The European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) is an international, independent, non-political, non-profit making organisation run by and for students and recent graduates who are interested in achieving academic and personal excellence in addition to their legal or law-related studies at university.

ELSA aims to provide its members with a platform to develop their existing skills and acquire new ones, to interact with fellow students and experienced practitioners from different states and legal systems around Europe, and to be equipped for a professional life in an international environment, through mutual understanding, intercultural cooperation and the large variety of activities and projects the Association offers.

What ELSA offers

— Work Experience


The ELSA Traineeships Programme offers our members the opportunity to gain paid legal work experience in a foreign country. The unique chance to engage professionally with a foreign legal system helps our members set themselves aside to pursue their legal careers.

— Diplomatic Exposure


ELSA offers its members the chance to represent us at the meetings of the world’s largest diplomatic and intergovernmental organisations with which we have observer status. The Delegations experience is an unmatched opportunity for law students and lawyers pursuing careers in diplomacy.

— Specialised Studying Opportunities


Throughout our network, we provide academic courses in collaboration with world-class scholars and legal industry leaders through seminars, conferences, and the international ELSA Law Schools.

— Published Work


We run various projects offering law students and lawyers the chance to develop their legal writing skills and have their independent, extracurricular research published through our Legal Research Groups, Law Reviews and Essay Competitions.