Student societies
Join a law society to meet like-minds and contribute to life in our school. For UQ-wide social, event and networking opportunities, visit student social and events information.
University of Queensland Law Society
The University of Queensland Law Society Inc. (UQLS) is a student society that has become an integral part of UQ Law School. Founded by former Chief Justice of Australia Sir Harry Gibbs in 1937, the UQLS has a long and proud history of fulfilling the academic and extra-curricular needs of law students.
The UQLS operates across ten portfolios:
- Education
- Diversity and Wellbeing
- Internal Competitions
- External Competitions
- Socials
- L Card®
- Sponsorship
- Careers
- Sport
- Design and Communications.
Education
The opportunity to learn from both the experts teaching in the classroom and a group of gifted peers is central to the university experience.
The Education portfolio strives to ensure that this experience is enjoyed by all. The Education portfolio advocates for students within the Law School, hosts educational events and provides study assistance through Peer Assisted Learning Sessions and Notepool.
Diversity and Wellbeing
The UQLS aims to ease the transition into law school for first-year students by hosting a number of events and activities that assist in developing friendships within their cohort, and the law school generally. Events and activities include the Buddy Program, First Year Frolic and First Year Dinners.
The UQLS believes that equality of opportunity is paramount to enable law students to make the most of their time at law school. To facilitate this, and alleviate the costs associated with law school events, the Diversity & Wellbeing portfolio provides student support initiatives including textbook loan schemes and equity grant programs.
This portfolio also focuses on establishing an inclusive and supportive environment for all students at UQ. To facilitate this, the UQLS hosts initiatives including the Women in Law Breakfast, reconciliation initiatives, LGBTIAQ+ events (including Queer Beers and Rainbow Networking Drinks) and events which cater to graduate & international students.
Internal Competitions
The UQLS runs a series of competitions throughout the year that encourage students to develop their practical legal skills, with a focus on oral advocacy and alternative dispute resolution.
The UQLS also runs specialised first-year competitions to provide new students with the opportunity to learn the skills associated with competitive law activities in a comfortable, supportive environment. Each year, the UQLS runs mooting, client interviewing, negotiation and witness examination competitions.
External Competitions
The UQLS enters and supports teams in a number of external competitions. These include both mooting and non-mooting competitions, and vary each year.
Socials
On a social level, the UQLS organises a wide variety of functions throughout the year aimed at engaging students throughout their entire university degree. These functions include the annual Law Ball, Law Dinner, semester wrap parties and more. Functions such as these help to promote an enjoyable and inclusive university experience.
L Card®
The UQLS also produces and manages The L Card, the biggest student discount card in Brisbane. The L Card provides students with special deals at numerous hospitality, retail and services outlets across Brisbane.
Visit the L Card website to see the full list of deals.
Sponsorship
To assist students in learning about and gaining employment with their law qualifications, the UQLS organises a Professional Development Seminar Series in March where students can gain information from a wide range of employers. In addition, the UQLS hosts Annual Professional Drinks, where students and practitioners have the opportunity to meet and mingle.
In Semester 2, the UQLS runs the popular Barristers Work Experience Program (BWEP) and the Ashurst Work Experience Program (AWEP), which gives second and third year students the chance to undergo 40 hours of unpaid work experience with a practising Barrister and at Ashurst.
Careers
The Careers portfolio ensures that law students at UQ have the best access to career opportunities and training.
This portfolio hosts a number of events throughout the year, each aimed at improving students’ employability.
These include:
- Annual Professional Drinks | a networking event designed to give students the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with potential employers.
- Clerkship Evening | an evening consisting of a number of seminars run by various law firms in Brisbane.
- Practical Legal Training (PLT) seminars | a series of seminars that inform students about various PLT providers in Australia and the content involved with PLT.
- Barristers Work Experience Program (BWEP) | a work experience program which give students the opportunity to experience life in Chambers.
- Ashurst Work Experience Program (AWEP) | a work experience program which give students the opportunity to experience life at a commercial law firm.
The Careers portfolio also manages the UQLS Careers Space Facebook page, which advertises career and volunteer opportunities for students.
