The Enlightenment transformed Lowland Scotland into a major epicenter for education in the British Atlantic world. The universities in Edinburgh and Glasgow were renowned for training new generations of doctors, lawyers, theologists, economists, and scientists. Adam Smith studied social philosophy under Frances Hutcheson at the University of Glasgow in the 1740s while the Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush earned his medical degree from the University of Edinburgh two decades later. The education that men such as Rush and future U.S.

The members of the College of Justice served both the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's supreme criminal court. On any given day during the term an advocate might argue a civil case before the Court of Session or defend clients or assist prosecutors in the High Court of Justiciary. Five Lords of Session sat on the criminal court as well. Occasionally, we find printed criminal papers with Session Papers.

The Scottish Enlightenment transformed cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow into major centers of intellectual inquiry, artistic expression, and print culture. Many Scottish judges and advocates such as Lord Kames, David Hume, James Boswell, and Sir Walter Scott made profound contributions to moral philosophy, economic theory, and literary form.