James Murray, Lord Philiphaugh

Sir James Murray, Lord Philiphaugh PC (11 July 1655 – 1 July 1708) was a Scottish judge and politician who twice served as Lord Clerk Register from November 1702 to June 1704 and from April 1705 to July 1708, when he died in office. Serving as a political advisor to the prominent statesman James Douglas, 2nd Duke of Queensberry, Murray assisted him in passing the 1707 Union with England Act through a divided Parliament of Scotland.

Born in Eddleston, Peeblesshire, Murray graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1674 before being elected to the Scottish Parliament after the death of his father in the previous year. Murray also served as the Sheriff of Selkirk until a dispute with a Scots Army officer led to the Privy Council of Scotland to remove him from the office in October 1681. During this period, he married twice, having eight children with his second wife Margaret.

In 1684, Murray was arrested following the discovery of the Rye House Plot; confessing to the Privy Council of his involvement, Murray proceeded to testify against a range of accomplices. Despite the unpopularity Murray acquired in Scotland due to his testimony, after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, his fortunes began to recover and he was appointed an ordinary lord of session in November 1689 and Lord Clerk Register in November 1702.

In June 1704, due to the "Scotch plot", an unsuccessful attempt by the Duke of Queensberry to incriminate his political rivals, Murray temporarily stepped down as Lord Clerk Register and was replaced by James Johnston. He soon returned to power and once again assumed the office on 7 April 1705, continuing to serve as a political advisor to the Duke of Queensberry until dying while staying at the village of Inch, Wigtownshire in 1708.