Judy Laing

Judy is a Professor of Mental Health Law and Policy at the University of Bristol Law School. She is currently undertaking a Parliamentary Academic Fellowship in the House of Commons Library on mental heath law & policy reform. Judy has been a member of the University's Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research Steering Group and was founding co-director of the Centre for Health, Law and Society in the Law School. She is a member of the Care Quality Commission Mental Health Act Advisory Group and works closely with members of the UK National Preventive Mechanism on implementing the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture in detention settings. She is an investigator on a Wellcome Trust funded BABEL project looking at best interests decision making in healthcare and holds several editorial board memberships, for example on the Medical Law Review and International Journal of Law & Psychiatry. Judy writes extensively on aspects of mental health law, policy and human rights aimed at academic publications, as well practitioner/policy focused materials and blogs. Judy supervises several PhD students on aspects of mental health and capacity law, and teaches mental health and health law to undergraduate and postgraduate law students.