- Meet Adarsh Saxena, a seasoned commercial disputes lawyer from India who used his sabbatical to obtain his LLM in London – and to dual qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales.
Here’s his story.
“Before deciding to qualify as an English solicitor, I had practiced in India as a commercial disputes lawyer for over a decade. During this period, I had the opportunity to work alongside several English solicitors in matters involving a cross-border element.
“When I had already commenced my sabbatical to pursue an LLM in International Commercial & Economic Law in London, I decided that qualifying as an English solicitor at the same time would ensure that I made the most of my sabbatical. It would enhance my knowledge as well as enable me to play a more active role in international assignments once I returned to practice in India.
“I chose BARBRI because several friends and colleagues had successfully qualified as English solicitors after having taken a BARBRI course and they recommended it to me. I opted for the full-time 10-weeks course for SQE1 and obtained an SQE2 exemption on account of my prior Qualifying Work Experience. I started the course immediately after completing my LLM. The fact that I was living alone in London and did not have either work or familial responsibilities at the time enabled me to devote myself entirely to the course.
“I was particularly impressed with how the study materials were organised. The foundational subjects like English Legal System and Contracts were covered early on in the course and the more complex subjects like Wills and Administration of Estates were covered later.
“The Personal Study Plan was also an extremely useful tool that helped me to keep track of my progress. This ensured that I could take a few days off to explore the sights and sounds in London when I found myself ahead of schedule. The live workshops that were scheduled at regular intervals during the course were very helpful as well.
“Without hesitation, I would identify the BARBRI method of tackling questions as the single biggest factor that ensured I successfully cleared the SQE1 in my first attempt and placed in the first quintile. By adopting the BARBRI method at the exam and liberally flagging questions for review, I had sufficient time to review the flagged questions and even do a review of all the other questions once again within the allotted time.
“While the BARBRI course appeared to be highly priced, I decided to go ahead with it anyway. It was worth it. While I self-financed my course, my law firm has now introduced a sponsorship programme for associates by partnering with BARBRI.
“Being dual-qualified will serve my objective of playing a more active role in international assignments. Having resumed practice after my sabbatical, I will now be in a more international-facing role where being dual-qualified will be an invaluable asset.”
Want to know more about dual-qualifying as a solicitor in England and Wales? Click here.
Interesting in reading more? Fill out the form to read the full article.