With more than 42,000 members across 300 law faculties, the European Law Students' Association (ELSA) is the largest law student association in the world.
It facilitates international opportunities for law students, centred on six flagship projects, offering them the opportunity to develop their legal skills and make like-minded friends. Here Jessica Allen, President of ELSA Nottingham, tells us more about their work.
Myths and misconceptions
- You don't have to be European take part - you simply have to study here!
- We don't focus on European law - the ELSA network includes both EU and non-EU Member States after all!
- We don't focus solely on human rights - while ELSA is committed to the protection of human rights and collaborates closely with the Council of Europe on many projects, there are also an equal number of opportunities with law firms for those who prefer civil law areas!
My experience
Haven't heard of it? Don't worry - I hadn't either. At the end of my first year (way back in 2014), I heard about ELSA from another student after attending the UK Environmental Law Association's annual conference in Edinburgh.
At that time, ELSA Nottingham didn't exist. If a local group doesn't exist in your area, you can become an individual member with ELSA UK. In my case, I heard about ELSA in June, became a member in July, applied for an ELSA delegation in August and flew to Geneva to attend the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in September. Little did I realise at the time that it would completely change the next three years of my student experience!
Unique opportunities
There are six flagship projects in the ELSA network, including:
- delegations to international institutions, such as the United Nations
- summer law schools
- international legal research groups
- a student traineeship exchange programme
Members can send in submissions to various law reviews within the network (notably the ELSA Law Review) and, if you're a keen mooter, ELSA International organises two of the world's largest moot court competitions:
- European Human Rights Moot Court Competition
- ELSA Moot Court Competition on WTO law
Last year, at least one of our members participated in each of these opportunities.
Pushing boundaries
As well as adding that unique sparkle to your CV, ELSA also prides itself on nurturing cross-culture connections and friendships. Members naturally share a refreshing open-mindedness as well as an unquenchable wanderlust. Many are outgoing and incoming study abroad students - something which tends to be reflected on our society committee too. As a BA Law with French and French Law student, ELSA enhanced my third year by allowing me to forge connections throughout France and beyond. Though I don't see them as often as I would like, I feel truly lucky to have made and visited friends in Vienna, Gothenburg, Oslo and Amsterdam… friends who have made me homemade wiener schnitzel and introduced me to the Swedish concept of fika.
Get involved
In the UK, the network is still growing. That said, we are incredibly proud to have fully established a local group in Nottingham during the 2015/16 term. Last semester, we recruited members for our refugee project, organised workshops on the flagship projects, and held a range of events including a human rights film screening and panel discussion for ELSA Day. This semester, we will be holding more workshops in anticipation of a trip to the United Nations in Vienna at Easter. So many ELSA opportunities are now on our doorstep!
Jessica Allen
President 2016/17
ELSA Nottingham
Find out more
Students' Union website
Facebook: ELSANottingham
Twitter: @ELSANottingham
Posted on Tuesday 31st January 2017