ALSA Legal Education Conference 2024

ALSA’s Legal Education Conference (ALEC) 2024

Welcome to ALSA’s Legal Education Conference (ALEC) 2024.

The Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia (UM) jointly collaborates with Asian Law Schools Association (ALSA) and the Malaysian Law Deans Council to organise the Legal Education Conference in October this year. Themed, ‘Emerging Challenges and Opportunities for Legal Education and Training,’ the conference seeks to foster a dynamic exchange of ideas on the evolving landscape of legal education and training. 

It further aims to provide a platform for interdisciplinary discussions and an opportunity for participants to share their research, experiences, and ideas on emerging challenges and opportunities for legal education and training. The conference will be held at the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya from 11th to 12th October 2024.

We are committed to providing accurate and current information. We update the content of our website regularly to ensure you have access to the latest developments.

Welcome Address by Director, ALSA Conference 2024 and Chairman, Malaysian Law Deans Council

Welcome to the Asian Law Schools Association (ALSA) Legal Education Conference 2024! 

The Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia (UM) is proud to host the notable event of ALSA’s Legal Education Conference (ALEC) 2024. This is the first time that this academic gathering is being held in Malaysia. It is both an honour and a privilege to facilitate this event.

We hope the Conference will bring us all new friends and reunite us with older ones, strengthening ties between legal scholars and law schools across the Asia Pacific and beyond. The conference would provide a great opportunity for scholars to meet and exchange ideas on legal education particularly the challenges and opportunities for Legal Education and Training in Asia. We have placed our concerted effort to ensure that the conference is an insightful and enjoyable experience here in Malaysia. I trust the conference will provide an enormous contribution to legal education in Asia, demonstrating our collective commitment to advancing knowledge and ideas about legal education in our diverse and fascinating region. Let us embark on this journey of knowledge exchange and collaboration, united in our pursuit of excellence.

I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my dedicated team at the ALEC 2024 Secretariat, the Dean of the Faculty of Law UM, ALSA Board of Governors and sponsors. Without their tireless efforts and unwavering dedication, the realization of this event would not have been possible.

Lastly, may your time here be marked by unforgettable moments, meaningful connections, and cherished memories that will last a lifetime. Do join us for this delayed yet delightful academic gathering with prominent legal scholars.

Magesan R Ayavoo
Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

It gives me, as Chairman of the Malaysian Law Deans Council, to welcome the holding of the ALSA Legal Education Conference 2024 hosted at Universiti Malaya and sponsored by ALSA. The Malaysian Law Deans Council is delighted to be associated with this highly needful conference. Asian legal education is facing all manner of challenges – from the continuing impact of IT and AI to the changes to the practice of law and concerns of social justice. This conference will bring together the researchers working in this field in the region and wider to raise awareness of the issues and solutions to enable us as a collective of educators to improve how we ensure that the best legal brains for our shared future.

I wish all speakers, delegates and stakeholders a truly edifying conference in Universiti Malaya and Malaysia.

Prof. Dr. Farid Sufian Shuaib
Chairman, Malaysian Law Deans Council

[The Malaysian Law Deans Council is made up of Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia].

Registration

*Rates will be displayed in Ringgit Malaysia at the checkout, and exchange rates may fluctuate. (link to registration and payment portal will be updated soon)

Scholars and students based in Malaysia are only required to pay 80% of the regular registration fee.

The registration fee covers the following: all sessions, conference kit, the conference dinner, lunch and refreshments during tea break as well as the shuttle service between the recommended hotels (will be updated soon) and Universiti Malaya Campus.

Participants are responsible for their visas, accommodation, flight arrangements, and health insurance.

Participants are advised to make these arrangements by 31st July, 2024 to avoid any disappointment in visa, hotel guestroom, or air-ticket availability.

Kindly contact Ms Umairah or Ms Nurin at law_event@um.edu.my if you need us to issue an invitation letter for visa application provided the request is made with sufficient notice.

Call for Papers and Panels

We invite scholars, including young scholars and doctoral students, practitioners, policymakers, and experts from various regions and disciplines including law, social science, law, international relations, technology, management, policy, and science, technology, and society (STS) to submit abstracts for papers on topics that may include, but are not limited to:

• i) Globalization and Legal Education: Preparing Lawyers for a Borderless World
• ii) Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice: Clinical Programs, Apprenticeships, and Experiential Learning
• iii) Emerging Technologies and the Law: AI, Robotics, Big Data, Data Privacy, Cybersecurity, Space Law, Climate Change and Environment, Healthcare, Child, Gender, and the Evolving Skillset
• iv) The Future of Legal Jobs: Legal Tech, Specialization, and the Changing Demands of the Profession
• v) Access and Inclusion in Legal Education: Creating a Diverse and Equitable Pipeline for Lawyers
• vi) Rethinking the Law School Curriculum for a Globalized World
• vii) The Future of Legal Education Assessment: Evaluating Skills Beyond the Bar Exam
• viii) The Role of International Collaboration in Restructuring Legal Education
• ix) The Globalization of Litigation and Dispute Resolution

We encourage you to submit your proposals for panels and join us for what promises to be an exciting and thought-provoking conference. If you are interested in contributing and/or have any questions, please contact us: law_event@um.edu.my

