Lady Elish Frances Angiolini (née McPhilomy; born 24 June 1960[3]) is a Scottish lawyer currently serving as Lord Clerk Register, the first woman to hold the role since its creation in the 13th century.

As Lord Advocate, Angiolini worked on cross-border issues alongside her counterpart Keir Starmer while he was Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales.

[18] Angiolini was born into a family of Irish Catholic descent on 24 June 1960, her parents being Mary (née Magill) and James McPhilomy.

She was then appointed Senior Depute Procurator Fiscal at Glasgow, taking operational responsibility for Sheriff and Jury prosecutions.

She was then appointed Regional Procurator Fiscal for Grampian, Highland and Islands (based at Aberdeen) on 27 July 2000 – the first woman to hold such a post.

On the morning after the election, Angiolini had cleared her office and was preparing to leave when she received a phone call from Alex Salmond, the new First Minister.

Salmond decided that Angiolini should stay in post, and would continue not to attend Cabinet except to provide advice or to make representations about her own department as had been the case with the former administration following the departure of her predecessor.

[20] Later in 2007, Angiolini clashed publicly with the head of Scotland's judiciary, Lord President Hamilton, over the collapse of the World's End murders trial.

Angiolini then made a statement to the Scottish Parliament, saying she was "disappointed" at the decision, a move Hamilton said undermined the independence of the judiciary.

[34][35] Salmond paid tribute to Angiolini, saying "her term as Lord Advocate has been marked by significant improvements and substantial success in the disposal of justice in Scotland".

On leaving the post of Lord Advocate, Angiolini was unveiled as the first patron of LawWorks Scotland, a charity which helps people who cannot afford legal advice.

;[39] in February 2012, it was announced that Angiolini would become Principal of St Hugh's College, Oxford in September that year, replacing Andrew Dilnot.

[44] Angiolini's report into deaths in custody in the UK, commissioned by the Home Office, was published at the end of October 2017.

[45] In 2018, she was appointed by the Scottish government to "review the processes for handling complaints against the police and investigating serious incidents and alleged misconduct.

[59] In June 2011, Angiolini received the Special Achievement Award from the International Association of Prosecutors in Seoul, South Korea.

[18] On 10 December 2024, it was announced that Angiolini would succeed Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, as Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.