Academic Activities is a tool for providing legal information and assist the development of the legal profession in Europe. Through the Academic Activities ELSA makes a direct contribution to legal education.

ELSA has during the years developed a considerable number of different projects. Publications, such as ELSA Selected Papers on European Law (SPEL), are important parts of ELSA's activities. Furthermore, there are competitions such as Moot Court Competitions and Essay Competitions, and events organised with professional life in mind within the Lawyers at Work (L@W) events. In order to enable individuals to make use of the widespread ELSA network and to obtain scientific legal information that may not be available in their own countries ELSA focuses on legal research. This research can be done with the help of the Legal Research Groups

The idea of moot court comes from the Anglo-Saxon academic tradition. Originally they came from American universities where they are a constant and official part of legal education. Nowadays many other countries have adopted this kind of legal education as well.

The aim of a moot court is to improve the legal knowledge of students. It is of primary importance to prepare and train them for proper and successful acting in court, the use of rhetoric gestures, speaking without notes, self-confidence and intellectual flexibility. A moot court will teach the kind of knowledge that is important for the practical aspects of a lawyer's life - to create links between theory and practice.

Moot Courts are a very good exercise in which students can put the academic knowledge acquired at the universities to practice while enhancing their presentation and public speaking skills. It is for this reason that ELSA encourages moot court competitions.

Every year several national moot court competitions are organised by national ELSA Groups. Competitions taking place at local level are even more numerous. Furthermore, ELSA International arranges an international ELSA moot court competition, EMC2 on WTO law. For more information about the international competition please visit - www.elsamootcourt.org

ELSA assists law students and young lawyers in performing legal research in various areas of law. Research is what being a legal professional is all about. Regardless of which field of law one has chosen to specialise in, no lawyer can succeed in his or her career without constant research. Regulations increase and change, there are more and more cases to be taken into consideration, in beginners' eyes the jungle of legal norms can seem to be scary and unpredictable.

It is highly beneficial to learn the crucial skills of legal research while studying since these skills will become helpful in the future life of any law student. Universities do not always give students the necessary practice in carrying out a research. This is why ELSA has established a field of activity in legal research. This provides students with opportunities to improve their academic skills, as well as increase their knowledge and know-how.

The core of the activities within Legal Research in ELSA, are the Legal Research Groups. ELSA offers students the chance to form Legal Research Groups, which work independently but report about their work to ELSA. The group carries out the research according to the plan and timeframe it has set for itself.