By Clare Kennedy, Georgie Rychner, Nigel Balmer and Tenielle Hagland 
 

By now, many reading this will be aware that Dr Hugh McDonald recently passed away. Quite a few of you probably attended his poignant funeral. 

Hugh was Research Director at the Victoria Law Foundation (VLF), and for many years a close colleague and friend of ours. We worked alongside him across projects spanning legal needs, legal services, legal capability and access to justice. 

Hugh was deeply committed to accessible and equitable justice, and in working toward it, he made a real difference to people's lives. His approach was diverse and practical. It drew on and developed academic thinking, but it worked from the bottom up, putting real people at the centre. His work was also never far away from the publicly funded legal services (CLCs and legal aid) which held a special place in his heart, and to those doing that work on the ground, many of whom will share our loss. 

His understanding of access to justice in Australia was unrivalled, and his incredible knowledge of evidence-based justice policy is just one of the many reasons we are poorer for having lost him. What might look to the rest of us like a new problem was often one of Hugh's zombie issues. He could tell you where a problem had shown up before, why it kept coming back, what had already been tried, and what we might try next. He spent much of his career successfully battling the undead. 

Before joining VLF, Hugh pioneered research at the Law and Justice Foundation of NSW, including the landmark Legal Australia-Wide (LAW) Survey, and went on to build an international reputation as one of the most respected empirical researchers in access to justice. 

To us, Hugh was a brilliant researcher, a supportive colleague, a deeply principled man, and above all, a friend. He will be greatly missed, but his research legacy will live on and his work built upon by us and many others.