What To Consider At Each PQE Stage
Whether you’re newly qualified or six years in, legal careers aren’t linear — and they’re certainly not one-size-fits-all. Yet certain turning points do crop up time and again, especially in private practice.
Here’s your career compass — a simple guide to what lawyers should be thinking about at key stages of PQE
0–2 PQE: Foundations & Exposure
Your career questions:
- Am I getting broad enough experience to make informed decisions later?
- Do I feel supported in my learning — or am I being thrown in too deep?
- Is my current firm developing me?
What to focus on:
- Learning how law firms really work: structure, clients, communication
- Building habits around file management, time recording, and commercial awareness
- Saying yes to different types of work — this is your window to explore, its harder to do down the road
Career move?
Not essential, but becoming more commonplace— especially if your training was patchy or you’re not being supported, it’s OK to reassess early.
3–4 PQE: Direction & Development
Your career questions:
- Am I building depth in a practice area I want to stick with?
- Can I see a clear route to progression here — or will I hit a ceiling?
- Do I want to specialise or broaden out?
What to focus on:
- Ownership of matters, growing confidence with clients, starting to supervise juniors
- Understanding billing targets and commercial drivers
- Identifying mentors and modelling your development around them
Career move?
Yes, this is a key window for many lawyers to pivot, specialise, or move to a firm with better long-term prospects.
5–6 PQE: Progression & Positioning
Your career questions:
- Am I on a partnership track — and do I even want that?
- Am I getting exposure to clients and building my own contacts?
- Is in-house now an option I want to consider?
What to focus on:
- Relationship-building (clients and internal stakeholders)
- Showing commercial value beyond legal work
- Thinking like a future leader, not just a senior fee-earner
Career move?
This is a common time to “step up” — either internally or through a move. It’s less about fixing pain points and more about maximising potential.
6+ PQE: Strategy & Sustainability
Your career questions:
- What do I want from the next 5–10 years?
- Do I want more responsibility — or more balance?
- Do I want to manage, focus on fee earning or a blend of the two?
What to focus on:
- Strategic visibility within your team or department
- Business development and mentoring
- Evaluating long-term fit: culture, autonomy, reward
Career move?
Absolutely — but only for the right reasons. Moves at this level are often about alignment, leadership opportunity, or meaningful change.
