Anselm Eldergill qualified as a solicitor in 1987 and is an Honorary Professor of Mental Health Law at University College London. As a solicitor, for many years he was both ranked 1 by the peer-reviewed Chambers and Partners Guide to the Legal Profession and President of the Mental Health Lawyers Association and the Institute of Mental Health Act Practitioners.

He served as a full-time judge of the Court of Protection from 2010 to 2024 and before that as a tribunal president and coroner. He has also chaired many independent inquiries into homicides and suicides. While at the Court of Protection, he was the only Commonwealth judge appointed to be a member of the United Nations CRPD Expert Committee on Capacity and Access to Justice in Geneva.  In 2019, he was awarded the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year Special Award, which was conferred on the President of the Family Division of the High Court the previous year:

“This is only the third time the LAPG Committee has chosen to make Special Awards, which celebrate campaigners and others who make an exceptional contribution to legal aid and access to justice. The previous recipients included Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE, who was honoured in 2012.

LAPG Special Awards are reserved for truly exceptional individuals who have achieved incredible things, often alongside their day to day legal practice. Anselm was a mental health lawyer for 25 years, and is a true legend in this field. He now sits as a District Judge in the Court of Protection, and has been responsible for developing the law in relation to people with impaired capacity, in ways far beyond his formal status as a judge. He has made an incomparable contribution to the protection of those with mental illness. Through his 1997 book 'Mental Health Review Tribunals', he shared his expertise, and equipped many practitioners to represent the most vulnerable clients in a way that would not otherwise have been possible in what was a developing area of law. It explicitly recognised the Tribunal as a way of enforcing civil rights and had a transformative effect. Now that he is on the bench, Anselm has lost none of his approachability, and remains vigilant to ensure people can exercise their rights.”

His other roles have included serving as a member of the Mental Health Act Commission and as the legal member of the Mental Health Commission for Northern Ireland; chairing the Patient Safeguards and Mental Health Tribunal Legislative Reform Working Group, as part of the Wessely Review; and drafting the DoLS forms for the DHSC;  As a Mental Health Act Commissioner, he was head of complaints investigations and chaired its Mentally Disordered Offenders Committee.

He has lectured and trained lawyers and mental health professionals for over 35 years, both in the United Kingdom and abroad. His publications include numerous articles and conference papers and the following books:

Mental Health Review Tribunals — Law & Practice (Sweet & Maxwell, lxxvii, 1333 pages). Sold out and reprinted twice

‘His authoritative, thoughtful and reliable textbook was nominated for a Nobel Prize and has … elicited praise for its empathy for the plight of those suffering from mental health disorders’:  Chambers’ & Partners’ Guide to the Legal Profession.

Court of Protection Handbook (Co-author, LAG, London, 928pp, 2014,4th ed. 2022)

‘Professor Eldergill's chapters deserve special mention for his inclusion of tables, diagrams and charts, which aid understanding. Chapter five on ‘Is an application appropriate?' should be compulsory reading for anyone working in this area. It includes his own ‘maxims and principles' and some very useful pointers about considering evidence and its reliability’: Elder Law Journal.

The European Convention on Human Rights and Mental Health (1350 pages, September 2024).

He intends to return to practice as a solicitor in January 2025. He will concentrate as before on mental health law; national and international human rights law; chairing inquiries; international judicial work; audits and advisory work for the NHS and local authorities; drafting legislation and statutory forms; policy work; training AMHPs, psychiatrists, lawyers and other professionals; and academia.