We are excited to announce LGBTQI+ human rights experts Victor Madrigal-Borloz and Holning Lau have joined the Williams Institute as Distinguished Visiting Scholars to conduct research on international LGBTQI+ rights and issues.

Victor Madrigal-Borloz recently served as the United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In this role, he assessed the implementation of international human rights law, raised awareness, and assisted various stakeholders. From 2013 to 2019, he served as the Secretary-General of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). He also served as a member of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture from 2013 to 2016, where he oversaw a draft policy on torture and ill-treatment of LGBTI persons.

Holning Lau is the Willie Person Mangum Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where he teaches International Law of Human Rights, Comparative Constitutional Law, and Family Law. He also chairs the UNC SOGIESC Human Rights Initiative, working with students on pro bono projects concerning LGBTQI rights. He has served as a consultant on LGBTQI rights to organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, the Danish Institute for Human Rights, and the International Commission of Jurists. From 2006 to 2007, Lau was the Harvey S. Shipley Teaching Fellow at the Williams Institute.

In June, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy Ilan H. Meyer presented at the National Institute of Mental Health's Promoting Mental Health for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth workshop. Ilan discussed his groundbreaking research on minority stress and the impact societal stigma and prejudice have on the health and well-being of LGBTQ people. He also presented findings from his Generations and Transpop studies, which were funded by the National Institutes of Health. 

Join Professors Jon Michaels and Lindsay Wiley, along with Shane Ball (UCLA Law '26), for a discussion of Michaels' new book Vigilante Nation. Professor Michaels will explore what the resurgence in state-sponsored vigilantism means for our democracy. MCLE credit is available.

You are invited to our annual celebration of Los Angeles' trans and nonbinary communities held at Bike Shed Moto Co. in LA's Arts District. The evening is co-sponsored by LA Pride and the TransLatin@ Coalition, with a performance by the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles.

The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law is an academic research institute dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.