A significant part of ALSA’s activities involves research, policy formulation and lobbying on a wide range of legal issues, specifically focusing on legal education. As the peak representative body for law students in the region, ALSA is uniquely placed to research and collate information relevant to law students. Further, ALSA is able to represent student interests in the legal profession and in legal education forums where they would otherwise have no effective voice.

ALSA has a Vice-President (Education) and two Education Officers who are responsible for maintaining a resource base covering a broad range of issues relating to legal education. In addition to this resource base they undertake a number of comparative information and research projects.

In recent years, ALSA has produced the ALSA Honours Guide, the ALSA Mutual Recognition Guide, the ALSA Admissions Guide and the ALSA Careers Guide. Collaborative research efforts with organisations like the Centre for Legal Education have led to the production of the Lawyers Admission Handbook. The 2007/08 education team is working to produce comparative policy documents highlighting the methods of assessment, honours programmes, subjects offered, and inclusion of practical skills in law degrees across Australia.

In 1997, we were successful in obtaining an observer position on the Law Council of Australia’s National Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Professional Admission. As part of this work ALSA has developed a policy on uniform standards for pre-admission training in response to moves in the Australian legal profession towards uniform admission and a national legal services market. The Law Council has also recently invited us to be involved in the Council’s Equalising Career Opportunities in the Law Committee.

Important links have been established with the Committee of Australian Law Deans (CALD) and the Australasian Law Teachers’ Association (ALTA). Recently, ALTA invited ALSA to present the students perspective on issues such as pre-admission training and law school funding at their recent Conference in Sydney. ALSA continues to consolidate these relationships through initiatives such as the Australasian Legal Education Forum (ALEF) and open dialogue throughout the year.

In the last year, ALSA has prepared discussion papers on issues such as the Melbourne Model, other Juris Doctor degrees, and VSU. Recently ALSA sent a letter to key ministers and shadow ministers regarding the Commonwealth Learning Scholarships. In the last few years ALSA has made submissions to the Higher Education Council about practical legal training and requirements for first professional qualification and to the Higher Education Review Committee in relation to issues of funding legal education.

ALSA is currently working on a discussion paper on professional legal training and advocacy skills, updating the Law Students' Society manual, and preparing comparative policy documents designed to provide students with information on the various systems of Honours, Assessment and elective offerings throughout Australia.

ALSA has recently finished reviewing its Higher Education Policy.

For more information, contact the 2009-10 ALSA Education Vice-President, Fiona Cunningham