From LPC to SQE: How Changing Qualification Routes Impact Legal Research Training

This article is based on a plenary session lecture that was presented at the BIALL Annual Conference at the Eastside Rooms, Birmingham, on Wednesday 11 June 2025. Anne Coles and Helena Marshall delivered the session, co-authored by Wendy Johnson, which outlined the recent introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, the most significant reform to solicitor training in the past three decades, and focused on the subsequent need to introduce robust legal research skills training within commercial firms. The authors discussed the challenges facing the legal information profession, including how to bridge the diverse knowledge gaps amongst trainee cohorts, and offered strategies for turning these difficulties into opportunities. The lecture then introduced practical advice for legal information professionals to develop flexible, innovative training sessions which address this evolving qualification landscape.