Sport
The Sport portfolio focuses on ensuring students are able to maintain a healthy balance in their lives. The UQLS enters teams into UQ Sport social competitions including outdoor soccer, indoor soccer, touch, netball, basketball and dodgeball. The UQLS also runs a weekly Running Club, which also participates in events like Bridge to Brisbane and Darkness to Daylight.
Design and Communications
The UQLS offers a variety of publications aimed at helping students progress through a law degree at UQ. Some key publications include:
- First-Year Guide | a comprehensive guide providing commencing students with tips and tricks for starting their law degree at UQ.
- Education Guide | a publication that provides tips, study techniques and general feedback for every course available in 2020.
- Legal Directions | an overview of legal career options available to UQ law students, including firm profiles and information in the areas of commercial, criminal, civil, in-house, community legal centres and government.
- Clerkship Guide | a comprehensive guide that provides students with essential clerkship information, including firm profiles, important deadlines and helpful tips for your application.
Raise the Bar | a competitions handbook that provides an overview of the internal, external, and inter-varsity law competitions students can participate in each year
Want to know more?
Elections are held at the Annual General Meeting in September/October for almost all UQLS Executive positions. To get involved in running the UQLS, look out for nominations and follow the prompts.
If you have any questions or suggestions, drop by the office in the West Wing of the Forgan Smith building (Room W209, opposite the Moot Court) or email secretary@uqls.com.
Visit the UQLS Facebook page for more information
Justice and The Law Society
Justice and The Law Society (JATL) is a productive and vital organisation within the UQ Law. An active organisation with diverse membership, JATL performs an important role in promoting awareness of women's issues, general legal issues and social justice issues and also provides a forum for members to raise concerns. Membership includes females and males, law and non-law students and professionals within the law and in other fields.
JATL's aims and objectives are to:
- Expose gender inequality within the legal profession, the administration of the law and the wider community and to work for its elimination
- Investigate, publicise and provide information about social justice issues affecting the community
- Increase awareness of social implications of laws and policies and to ensure that legal education is situated within a social context
- Provide networks among members, students, the legal profession and professional women's networks (locally, nationally and internationally)
- Celebrate women's achievements in the law and other areas
- Represent, address and improve women's issues and concerns
- Be a forum for members and others to raise concerns, whether these be directly related to educational matters or to broader community issues
- Maintain a dynamic relationship between JATL and its members, the Law School, staff, sponsors and the profession
- Advocate on behalf of UQ law students for a high quality, fair and equitable legal education
- Be an inclusive and accessible society
JATL achieves these goals by hosting professional networking functions, social and sporting functions and educative seminars, by organising an academic paper competition and by publishing an annual academic journal and quarterly newsletters.
JATL's office is located Room 104 Colin Clark Building. JATL can be contacted on ph: +61 7 3365 7997, email secretary@jatl.org or vpadmin@jatl.org. For more information visit the JATL website.
Australian Legal Philosophy Students Association
The Australian Legal Philosophy Students Association (ALPSA) is an association, based at The University of Queensland, which aims to promote the study of legal philosophy among law students, academics and the legal profession.
What ALPSA does
Every year ALPSA hosts a range of debates, seminars and competitions including:
- The Annual Launch Event - A professional event held at the beginning of each year, for students and the profession on topics relevant to the aims of the Association
- The National Essay Competition - Held each year, the National Essay Competition is a chance for students to polish an old assignment into a paper that showcases their ability to discuss the complexities of legal philosophy, shrouding a historical or controversial topic of choice.
How to get involved
- Join the ALPSA Facebook Group: "Australian Legal Philosophy Students' Association" for news and updates
- Attend ALPSA lectures and debates held at UQ or elsewhere in Brisbane
- Enter the National Essay Competition
- Contact ALPSA at alpsa@law.uq.edu.au
To find out more please visit their website.
UQ International Law Society
The UQ International Law Society (UQILS) was founded to make the diverse and developing field of international law more accessible to UQ students. By providing knowledge, skills, experience and connections, the UQILS seeks to create opportunities for its members to engage with international law, and to network with professionals and fellow students.
Through cooperation with the Law School and other student societies, the UQILS is committed to ensuring that all students with an interest in this rapidly emerging field are suitably equipped for future study and employment opportunities.
Membership is open to all UQ students, regardless of program, year level and prior experience or education in the field. You can like the group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/uqils/ for news, events and membership details.