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Australian Law Students' Association (ALSA)

From the ALSA President

ALSA is the peak representative body for law students in Australia. Sounds impressive, but as a law student (and therefore an ALSA member), you may wonder: what exactly does ALSA do for me? ALSA’s services to law students can be divided into three broad categories:

First, one of ALSA’s most important roles is as a lobbyist for Australian Law Students’ interests. ALSA carries out this role through a number of channels, including making submissions to governments, universities and other stakeholders, and by maintaining relationships with bodies like the Law Council of Australia and the Council of Australian Law Deans. The ALSA education team ensures that where issues require a unified and national response, ALSA has significant weight in its ability to negotiate with other organisations where the individual law student societies would not have a substantial voice.

Second, ALSA delivers a number of services directly to students. The most obvious example is the running of the annual ALSA Conference (held each July, this year in Brisbane) which brings together over 400 law students for the national finals of legal competitions, ALSA Council meetings and Australian Legal Education Forums. ALSA also maintains a number of publications with a national focus, including the Academic Journal, International Careers Handbook and Judges Associates Handbook.

Finally, ALSA provides a knowledge sharing forum to assist the LSS on your campus to be the best it can be. This forum is the ALSA Council, which comprises of the President and an ALSA Representative from each of the 33 law student societies nationwide. The ALSA Council meets three times a year, and the most important parts of these meetings are knowledge sharing workshops which allow ideas to be shared and taken back home.

2008–9 is an exciting year for ALSA. The Executive and Committee are committed to improving each of the three aspects of ALSA’s activities listed above. We are also committed to improving the standing of Australian Law Students on the Global Stage through building relationships with other peak bodies and promoting Australian Champions attendance at international finals of legal competitions.

You will find more information about all of ALSA’s activities by browsing the pages of the ALSA website. If you want more information or are interested in getting involved in ALSA, please contact the relevant Executive or Committee member, or failing that myself; my inbox is always open (president@alsa.asn.au)!

Verity Doyle, ALSA President.

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