Oktawia Kucharzyk is now a qualified Solicitor of England and Wales, working in-house in a varied commercial role at Medigold Health. But her path to qualification wasn’t traditional – and passing SQE2 with Law Training Centre was the final step in achieving her long-held goal.
“Probably a good place to begin is the fact that I dropped out of college,” Oktawia told us.
After leaving during her A-Levels, Oktawia later returned to education through an Access to Higher Education course in Business and Law, before completing her LLB. She began her career in criminal law, later completing the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and eventually moving into commercial law, where she now works in-house.
Despite progressing professionally after undertaking the LPC, qualifying as a solicitor remained unfinished business. Oktawia knew she wanted to qualify, but a traditional training contract wasn’t the right fit.
When she was introduced to the LPC to SQE2 route, it immediately stood out as a way to qualify independently: “I think the main reason was the fact that I could just do it by myself. I didn’t need any sort of permission from an employer.”
The ability to prepare for and sit SQE2 without relying on employer sponsorship or navigating the training contract process gave her clarity and control over her qualification journey.
Oktawia prepared for SQE2 while working full-time as Legal Counsel. Stopping work was not an option, so she built a demanding but disciplined study routine: “It was a 6 a.m. wake up call every weekday. Study until about halfway and then a quick refresh and breakfast before going to work.”
And it was the flexibility of Law Training Centre’s online course that truly made this possible. “I think it’s important. It allowed me to work alongside studying and be on my own schedule,” she told us.
Being able to revisit lectures, structure her own timetable and remove commuting time made a significant difference to her ability to stay consistent and exam-ready.
From the outset, Oktawia was reassured by the structure and support offered: “The course materials were really very comprehensive. There was never really a moment where I needed to look something up myself. Everything that I needed seemed to be given to me within the notes.”
She found the practice questions and mocks particularly valuable in preparing for the real SQE2 assessments, telling us “they helped a lot. There were definitely a few that I picked up on on exam day where I thought, I remember answering a question like this.”
Even when unfamiliar drafting tasks appeared in the exam, the depth of preparation meant she felt equipped to handle them.
It just goes to show how much is really covered within the course that even when you haven’t seen something before, you know enough to be able to deal with it.
For Oktawia, one of the standout aspects of studying with Law Training Centre was the quality and speed of tutor feedback. “I don’t ever remember waiting more than two days to get full feedback and it was always so constructive and really helpful. It wasn’t as simple as this is good and this isn’t. It was ‘have you thought about this’? And ‘this is a great way to approach the question’.”
Even after achieving top marks in a mock, tutors continued to push her further: “The tutor gave me full marks…but they still went on to say ‘this is what you can add to it’.” That level of detailed, constructive guidance strengthened both her legal knowledge and her exam technique, directly contributing to her success in SQE2.
Preparing for SQE2 while working full-time was challenging, and there were moments when motivation dipped. “I definitely had a couple of times where I just couldn’t bring myself to pick the laptop up.”
But what stood out was the personal support she received from the team.
“I got messages from Law Training Centre…messages from tutors saying you haven’t logged in in a couple of days, just checking in if everything’s alright. I do genuinely feel like I had people around me who were helpful and genuinely cared. And that really was, I think, what make me pass my exams.”
Having successfully passed SQE2 with Law Training Centre, Oktawia has now qualified as a solicitor while continuing to develop her in-house legal career. Looking back on the course, she says, “it was everything that I needed for my exams. And it obviously paid off because I’ve passed now!”
