Initially known as the ASEAN Law Students' Association, ALSA was established at its first conference in Jakarta, Indonesia on 18th May, 1989.
By 2002, its pioneering members extended membership to the International Law Students' Association of Peking University (ILSA PKU), the Law Association, Hong Kong University Students' Union (LA, HKUSU).
The merger was officially agreed upon at the Korean Conference and Asian Forum held in Japan in 2002, and a resolution was unanimously passed by ALSA, the ILSA PKU, LA HKUSU, ALSA Japan, ALSA Korea, and ALSA Taiwan on 23 October 2003 in Bangkok, Thailand.