Association of Law Teachers Archive

Address at time of writing c/o Mr J Hodgson, Hon Secretary, Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University, Burton St, Nottingham NG1 4BU. Tel. 0115 948 6871. Fax 0115 948 6878. The ALT regularly publishes a directory which lists current officers and their addresses.

The Association of Law Teachers (ALT) was conceived in 1965 by a group of law teachers from institutions other than universities who met at Taplow in Buckinghamshire to discuss the particular problems of teaching law faced by such institutions. The following year a steering committee met in London to officially establish the ALT to represent the growing interest in law in Regional Colleges of Technology, further education colleges and schools. Initial funding came from the publishers Sweet & Maxwell. In its Constitution, the objects of the ALT were laid down as:-

a) to further the advancement, development, study, understanding, use and reform of the educational aspects of law and its teaching;

b) to represent and make known the views of its members upon matters relating to or affecting their professional interests as teachers of law;

c) to establish and support or aid in the establishment and support of associations and institutions calculated to benefit the objects of the Association or the members of the Association or the dependants or connections of such members and to subscribe to or guarantee money for charitable or benevolent objects or for any public, general or useful object;

d) to do all things consistent with these objects considered by the Association or its Committee to be necessary, conducive or incidental to the promotion of the professional, social or general welfare of its members.

The present membership of the ALT is drawn from teachers in higher (largely, but not exclusively the new universities), further and tertiary education. It focuses primarily on the pedagogy and androgogy of law, teaching and learning methods and assessment, and fosters research in these fields, including the 1993 and 1997 Harris surveys of legal education (Harris, P and Bellerby, S. with Leighton, P and Hodgson, J, A Survey of Law Teaching 1997, ALT, 1993; Harris, P and Jones, M, "A Survey of Law Schools in the United Kingdom", (1997), The Law Teacher 38). Until about 1990 the ALT was the only representative body for Polytechnic law teachers, and in the 1970s and 1980s it also provided a general forum for discussion of doctrinal legal issues. This remains a subsidiary function.

The ALT's activities are run by a Committee comprising an elected Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, plus five elected members and some co-opted members. Regular events include the Upjohn Lecture, the Annual Conference and one day conferences. The ALT makes representations to a variety of official bodies concerning all aspects of law teaching, and is also represented on a number of these bodies. It has close links with the SPTL, which represents university law teachers. The ALT produces a regular Bulletin and a Journal, and a history of the Association has been written by a former President, Dr S B Marsh (The Association of Law Teachers: the first 25 years, ALT, 1990).

The surviving archive of the ALT was transferred to the Records of Legal Education Archives by the Secretary, John Hodgson, of Nottingham Trent University, in 1996. Some related papers and printed material were deposited by Dr Marsh and by Professor James Read of SOAS in 1997.

ALT ARCHIVES: CLASS LIST Quantity: 8 boxes Access: open

A.ALT1	1965-1996	Agenda, minutes and papers of the Committee of the ALT and its Predecessors
A.ALT2	1968-1996	Minutes and papers of Annual General Meetings
A.ALT3	1976-1992	Accounts, reports and papers presented to Committee and to AGMs
A.ALT4	1974-1993	Legal documents, reference papers and lists of officers
A.ALT5	1979-1994	Correspondence
A.ALT6	1965-1994	Papers relating to Annual Conferences
A.ALT7	1966-1997	Editions of the ALT Bulletin
A.ALT8	1967-1997	Journal of the ALT; later The Law Teacher
A.ALT9	1969-1996	Directory of Members
A.ALT10	n.d; 1980	ALT Handbook
A.ALT11	1967-1972	ALT papers distributed to members
A.ALT12	1980-1993	Miscellaneous ALT publications and offprints

ALT ARCHIVES: HANDLIST OF RECORDS

[Note: material has been removed from its original containers and placed in acid-free folders and boxes. Original file titles are noted in the handlist]

A.ALT 1: MINUTES, AGENDA AND PAPERS OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE ALT AND ITS PREDECESSORS, 1965-1996

5 folders; 1 volume

The ALT's activities are run by a Committee comprising an elected Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary and Treasurer, plus five elected members and some co-opted members. The Committee of the ALT was established in 1966, replacing a Steering Committee which was set up in 1965 at the first meeting of the law teachers to formulate the policy for the Association. A.ALT 1/1 contains minutes and papers of these early committees, plus related papers. Minutes of Committee meetings between March 1969 and March 1974 are wanting (a note to this effect appears in A.ALT 1/2). The following minutes are extant:-

