Lord David Hope read Classics at Cambridge University before studing Law at The University of Edinburgh. In 1965, he was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates where he served as Advocate Depute from 1978 and then Dean from 1986. He was appointed Queen's Council in 1978.

From 1985 until 1986, Lord Hope served as Chairman of the Medical Appeal Tribunal and the Pensions Appeal Tribunal. In 1989, he was appointed to the Bench directly from the Bar as Lord Justice General of Scotland and Lord President of the Court of Session. In 1992, he made courtroom history by permitting an experiment in televising trials in Scottish courts for documentary purposes.

Prior to 1996, Lord Hope has practiced at the Scottish Bar for 24 years. In this year, he was appointed as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and served as such until 2009. In 2009, he briefly served as Second Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary before becoming the first Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009.

Lord Hope retired from the Supreme Court in September 2013.

Lord Hope became a Patron of The Aberdeen Law Project in 2013. Commenting on his appointment, he said,

"I was delighted to have been asked, as The Project is such an imaginative project. The study of law is at its best when it is linked to how the law works out in practice. The more that can be done to bring students into close contact with the way cases are being handled every day in our courts and tribunals the better. The Project offers that opportunity to everyone who takes part in it and I wish it all success in what it seeks to achieve."