He was the son of Agnes, daughter of Sir David Forbes of Newhall and Rev David Rae of
St Andrews, an episcopalian minister. Some sources give his mother as Margaret Stewart of Blairhall, daughter of
Dugald Stewart, Lord Blairhall. He was educated at the grammar school in
Haddington, and then studied law at the
University of Edinburgh, where he attended the law lectures of
John Erskine of Carnock. He was admitted a member of the
Faculty of Advocates on 11 December 1751, and quickly acquired a practice. In 1753 he was retained in an appeal to the
House of Lords, which brought him to
London, where he became acquainted with
Lord Hardwicke and his son
Charles Yorke. He was appointed one of the commissioners for collecting evidence in the
Douglas case, and in that capacity accompanied
James Burnett to France in September 1764. He was the leading advocate in the Scottish court of exchequer for many years. In 1783 he was a joint founder of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. He became a
Lord of Session on 14 November 1782, succeeding
Alexander Boswell, Lord Auchinleck, and a
Lord of Justiciary on 20 April 1785, taking the judicial title Lord Eskgrove (from a small estate which he possessed near
Inveresk), in place of
Robert Bruce, Lord Kennet. Rae was one of the judges who tried
William Brodie (died 1788) for robbing the General Excise Office in August 1788, the Rev.
Thomas Fyshe Palmer for seditious practices in September 1793,
William Skirving and
Maurice Margarot for sedition in January 1794,
Joseph Gerrald for sedition in March 1794, and
Robert Watt and David Downie for
high treason in September 1794. In January 1798 he oversaw the trial of
George Mealmaker and other radicals. He was appointed
Lord Justice Clerk on 1 June 1799, in place of
Robert Macqueen, Lord Braxfield, holding office until his death. At this time he was living at 10 St John Street off the
Canongate in Edinburgh. He was created a baronet on 27 June 1804. He died at his country residence, Eskgrove in
Inveresk on 23 October the same year, and was interred in Inveresk Kirkyard. He has a modest stone on the south side of the church itself (St. Michael's) just to the left hand side of the south door. His wife and children are buried with him. This includes his son,
Sir William Rae, 3rd Baronet, Lord Advocate of Scotland, here reduced to a simple name within a list on the stone. ==Reputation==