Papers and panels submission procedure

Abstract Submission

Deadline: July 15, 2024
Word Count: 300-500 words
Submission Format: English language, submitted through the designated online portal (link to be announced)
Review Process: Blind peer review by a panel of experts
Notification of Acceptance: Abstracts and the conference schedule will be announced by July 25, 2024

Full Paper and Presentation Submission (for Accepted Abstracts)

Full Paper Submission (for review) Deadline: August 20, 2024
Review Decision: August 31, 2024
Recommended Length: 3,000-6,000 words (shorter and longer submissions considered)
Final Paper Submission Dateline: September 15, 2024
Presentation Slides Deadline: September 30, 2024

Publication Opportunities

Accepted papers may be considered for publication in an edited e-book collection by Universiti Malaya Press (subject to contract) or the Journal of Comparative and Malaysian Law.

Selection Criteria

Submissions will be reviewed based on their relevance to the conference theme, quality of research, and adherence to conference formatting guidelines. The organizers reserve the right to reject submissions that do not meet these criteria.

Important Dates

Conference Presentations (for speakers only)

There will be several parallel sessions conducted simultaneously. Each paper will be allocated a maximum of 15 minutes for presentation. This applies as well to papers with multiple authors/speakers. A Question-and-Answer session will follow all speakers who have presented. Speakers are respectfully advised to keep strictly to the time allocated to them. This is necessary to ensure that the conference proceeds on time.

Each session venue is equipped with a computer and LCD projector. Presenters who wish to use Microsoft PowerPoint slides during the presentation may do so by saving their slides on a USB drive. A student assistant or a technician will be available 15 minutes before the start of each session to assist speakers upload their slides onto the presentation computer. Presenters are expected to be at the session venue at least 10 minutes before their sessions begin.

Tea Break and Lunch

Refreshments for tea breaks and lunches will be served at the dedicated dining venue. The food is catered from halal-certified caterers and vegetarian items are duly marked.

Conference Dinner

We will hold the conference dinner on Friday, 11 October 2024. Details of the time and venue will be updated soon.

Conference Secretariat & Assistance

The conference secretariat room is located at Smart Lab 1 at the Ground Floor of the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya. Should you require any assistance, you may approach the secretariat or any of the staff or student assistants wearing orange lanyards and name badges.

Shuttle Bus Service

Shuttle bus services are provided to and from the three recommended hotels – Wyndham Bangsar, VE Hotel & Residency and Kommune. Delegates are advised to be on time to take the shuttle buses. A student assistant will be stationed at the hotel lobby; they will direct you to the shuttle bus. Please make sure you are on time to take the bus as the bus will not wait for more than 15 minutes.

In & Around the Campus

About the UM Campus

Universiti Malaya, or UM, is Malaysia’s oldest university, situated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was founded on 28 September 1905 in Singapore as the King Edward VII College of Medicine and on 8th October 1949, it became the Universiti Malaya with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine and Raffles College (founded in 1928). The Universiti Malaya derived its name from the term “Malaya” as the country was then known. Two autonomous Divisions were set up on 15th January 1959, one in Singapore and the other in Kuala Lumpur. As a result of an indication by the government of the two territories of their desire to change the status of the Divisions into that of a national university, legislation was passed in 1961 and the University of Malaya was established on 1st January 1962. On 16th June 1962, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the country’s first prime minister, was installed as UM’s first Chancellor, whereas Professor Oppenheim, a world-renowned Mathematician, was the first Vice-Chancellor. His Royal Highness the Sultan of Perak Darul Ridzuan, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Al-Maghfur-Lah is the current Chancellor of the Universiti Malaya. Professor Dato' Seri Dr. Noor Azuan Abu Osman was appointed as the fourteenth Vice-Chancellor on 6th November 2023.

Ahmad Ibrahim Law Library

The Central Library of the Universiti Malaya, since its inception in 1959, acquired legal materials that were incorporated into the general collection together with texts of the other disciplines. However, with the setting up of the Faculty of Law in 1972, the legal resources were shifted to the newly erected Law Library situated adjacent to the Law School. The Law Library's stock is currently the largest and the most comprehensive collection of legal resources in Malaysia. Access to titles housed in the Law Library via the University of Malaya Library Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) is possible nationally and internationally. On 18th June 1999, the Law Library was named as the Tan Sri Professor Ahmad Ibrahim Law Library in appreciation of his contributions to the Faculty of Law and the Law Library. In 2023, the family of the late Dato Seri Gopal Sri Ram gifted his entire collection worth over RM 8 million to the Law Library.

Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law

The Journal of Malaysian and Comparative Law, which began publication in 1974, is a refereed journal published by the Faculty of Law, Universiti Malaya. It has been publishing annually in either one or two issues, depending on the number of contributions accepted in each year. The journal accepts articles from scholars all over the world. Its articles are in both English and Bahasa Malaysia, reflecting its dual character as a Malaysian and comparative law journal. Although its subject matter and contents reflect a bias towards Malaysian law, in the past decade, the journal has become open to developments in other jurisdictions, thus keeping with its flavour of being a comparative journal.