volunteer signup
One of the highlights of the year for law students is the annual Australian Law Students' Association (ALSA) July Conference, this year held in Adelaide from 12-18 July.
While this Conference is always amazingly well publicised in terms of the Competitions National Finals, the Australian Legal Education Forums, and the outstanding social events, this article aims to describe the behinds-the-scenes work, and invites you to come and take part.
ALSA Conference plays host to national finals in competitions in ALSA mooting, witness examination, client interview, negotiation, IHL mooting and paper presentation, these competitions are not able to be run without a great deal of support from our wonderful volunteers. Volunteers from Flinders Law School, Adelaide Law School, UniSA Law School and even the general public are needed to assist in all sorts of ways, in both the Competitions and Activities portfolios (among others).
As a competitions volunteer, you have several choices:
- Witness - This competition gives you a chance to show off those acting skills that you have been repressing throughout all those years in law school. You are given a statement to learn and are then examined and cross-examined by the best witness examiners in the country, in front of South Australia's leading practitioners. You will see competitors come up against each other to show off their ability to use the law to their advantage to prove guilt or innocence in a simulated civil or criminal trial.
- Clients - For those who would rather something a little more mild, clients are also given statements to learn, prior to being interviewed by a team of two competitors. Their goal is to draw out as many facts as they can (without you giving them away) and to try to give you some legal advice. This is another activity for those who wish to explore their inner actor, and gives you the chance to be on the 'needing advice' end of the spectrum.
- Timekeepers - Based on last year's numbers, we need in excess of 250 judges to assist in judging all of our ALSA competitions. Our judges are made up of legal practitioners, legal academics, judges, justices, anyone with experience in legal competitions. Needless to say we are extremely grateful to our judges, and to make their lives easier, we need to provide each with a timekeeper so that the judge can focus on the competitors' arguments rather than keeping track of how long they have spoken for. Timekeepers are needed for Mooting, Witness Examination and Negotiation, each of which will provide a timekeeper with the opportunity to hear some stimulating legal arguments on topics ranging from corporate to criminal depending on the competition.
- General Volunteers - For those who don't want to commit to a particular position, throughout the week of ALSA Conference we also need people to conduct submission swaps and act as ushers around the university to help any of our interstate visitors who may be lost.
If you have any questions or would like any further information email competitions@alsaconference.com.au.