The union was created in response to the growing need for a professional association of lawyers that could represent the interests of Arab lawyers and their clients in the face of colonialism and foreign domination in the Arab world.

[3][4] In 2001, the Arab Lawyers Union distributed a book whose cover bore a swastika and the Star of David interconnected, at the World Conference against Racism 2001.

[5] In March 2004, the Arab Lawyers Union formed a "defence committee" for former president Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi prisoners.

[6] In October 2012, the Arab Lawyers Union presented their top award to suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat who killed 21 Jewish and Arab Israelis, and sent a delegation to her family to present them with the award.

It is headquartered in Cairo, and has branches and affiliated organizations in a number of Arab countries, including Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.