Opening own Solicitor Practice

Once you have passed the QLTT, and you have been admitted to the roll, you will need to have a practicing certificate to practice as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales. You will also need to comply with the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 (also available on the SRA website, www.sra.org.uk ). Rule 5 deals with business management in England and Wales, and sub rule 5.02 states that a sole principal, or at least one of the partners in a partnership, must be a person "qualified to supervise".

To be qualified to supervise a person must have completed 12 hours of management training and must have been entitled to practice as a lawyer for at least 36 months within the last ten years. This means that solicitors who have come through the QLTT route can rely on practice as lawyers of other jurisdictions can rely on that experience.

If you intend to practice as a solicitor of the supreme court of England and Wales overseas, you will need to comply with rule 15(overseas practice ) of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct. In particular, sub rule 15.05(2) states that you must not set up as a solicitor sole principal unless you have been entitled to practice as a lawyer for a minimum of 36 months within the last 10 years.