After studying law at Oxford and doing graduate studies in America, I was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1967.
I spent a large part of my working life as a Fellow and Tutor in Law at St Anne's College, Oxford, from 1970, becoming Principal of the College in 1991. I also worked on many projects to open Oxford University education to the widest range of students. I've published on family and property law. And from 1994 to 2002 I chaired the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), a body set up in 1990 to look into the ethical issues thrown up by medical advances, and to regulate research and treatment of infertility.
After leaving St Anne's in 2004, I became the first Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, dealing with the resolution of student complaints.
I was created DBE in 2002 and appointed a life peer in 2005. (crossbencher)
Ruth Deech's BBC Press Office biography
