What is ALSA?

ALSA sets out to ensure that law students have a representative voice at a national level to the tertiary sector, the legal profession, government, and the community. In doing so, ALSA fosters partnerships with other national and state law associations, as well as international partnerships with bodies such as Asia LSA and ELSA.

ALSA is committed to the educational development of law students by providing valuable resources on matters relating to their law degrees, such as information on the legal profession, practical skills training, legal education and current affairs.

ALSA advocates for the interests and concerns of Australian Law Students through thought leadership, awareness raising and educational initiatives. The Patron of ALSA is the former Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC.

History

ALSA was founded in the early 1970s. At that time, it consisted of informal meetings of Law Student Society presidents. As word spread, these meetings grew, and the Presidents decided that a formal national structure would be an ideal opportunity to engage in knowledge sharing and pit their best mooters against each other. From this, our National Conference was born. The first competition was held in Melbourne. Shortly afterwards, the New Zealand Law Student Societies were invited to participate within this national framework.

In 1978, the name ‘ALSA' was given to the structure and Law Student Societies from the Southeast Asian region were invited to become part of the association. In 1979, the annual mooting competition and Presidents' meeting was expanded to include social functions and law students from involved universities were invited to attend.

In 1986, ALSA became an incorporated association. The late 1980s and early 1990s represented great change in the Australian higher education system. As a result, new law schools were opened in Australia, leading to a rapid increase in the number of organisations affiliated with ALSA. There was an increased demand for ALSA's services, which gave rise to the need for advocacy regarding legal education and professional admission.

Since the 1990s, ALSA has taken the lead in representing law students' interests in forums regarding higher education, admission and legal practice. ALSA has expanded its publishing services, including producing an Academic Journal, an International Careers Guide, a Judges Associates Guide, a Global Scholarships Guide, a biannual magazine and an LSS Wiki Manual. The Australian Legal Education Forum was established in 1998, which has since been rebranded as Speakers’ Forums.

2007-8 was a year of consolidation for ALSA in which a strategic vision was drafted to guide the organisation in the decades to come. In 2008, ALSA drafted a Strategic Plan, setting out a ten-year vision and steps proposed to reinvigorate ALSA as an organisation, improve the services that we offer and cement our position as the peak representative body advocating on behalf of all Australian Law Students. The Strategic Plan focuses on building on our foundations to pursue the aims of:

  • Ensuring the sustainability of the organisation;

  • Improving the relevance of ALSA as a national body;

  • Ensuring greater communication with and between ALSA Executive, Committee, Council, Member Associations and other stakeholders;

  • Improving our position as a national lobbyist for law students interests; and

  • Expansion and growth of the organisation's scope into the future.