Dr Hugh McDonald: An ongoing legacy in access to justice

Earlier this year, the access to justice community lost one of its most influential voices, Dr Hugh McDonald.

Throughout his career, Hugh transformed how we think about legal need, disadvantage, legal capability and access to justice. His research shaped policy, informed service design and continues to influence practice in Australia and overseas. Colleagues remember his intellectual rigour, generosity and curiosity, along with a deep commitment to improving outcomes for people seeking justice.

Hugh's work did more than provide answers. A defining feature of Hugh's research was its commitment to practical impact, generating rigorous evidence that could inform policy, improve practice and contribute to a more effective justice system. It challenged the sector to ask better questions about legal need, what works, and how justice systems can better respond to people's experiences and circumstances.

In recognition of Hugh's extraordinary contribution to the field, Victoria Law Foundation is publishing a retrospective series celebrating the ideas, research and collaborations that defined his career. Through reflections from colleagues, collaborators and friends, we will revisit some of Hugh's most significant work and explore its continuing impact on research, policy and practice.

The series will culminate in a plenary session dedicated to Hugh's ongoing legacy at the International Access to Justice Forum 2026 on 28 October. It is a fitting tribute to a researcher who championed the Forum and advocated for bringing it to Melbourne. As the access to justice community comes together to discuss the future of the field, it is also a chance to reflect on Hugh's role in shaping it.

Understanding disadvantage and legal need

Reflections from Zhigang Wei

One of Hugh's enduring contributions was his work on the relationship between disadvantage and access to justice.

For more than a decade, Hugh and Zhigang Wei worked together to explore how multiple disadvantage affect people's experience of legal problems, access to help and ability to achieve fair outcomes. Their work culminated in Justice at a Disadvantage: What we know now about legal need, capability and multiple disadvantage, published in 2025.

Reflecting on their collaboration, Zhigang recalls that the research began with Hugh's interest in better understanding the connection between disadvantage and access to justice.

It was Hugh's idea to focus on disadvantage and access to justice. He dedicated years to understanding how multiple disadvantage shape people's experience of legal problems. - Zhigang Wei

Together, they built evidence showing how legal problems often intersect with challenges such as housing insecurity, poor health, debt and family instability.

To Zhigang, the work remains highly relevant because it helps explain why legal assistance resources should be directed towards people experiencing multiple disadvantage. The concept of" concentrated disadvantage" remains a useful framework for understanding legal need, designing services and improving access-to-justice outcomes.

Hugh's work on disadvantage continues to shape modern access-to-justice research and service design. Its findings hold the promise of not only improved access to justice, but improved access to just outcomes. - Zhigang Wei

Looking ahead

This series celebrates Hugh's life, work and enduring contribution to access to justice. In the coming weeks, we will share further reflections from colleagues, collaborators and friends, each offering their own perspective on the ideas, research and partnerships that shaped Hugh's remarkable career.

Together, these stories will highlight a defining feature of Hugh's work: a commitment to rigorous research that could improve policy, inform practice and contribute to a more effective justice system. His research helped answer important questions about legal need, disadvantage and access to justice, while also identifying new questions for the sector to explore.

As we reflect on Hugh's contribution, we are also reminded of the work that remains. The challenges he devoted his career to understanding continue to shape the experiences of people seeking justice today. His legacy is not only the knowledge he helped create, but the ongoing pursuit of evidence about what people need, what works, and how we can achieve better and more just outcomes.

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