Agricultural Law Association

What Agricultural Law Association does

The Agricultural Law Association (ALA) is a UK-based non-profit professional membership association and the self-described largest inter-professional organisation devoted to the law and business of the countryside. It serves solicitors, surveyors, accountants, bankers, and farm business consultants advising rural businesses, providing a unified platform of resources, education, networking, and policy engagement. Membership is open by application, with Full Members paying £125 per annum, Retired Members £50, and Students receiving free membership, on a 1 April–31 March annual cycle.

ALA's core product surface centres on information assets: the quarterly ALA Bulletin, a Case Law Database, a Legislation & Codes of Practice hub, monthly E-Bulletins, and standard pre-contract enquiry documents produced in partnership with Thomson Reuters Practical Law. Educational programmes include the two-week residential Fellowship Course at Warwick University and a Starter for Ten introductory course, with a recognised Fellowship qualification that functions as a credential within the sector. Operational delivery is supported by a 2-person secretariat (a stated headcount of 6 employees overall), a Council chaired by Nerys Llewelyn Jones, and a UK-wide network of regional groups hosting events and CPD.

The business model is subscription-driven, with revenue concentrated in annual membership fees and supplemented by conference and regional event delegate fees, a jobs board, and the ALA Dispute Resolution Panel. There is no external ownership, no funding rounds, and no parent company. The organisation is governed by its 2025 Constitution and maintains active policy engagement with DEFRA, Welsh Government, Scottish Government, and DAERA, positioning itself as a stakeholder in agricultural law development across the UK.

Name

Agricultural Law Association

Legal name

Agricultural Law Association

Website

https://ala.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Agricultural Law Association is a UK non-profit professional membership association and the country's largest inter-professional body devoted to agricultural and rural law. It serves solicitors, surveyors, accountants, bankers, and farm consultants through subscriptions, publications, and an educational pathway to Fellowship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (813920), Legal Services (5411)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Agribusiness, Farm Management & Compliance (EDAOAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regulatory Compliance, Permitting & Audit Readiness (Food Safety, Environmental, Labor) (AFACAJAE), Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels (BPADANAB)

Keywords

• Agricultural law
• Professional membership
• Rural advisory
• Legal education
• Countryside law

Headquarters

HQ city

Harringworth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership fees provide the primary revenue stream. Full Members pay £125 per annum, Retired Members pay £50 per annum, and Students in full-time education receive free membership. The membership year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Revenue supports policy engagement with Government and sector organizations, member services, educational programmes, and operational costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Agricultural Law Association provides annual membership subscriptions that grant access to agricultural law resources (ALA Bulletin, Case Law Database, Legislation & Codes of Practice Hub, E-Bulletins, Practical Law materials), educational programmes (Fellowship Course, Starter for Ten courses), regional group networking, the Jobs Board, and the ALA Dispute Resolution Panel. Membership is open to solicitors, barristers, chartered surveyors, accountants, bankers, farm business consultants, students, and other professionals advising rural businesses across the UK.

Product overview

The Agricultural Law Association operates as a professional membership organization offering a unified platform of resources and services for legal and advisory professionals in the agricultural and rural sector. The core offering centers on the ALA Bulletin (quarterly publication), Case Law Database, Legislation & Codes of Practice Hub, and monthly E-Bulletins. These are complemented by educational programs including the Fellowship Course and Starter for Ten courses, the Regional Groups Network for local networking, a Jobs Board, and the Dispute Resolution Panel. The Practical Law resources are delivered through a partnership with Thomson Reuters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ALA Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• Members receive Fellowship qualification - a badge of excellence in the sector recognised across the agricultural law profession

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Thomson Reuters Practical LawcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerALA collaborated with Practical Law Agriculture & Rural Land to produce standard pre-contract enquiries documents for agricultural and rural land transactions. The partnership produced the 'Standard document, Agriculture and rural land standard enquiries' using wording from Commercial Property Standard Enquiries 1 (CPSE.1), and 'Short form pre-contract enquiries for bare land' using CPSE.7 wording. Documents are free for ALA members and subject to conditions for use. The collaboration provides practical resources for legal professionals conducting rural property transactions.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Country Land and Business Association (CLA): The CLA is a UK membership organisation for landowners, rural businesses, and estates. It is a directly comparable membership body with policy engagement, regional events, and publications, serving a closely overlapping audience of rural professionals and landowners with ALA's solicitor/surveyor member base.
• Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV): CAAV is a UK professional body for agricultural valuers, providing qualifications, publications, and policy engagement for rural property professionals. It is a direct parallel to ALA: a small, niche professional association serving an overlapping rural advisory community with similar fee structures and educational pathways.
• British Institute of Agricultural Consultants (BIAC): BIAC is a UK professional body for agricultural and rural consultants, offering membership, training, and a recognised Registered Consultant designation. It mirrors ALA in providing credentialing, member services, and CPD to a niche rural professional community, with significant overlap in audience.
• Tenant Farmers Association (TFA): The TFA is a UK membership organisation representing tenant farmers on tenancy, land, and regulatory matters. It is a direct peer in the rural professional-association space, with comparable size, structure, and policy engagement focus to ALA.
• Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC): The AIC is a UK trade association representing the agri-supply industry, providing policy engagement, assurance schemes, and technical guidance. It is a direct peer in the UK agricultural membership-association space, with comparable size and a related but distinct rural professional audience.
• National Farmers' Union (NFU): The NFU is the largest UK membership organisation representing farmers and growers, providing policy representation, advice, and member services. It is a direct peer in the UK rural membership-association space and shares significant overlap with ALA's agricultural law and rural business remit.

Broad incumbents

• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS): RICS is the global professional body for chartered surveyors, including a large rural practice division. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps substantially with ALA's rural surveyor member base, with much greater resources, international reach, and standard-setting authority.
• The Law Society of England and Wales: The Law Society is the mandatory professional body for solicitors in England and Wales, covering all practice areas including a dedicated Rural Practice Section. It is a broad incumbent that encompasses ALA's solicitor members within a much larger generalist framework.

Emerging players

• Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE): RASE is a long-established English agricultural society focused on knowledge exchange, awards, and events. It is an adjacent player with partial overlap with ALA's rural audience, providing events and publications but without ALA's legal-specialism focus.

Regional players

• Law Society of Scotland: The Law Society of Scotland is the professional body for Scottish solicitors and operates a parallel regulatory and member-services role for the Scottish legal profession. It is a regional peer covering ALA's Scottish members, with similar professional-body structure but much broader scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agricultural-law-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Agricultural Law Association