About the Anglo-Australasian Lawyers Society
The Anglo-Australasian Lawyers Society is a professional society that brings together people with an interest in the legal systems of England and Wales, Australia and New Zealand.
The Society was founded in 1998 to promote and strengthen the longstanding professional relationships between lawyers in jurisdictions whose legal systems share a common heritage and continue to learn from one another. Today, the Society provides a forum in which practising professionals, members of the judiciary, academics, students and government officials can exchange ideas, develop professional relationships and maintain the close ties that have long characterised the professions of all three jurisdictions. The Society has chapters in the United Kingdom (London) and in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Perth), each holding its own programme of events while sharing the Society’s common objectives.
The Society welcomes members at every stage of their careers. Whether newly qualified or long established in practice, working in private practice, at the Bar, in-house, in government or in academia, members share an interest in the law, legal institutions and professional life of England and Wales, Australia and New Zealand.
Our Purpose
The Society exists to encourage professional and personal connections between lawyers across our three jurisdictions.
It promotes informed discussion of legal developments, encourages the exchange of professional experience and strengthens relationships between lawyers in England and Wales, Australia and New Zealand.
The legal professions of these jurisdictions share deep historical connections while continuing to evolve in response to changing legal, commercial and social circumstances. By bringing together lawyers from different jurisdictions and areas of practice, the Society contributes to the development of professional understanding and to the administration of justice.
The Society also exists to foster friendship and collegiality. Many members have longstanding personal and professional connections with more than one of our jurisdictions, and the Society offers a welcoming environment in which those relationships may develop.
Membership and Activities
The Society’s membership reflects the breadth of the legal profession.
Members include solicitors, barristers, judges, academics, government lawyers, in-house counsel, arbitrators, mediators, law students and retired practitioners. Some have longstanding connections with Australia or New Zealand; others have developed professional interests through practice, study or family ties.
What unites members is an interest in the legal professions of England and Wales, Australia and New Zealand and a commitment to maintaining the close professional relationships that have long existed between them.
The Society organises a programme of professional and social events throughout the year. These include lectures, panel discussions, receptions, dinners and other occasions that encourage discussion of legal developments and matters of shared professional interest. Many events are organised in partnership with law firms, chambers, universities and other professional organisations.
The Society also supports opportunities for members to establish and maintain professional relationships across jurisdictions.
Members enjoy special rates at most of the Society’s events.
Our History
The origins of the Anglo-Australasian Lawyers Society are closely connected with the constitutional and legal developments that reshaped the relationship between the United Kingdom and Australia around the turn of the millennium.
The Society’s history is recorded in a separate paper, written in 2023 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Society’s founding.