Ref	Dates	Description
A.ALT1/1	1965-1969	File originally marked "Minutes 1966-8". Includes minutes and agenda of the earliest meetings to discuss formation of the ALT, copies of the Constitution and Rules, and papers by members on proposed policy
A.ALT1/2	1974-1984	Minutes of Committee
A.ALT1/3	1985-1988	Minutes of Committee
A.ALT1/4	1989-1993	Agenda and minutes bound into a minute book
A.ALT1/5	1991-1994	Minutes and papers (includes correspondence and reports to Committee)
A.ALT1/6	1994-1996	Minutes and papers

A.ALT 2: MINUTES AND PAPERS OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS, 1968-1996

1 folder

This class consists of loose papers with a cover sheet marked "AGM minutes and ass docs (original). 1965-7, 74 and 93 missing". It contains minutes for 1968-1996. Some minutes and agenda of AGMs for 1985-1992 may also be found in the accompanying documents to AGMs in A.ALT 3/2.

A.ALT 3: ACCOUNTS, REPORTS AND PAPERS PRESENTED TO COMMITTEE AND TO AGMs, 1976-1992

2 folders

This class contains a collection of papers which were presented either to Committee or to the AGM or both. They include regular and special reports to Committee (e.g. on meetings of other legal education groups), Committee's annual reports, Treasurers' reports, income and expenditure accounts, balance sheets, copies of submissions and correspondence on specific subjects.

Ref	Dates	Description
A.ALT3/1	1976-1985	File originally marked "Accounts; reports; papers etc 1984-5". Includes Treasurers' annual reports, income and expenditure accounts, balance sheets, Committee reports, special reports to Committee [contains some confidential material] and notes, correspondence and meetings with Sweet & Maxwell and the SPTL
A.ALT3/2	1985-1992	File originally marked "accompanying docs to AGMs", containing the Constitution as amended 1992, Treasurers' reports, annual reports of Committee, minutes and agenda of AGMs and accounts

A.ALT 4: LEGAL DOCUMENTS, REFERENCE PAPERS AND LISTS OF OFFICERS, 1974-1993

2 folders

This class was apparently a collection put together of useful reference materials for Committee, including copies of the amended Constitution, lists of officers, legal documents such as an agreement with Sweet & Maxwell, proposals for Conference and reference papers.

Ref	Dates	Description
A.ALT4/1	1974-1990	File originally titled "ALT - documents including Constitution and Sweets contract", containing memorandum of agreement with Sweet & Maxwell (1985), Constitution (as amended 1974 and 1983), a list of ALT officers (1985/6) and printed reference material
A.ALT4/2	1988-1993	File originally titled "misc papers", containing lists of Committee and officers (1990-1993), lists of representatives on other bodies (1988-1992), conference papers, papers relating to specific projects and copies of ALT responses to various issues

A.ALT 5: CORRESPONDENCE, 1979-1994

4 folders

This class comprises correspondence and associated papers of the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer from 1979-1988 and of the Secretary from 1990-1994.

Ref	Dates	Description
A.ALT5/1	1979-1988	File originally titled "ALT - past correspondence", containing correspondence of the Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary
A.ALT5/2	1990-1992	Secretary's correspondence
A.ALT5/3	1991-1993	File originally titled "ALT Committee correspondence 1992-4", containing the Secretary’s correspondence and associated papers from 1991-1993
A.ALT5/4	1993-1994	File originally titled "ALT - present (correspondence) files 1992-4", containing Secretary's correspondence from 1993-1994
A.ALT5/5	1994	Secretary's file on the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct: consultation paper on the initial stage of legal education, 1994: annotated copy of the ACLEC paper and correspondence relating to the ALT response

A.ALT 6: PAPERS RELATING TO ANNUAL CONFERENCES, 1965-1994

2 boxes

This class originally consisted of two bundles marked "ALT 65-77" and "ALT 78-90", containing folders with material on annual conferences, including correspondence, papers, programmes, reports of Committee, Chairman, Treasurer, membership secretary, minutes of AGMs and Committee, copies of the Bulletin etc (the latter have been removed to A.ALT 7). Elsewhere among the papers transferred were also 2 folders containing correspondence and papers relating to the 1994 Conference (see A.ALT 6/27).

