My legal life: Amir Paz-Fuchs, University of Sussex

I did my first degree in law in Israel and qualified as a lawyer there. I had to do an ‘internship’, or training contract, over the course of a year and did mine at the Court of Appeals. I then had to pass an exam, which is quite similar in format to the SQE1.

After working for a year as a pro bono lawyer, I decided to pursue an academic track so applied to Oxford and did my PhD. Afterwards, I returned to Israel to teach employment law and legal theory for seven years. I was also involved with various human rights organisations.

I then accepted a research position at the University of Oxford so came back – this time with a family. We liked it here so I took up an academic position at the University of Sussex and developed its law clinics. The clinics were the main reason I decided to qualify in England and Wales. I followed the SQE route and did my preparation courses through BARBRI. I sat the SQE1 in 2022 and the SQE2 in 2023. I officially registered on the roll of solicitors this month.

There were two main factors for doing the SQE despite being head of law at the University of Sussex. First, when I joined the university as a lecturer I started volunteering at Citizens Advice as an employment specialist. I enjoyed interacting with clients and helping people in the community while bringing my client experience and examples into the classroom. I realised that practising law is a part of the legal sphere I enjoyed and I didn’t want to get too disconnected from it.  

Second, I set up the law clinics at Sussex several years ago and became the director. This is when I started to write a textbook on clinical legal education – the first of its kind. In that capacity, I spoke to colleagues who are directors of clinics elsewhere, several of whom are legally trained and active solicitors or barristers, while others are qualified and not active. It quickly became clear that becoming a qualified solicitor in England and Wales made sense, bringing the knowledge and understanding of the professional realm to the legal clinic. Then, of course, having gone through the SQE allows me to share my experiences with my students who are also hoping to pursue this route.

'For University of Sussex students and graduates, I position myself as a point of reference. I’m always happy to talk to them about the SQE route, the challenges they can expect and how to deal with them'

Combining studying with full-time work and parental responsibilities was a challenge. I spent a bit of time feeling sorry for myself, thinking I was the only one studying alongside full-time work. But then I joined a group chat with others who were taking part in the course and realised this was not the case – quite a few were also working full-time alongside studies. Very few took a significant gap or went part-time. In that sense, my experience wasn’t different and we were all facing the same challenges.

When it comes to preparing for the SQE, my advice is that you have to allocate time. Otherwise, you may start to fall behind and that’s where it could become overwhelming.

While undergoing SQE1 prep in 2022, I allocated time first thing in the morning. I had a light teaching load at the time and more control of my day, and I preferred to wake up early, get to the office and study for a few hours. However, when the SQE2 came along in 2023, I was the head of department and my time was more restricted. For example, my workday started with early meetings, meaning no more morning study sessions. So, when I finished the day at, say, 5pm, then it was time to start the ‘second shift’. Plus, weekends, where I’d previously relax and switch off, would now be spent catching up on learning.

There are a number of  ways in which doing the SQE has shaped my approach to day-to-day work. First, in terms of teaching and education. I’ve been talking to colleagues about adopting a spaced repetition approach in their own modules. Second, I can now see myself giving added benefits to the clinics concerning ethics, substantive law and even confidence as a solicitor. Finally, for Sussex students and graduates, I position myself as a point of reference, perhaps as a mentor of sorts, and I’m always happy to talk to them about the SQE route, the challenges they can expect and how to deal with them.