Social justice in legal education: a comparative study of perceptions between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom

This study examines and compares how law students and recent graduates in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong conceptualise and perceive social justice within legal education and professional practice. Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, the research combines statistical analysis of 260 survey responses with thematic analysis of 24 in-depth interviews. Findings reveal significant national and professional differences in understandings of social justice. UK students framed it in Rawlsian terms of outcome-based fairness, while Hong Kong participants emphasised equality before the law and procedural fairness. The inclusion of social justice within curricula was widely perceived as limited, with UK students critiquing an overly black-letter approach and Hong Kong students questioning the relevance of Western-centric content. Quantitative results show a positive correlation between hours spent studying social justice and its perceived importance, although this effect diminishes after graduation, particularly in the UK. Perceived importance of social justice—more than educational exposure—was identified as the strongest predictor of legal activism, with nationality emerging as the most significant determinant. The study concludes with implications for curriculum reform to better align legal education with local contexts and social justice objectives.