Banking & Financial Services Law Association

About Us

The BFSLA connects members with ideas. We were established in 1983 to share information on banking law and practice and since then, have expanded to encompass financial services and insolvency law.

Our aim is to provide thought leadership on issues relevant to our members through connecting with some of the world’s leading practitioners, academics, regulators and members of the judiciary.

As well as providing deep insight into technical legal issues we also pride ourselves on giving practical guidance on how things work in the real world as we recognise that excellence in banking & financial services and insolvency law is more than just an understanding of the black letter law.

Excellence in banking and financial services and insolvency law is more than just an understanding of the black letter law.

Our members

Our members are lawyers and insolvency practitioners from law firms, banks, financial institutions, trustee companies and insolvency firms at all stages of their career. Our Future Leaders Committee supports members who are just starting out in banking & financial services and insolvency to help them navigate their way through the legal landscape and achieve their full potential.

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Annual Conferences

The BFSLA annual conference is the leading conference for banking and financial services and insolvency law in Australia and New Zealand

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Networking Opportunities

The annual conference is a great opportunity for members to get together in a relaxed environment to share ideas and knowledge.

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World Class Speakers

Members of the Conference Planning Committee work tirelessly to ensure that we have world class speakers on topics that are relevant to our members.

We carefully select the program to ensure that we have a balance of sessions dealing with technical legal issues and practical topics.

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Leading Jurists

Previously, we’ve had Lord Neuberger (President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom), Lord Hoffman, Lord Hope, Judge Peck (who presided over the Lehman Brothers insolvency), Professor Philip Wood, Chief Justice Sian Elias and Justice Gageler.

Scholarships and Research Prizes

We are immensely proud of our scholarship and research prize programs, which each year attract applications and entries from some of the brightest minds in banking & financial services and insolvency law.

Since 1993, we have been supporting people to fulfil their dreams of undertaking post-graduate study in banking & finance and insolvency law at institutions as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Columbia.

Likewise, our research prize recipients have their essays published as articles in the Journal of Banking and Finance Law and Practice, the leading peer-reviewed journal for banking & financial services and insolvency law in Australia. Their contribution to the greater understanding of complex legal issues has been significant.

...supporting people to fulfil their dreams of undertaking post-graduate study in banking & finance and insolvency law at ... Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Columbia.

Academic Committee

Since the Academic Committee was established in 2013,
it has become the incubator for outstanding legal research from academics working in Australian and New Zealand universities.

It has already published two volumes of essays and has been influential in driving debate on matters of regulatory reform and policy.

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Legal Opinions

Through our thought leadership we have also been able to establish market practice with the development of standard legal opinions.

Our standard opinions are “best in class” and provide practical guidance to practitioners as well as reducing time-consuming and costly debate at the critical part of a financing transaction. They have been adopted by many of the leading law firms in Australia and have been used on some of the most significant financing transactions in Australia.

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How we work

The BFSLA is a company limited by guarantee and incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001. The board is composed of 10 directors who are leading lawyers in the banking & financial services and insolvency fields across Australia, New Zealand and beyond. We rely on dedicated members and volunteers to help us achieve our aims of sharing knowledge and ideas on banking & financial services and insolvency law and practice and helping our members thrive in their chosen field. Take advantage of our thought leadership and expertise by becoming a member today. We’d love to have you join us.

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