Ref	Dates	Description
A.ALT6/1	1965	Taplow
A.ALT6/2	1966	London
A.ALT6/3	1967	Nottingham
A.ALT6/4	1968	Manchester
A.ALT6/5	1969	Oxford
A.ALT6/6	1970	Cambridge
A.ALT6/7	1971	Sheffield
A.ALT6/8	1972	Birmingham
A.ALT6/9	1973	York
A.ALT6/10	1974	Keele
A.ALT6/11	1975	Loughborough
A.ALT6/12	1976	Cardiff
A.ALT6/13	1977	Bath
A.ALT6/14	1978	Durham
A.ALT6/15	1979	Nottingham
A.ALT6/16	1980	Brighton
A.ALT6/17	1981	Cambridge
A.ALT6/18	1982	York
A.ALT6/19	1983	Winchester
A.ALT6/20	1984	Sheffield
A.ALT6/21	1985	Oxford
A.ALT6/22	1986	Wolverhampton
A.ALT6/23	1987	Exeter
A.ALT6/24	1988	Wye
A.ALT6/25	1989	Ambleside
A.ALT6/26	1990	Brighton
		[conference papers fpr 1991-1993 wanting]
A.ALT6/27	1994	Cambridge [includes a set of printed conference papers]

A.ALT 7: EDITIONS OF THE ALT BULLETIN, 1966-1997

1 box

Nos 1-73 of the Bulletin were formerly filed with the Conference papers at ALT 6; they have been removed to make a separate class. Nos 74-96 were passed to the Records of Legal Education Archives by Dr S B Marsh in 1997. The Bulletin includes minutes and agenda of AGMs, information on annual conferences, reports on Committee meetings, Chairman's reports, lists of Committee and general members, income and expenditure accounts, special features on law teaching, news of other organisations, letters to the editor and notes on publications. The following editions are extant:-

No 1 Sept 1966 No 2 Nov 1966
No 3 Mar 1967 No 4 May 1967
No 5 Sept 1967 No 6 Dec 1967
No 7 Mar 1968 No 8 June 1968
No 9 Oct 1968 No 10 May 1969
No 11 June 1969 No 12 June 1970
No 13 Sept 1970 No 14 May 1971
No 15 Nov 1971 No 16 June 1972
No 17 Nov 1972 No 18 Mar 1973
No 19 June/July 1973 No 20 Oct/Nov 1973
No 21 Jan 1974 No 20 Apr/May 1975
No 21 Special edition Apr/May 1975 No 24 June/July 1975
No 25 Aug/Oct 1975 No 26 Jan 1976
No 27 June 1976 No 28 Sept 1976
No 29 Dec 1976 No 30 Jan 1977
No 31 May 1977 No 32 July 1977
No 33 Oct 1977 No 34 Jan 1978
No 35 May 1978 No 36 July 1978
No 37 Oct 1978 No 38 Jan 1979
No 39 June 1979 No 40 Oct 1979
No 41 Jan 1980 No 42 May 1980
No 43 July 1980 No 45 Dec 1980
No 46 May 1981 No 47 July 1981
No 48 Oct 1981 No 49 Dec 1981
No 50 May 1982 No 51 July 1982
No 52 Dec 1982 No 53 May 1983
No 54 July 1983 No 55 Oct 1983
No 56 Dec 1983 No 57 May 1984
No 58 Oct 1984 No 59 Jan 1985
No 60 May 1985 No 61 Oct 1985
No 62 Jan 1986 No 63 May 1986
No 64 Oct 1986 No 65 Jan 1987
No 66 June 1987 No 67 Oct 1987
No 68 Jan 1988 No 69 June 1988
No 70 Oct 1988 No 70 Dec 1988
No 71 June 1989 No 72 Oct 1989
No 73 Jan 1990 No 74 May 1990
No 75 Oct 1990 No 77 June 1991
No 78 Oct 1991 No 79 Dec 1991
No 80 Mar 1992 No 81 Summer 1992
No 82 Autumn 1992 No 83 Spring 1993
No 84 Summer 1993 No 85 Autumn 1993
No 86 Spring 1994 No 87 Summer 1994
No 88 Autumn 1994 No 89 Spring 1995
No 90 Summer 1995 No 91 Winter 1995
No 92 Spring 1996 No 93 Summer 1996
No 94 Autumn 1996 No 96 Summer 1997

The repeat numbers 20 and 21 were presumably mistakes and should have been nos 22 and 23. This appears to have been corrected by the issue of no 24. There are also two no 70s; again, presumably an error. No 44 is wanting.

