Opportunities for Law Students through ELSA
ELSA has been increasing international understanding and co-operation between law students and young lawyers since its foundation. By developing cultural understanding and management skills of the students and by providing a select core of leadership potential to business, ELSA is a positive force for global development and understanding between law students with diverse national and cultural backgrounds. ELSA works on a European level, attracting students with an international mindset.
ELSA is commited to:
• Create opportunities for exposure and interaction between law students and young lawyers of different cultures and nations;
• Complement the law students' theoretical education in law with practical business experience;
• Provide opportunities for law students and young lawyers to develop their management and teamwork skills in an internatioal environment;
• Make companies and law students more conscious and responsive to the economic, social and environmental development in their communities and in Europe and the impact of this development within law.
The members of the European law students' Association are open-minded, internationally oriented/targeted and multilingual and acquire a broader cultural understanding than other law students. They gain direct experiences with foreign legal systems and business practices through the wide range of activities and international cooperation of ELSA.
" ELSA gave me an opportunity to test my limits as a person and a professional in a safe but challenging and international environment. Through my time and experiences in ELSA I learned to respect people from other countries, people from my country as well as myself"
- Antti Husa, Secretary General of ELSA International 08/09
Active membership
You can be an active member of The European Law Students' Association in various ways. You can participate in a wide range of events that are organised on all three levels (local, national, international). You can also enhance your organisational skills by joining the organisation committee of an event, organised by local groups or national groups of ELSA, or the executive boards of the respective ELSA groups.
On local level ELSA has around 220 local groups that are located in 300 law faculties from 42 countries all around Europe. In order to get in touch with your local group and receive more specified information about your local ELSA-events, please see the ELSA-network.
National boards of ELSA are elected from the active members/local board members from the respective countries in the National Council Meetings that are organised in every member country of ELSA 1-4 times every year depending on country. The National board represents the national group of ELSA on the international level and votes on behalf of the national group in the international council.
Seven members of ELSA are members of the international board of ELSA that is elected at the spring International Council Meeting of ELSA. These members form the highest executive body of ELSA and works full-time in the main office of ELSA in Brussels, and they represent the ELSA-network in the international sphere.
In order to find out more about joining ELSA, please follow this link.
