Elish Angiolini grew up in Govan in Glasgow and studied Law at the University of Strathclyde, graduating in 1982.  Immediately after graduation she joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and, following her traineeship, spent 8 years as a Depute Procurator Fiscal in Airdrie, prosecuting in Airdrie Sheriff Court.

In 1992 she moved to Crown Office to work as part of the Lord Advocate's Secretariat, when she developed her now long-standing interest in improving the support offered to vulnerable victims and witnesses, and in particular children. She also provided contributions to and comment on the development of Westminster policies and legislation affecting the criminal justice system in Scotland.

She was appointed Senior Depute Procurator Fiscal at Glasgow, taking on operational responsibility for the running of Sheriff and Jury trials, before being appointed Assistant Procurator Fiscal at Glasgow in 1995. 

In 1997 she was appointed Head of Policy in the Crown Office, with responsibility for the development of policy across all functions of the Department. In particular, she helped the department prepare for devolution and was involved in the preparation of the Scotland Act 1998. At the same time, she was responsible for the department's preparations for the introduction of the European Convention on Human Rights.

She was appointed as Regional Procurator Fiscal for Grampian and the Highlands and Islands in July 2000 based in Aberdeen, the first woman to hold such a post. 

She was installed as the first non - political Solicitor General for Scotland on 5 December 2001 - also the first woman, the first Procurator Fiscal and the first solicitor to hold the post.  She was installed as Lord Advocate on 12 October 2006.  She remained Lord Advocate following the change in administration at the election in 2007, again, the first to do so. While in Office she took forward the most wide-ranging programme of modernisation in the department's history.

During her appointment she took on particular responsibility for the approach to cases involving our most vulnerable victims - the national roll out of Victim Information and Advice service followed her piloting of that initiative when she was the Regional Procurator Fiscal of Aberdeen, but she has also ensured that prosecutors have provided skilled and enthusiastic support to youth courts, the domestic violence court in Glasgow, and the Drugs courts.

She has personally chaired the Department's Strategy Group on Diversity and helped victims from minority communities achieve greater confidence in the prosecution service.  Her leadership in the area of domestic violence was recognised by the charity Zero Tolerance when she was given their inaugural 'Women in the public Eye' award - one of several awards and distinctions she has received during her time in office.

The review of the investigation and prosecution of rape and sexual crimes which she instigated was a major undertaking which resulted in profound and successful  changes to prosecution practices including the establishment of the specialist National Sexual Crimes Unit, the first of its type in Europe. She also set up the highly successful Health and Safety Division and the National Deaths Inquiry Unit.

While she respects the strengths of the criminal justice system and the independence of its component parts as Lord Advocate she was unapologetically a moderniser, determined to ensure that the prosecution service in Scotland grew in strength to deal robustly with the challenges of crime in the 21st century.

Under her stewardship it has become a Service which has increased its efficiency and effectiveness, recently transforming the way in which High Court cases are prepared and which has become more open, accessible and visible in our communities. In 2007 the Howat Report described the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service as an exemplar body and as the most efficient and cost effective in the Scottish Government.

This year she chaired the Commission on Women Offenders which reported in March.

Elish is a visiting Professor of Law at Strathclyde University.

Jack Beatson Judge of the High Court of Justice, Queen?s Bench Division

Ruth Deech was the first Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education 2004-8. She was Principal of St. Anne's College from 1991 to 2004 and former Fellow and Tutor in Law of that college, specialising in Family and Property Law. Hon. LLD Strathclyde University.

From 1994-2002 she was Chairman of the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, established by legislation in 1990 to consider ethical questions arising from advances in reproductive medicine, and to regulate research and treatment of infertility.

She was a member of the Committee of Inquiry into Equal Opportunities on the Bar Vocational Course 1993-4.

She was a Governor of the BBC from 2002-6, a Rhodes Trustee 1996-06, and is an Honorary Bencher of the Inner Temple. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Family Law, a member of the Editorial Board of Child and Family Law Quarterly and an Honorary Fellow of the Society for Advanced Legal Studies.

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC took up the post of Principal of Mansfield College in Autumn 2011.

Helena Kennedy is one of Britain's most distinguished lawyers and active public figures. She has spent her professional life giving voice to those who have least power within the system, championing civil liberties and promoting human rights.