A.ALT 8: JOURNAL OF THE ALT; LATER THE LAW TEACHER, 1967-1997

3 boxes

The Journal was first published by Sweet & Maxwell in 1967. Three volumes were published annually. Its name was changed to The Law Teacher in 1971.

Many of the volumes dated from 1967-1984 listed below were deposited by Professor James Read in 1997. A further set, dating from 1967-1994, was passed to the Archives by Dr S B Marsh in the same year; this set filled the gaps in Professor Read's collection and brought the set of journals up to date as follows:-

Journal of the ALT
Vol 1 Nos 1-3 Mar - Dec 1967
Vol 2 Nos 1-3 Apr - Dec 1968
Vol 3 Nos 1-3 Apr - Dec 1969
Vol 4 Nos 1-3 Aug - Dec 1970

The Law Teacher
Vol 5 Nos 1-3 1971
Vol 6 Nos 1-3 1972
Vol 7 Nos 1-3 1973
Vol 8 Nos 1-3 1974
Vol 9 Nos 1-3 1975
Vol 10 Nos 1-3 1976
Vol 11 Nos 1-3 1977
Vol 12 Nos 1-3 1978
Vol 13 Nos 1-3 1979
Vol 14 Nos 1-3 1980
Vol 15 Nos 1-3 1981
Vol 16 Nos 1-3 1982
Vol 17 Nos 1-3 1983
Vol 18 Nos 1-3 1984
Vol 19 Nos 1-3 1985
Vol 20 Nos 1-3 1986
Vol 21 Nos 1-3 1987
Vol 22 Nos 1, 2/3 1988
Vol 23 Nos 1-3 1989
Vol 24 No 1 1990 Special Jubilee edition
Vol 24 Nos 1-3 1990
Vol 25 Nos 1-3 1991
Vol 26 Nos 1-3 1992
Vol 27 Nos 1-3 1993
Vol 28 Nos 1-3 1994
Vol 29 Nos 1-3 1995
Vol 30 Nos 1-3 1996
Vol 31 Nos 1-2 1997

A.ALT 9: DIRECTORY OF MEMBERS, 1969-1996

10 volumes

The Directory was first published in 1969/70, compiled from information submitted in answer to a questionnaire circulated to all members. Volumes dated 1969-1978 were deposited by Professor James Read in 1997 and volumes dated 1984-1996 by Dr S B Marsh in the same year.

	1969/70
	1970/71
	1976
	1978
	1984
	1990
	1993
	1994
	1995
	1996

A.ALT 10: ALT HANDBOOK, n.d.; 1980
2 volumes

The Handbook was published by the ALT as a guide to law teaching in the public sector. It gives a brief history of law teaching, lists validating institutions and provides a summary of teaching methods. The 1980 handbook was deposited by Professor James Read in 1997 and the undated volume by Dr S B Marsh later that year.

Handbook, n.d.
Handbook, 1980

A.ALT 11: ALT PAPERS DISTRIBUTED TO MEMBERS, 1967-1972
1 folder

This class comprises a file of ALT papers sent to Professor James Read, a law teacher at SOAS and an ALT member; it also contains a small amount of his correspondence with other members. The file was deposited by Professor Read in 1997.

A.ALT 12: MISCELLANEOUS ALT PUBLICATIONS AND OFFPRINTS, 1980-1993
1 pamphlet; 3 volumes

The publications in this class were passed to the Records of Legal Education Archives by Dr S B Marsh in 1997.

Ref	Dates	Description
A.ALT12/1	1980	Teaching the Law: publicity pamphlet
A.ALT12/2	1980	J B Bailey and S B Marsh, "Law Teaching at Colleges of Further Education", offprint from The Law Teacher, Vol 15 No 1, 1981
A.ALT12/3	1981	S B Marsh, "The C.N.A.A. Law Degree", offprint from The Law Teacher, Vol 17 No 2, 1983
A.ALT12/4	1993	Phil Harris and Steve Bellerby, with Patricia Leighton and John Hodgson, A Survey of Law Teaching 1993, ALT Research Project on Legal Education, 1993

You can search records for the Association of Law Teachers archive on the SHLs Archives Catalogue.

Access is by prior appointment. (Email: ials@sas.ac.uk or telephone 020 7862 5790).