to others to share my experience, showing that you can work full time and study part time, and that you can get through the tough times – of which there are many!” It is these aspiring lawyers that the SQE aims to assist:
“The SQE was designed to encourage people from all walks of life to enter the law: some career-changers, some older candidates, some people from deprived backgrounds – I tick all of those boxes. It makes me a person who can share that experience, to help people get through what can be a challenging route to qualification.”
When speaking to students struggling to balance SQE preparation with their other commitments – whether that’s family life or a full-time job – Joanne feels her own experience can offer a source of confidence. “It’s easy to start thinking: Is this really for me? Can I do this? Am I just kidding myself?” she says, “being a cheerleader for those people, showing them it can be done – and I’m the proof – is really rewarding and students are grateful for it.”
So how does BARBRI’s online model make studying easier for those students balancing busy lives? “The online platform is very clearly set out,” Joanne responds. “The last thing you want if you’re tired and overwhelmed is to be thinking: Where do I even start? The simplicity of the platform is very valuable.” BARBRI also offer tailored support to each of their students. “Even though it’s an online course, the support is extensive,” Joanne tells me. “We have regular checkups with our students. If we see students’ grades are falling, we will check in with them to make sure everything’s okay. We have weekly strategy sessions where students can come and ask questions. We have tutor calls where students have a one-on-one with a tutor and can talk about their personal experience.”
SQE2 can sometimes seem particularly daunting for students as it takes a slightly different form from exams students may be familiar with. I ask Joanne to explain how this exam is different. “SQE1 is all about black letter law and that’s what most law students are comfortable doing: learn the law, learn the law, learn the law,” she replies. “SQE2 takes a little bit of that law – not all of it – and uses it to test students in six different skills.” These skills are client interview, advocacy, case and matter analysis, legal research, legal writing and legal drafting.
“The way to approach SQE2 is practice, practice, practice,” says Joanne. “At BARBRI, we give you 48 different practice assessments during your course. It’s not all about learning the law, although you might have to top up your knowledge, it’s about practising those skills. That’s the key difference between SQE1 and SQE2.”
One element of SQE2 that may seem particularly daunting for students is the oral assessments, where you are assessed on advocacy and client interview skills. Joanne assures me that students need not dread these assessments. “Students really fear the oral exams but, in reality, they often perform better in the oral exams than in the written.” She describes how practising exam techniques through role-play gets results, “Students are nervous at the beginning, but they always improve,” she says. The key with these assessments is confidence. “Often, it’s not about lack of ability, but lack of confidence. The ability is there but we need to get the confidence up – when the students improve their confidence, they thrive,” Joanne explains.
In terms of the skill that presents the most difficulty to students in their exam, Joanne mentions legal research. “There is a real skill to legal research. In practice as a lawyer, you get hours to do it — days even — but in SQE2 you have just one hour.” I ask how students can best approach this paper. “The key is time management,” is Joanne’s answer. “As lawyers we tend to be perfectionists; we want to do a perfect job”. The challenge for students is to know when it is good enough to hit the marking criteria and not waste time aiming for perfection – there simply isn’t the time in SQE2.”
So how can candidates prepare for these exams successfully? “Consistency is key. You have just got to keep going because it’s all about practice.” Joanne would also remind students to be resilient when things aren’t going to plan. “Your assessment grades will go up and down. Many students get deflated when there’s a dip in their grades. It’s important to take the rough with the smooth.”
As we wrap up our conversation, Joanne shares one last piece of advice for students approaching their SQE: “Trust the process.” “The BARBRI course has been very carefully compiled with success in mind, and our pass rates demonstrate that,” she elaborates. “Yes, it seems daunting; yes, it’s going to be hard work, but it’s absolutely doable if you follow our process and are consistent in your approach.” She also reminds students that they are not alone: “Make use of our support resources and engage with the course. If you do those things, you will set yourself up to pass the exam.”
Joanne White will be speaking at TOMORROW’S Legal Cheek virtual event, “SQE2 success stories: Sharing student strategies — with BARBRI” at 4pm. Apply now to attend.
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