Anne Stevens, vice-president of the New Zealand Law Society, said reduced legal-aid funding in last month's Budget amounted to a 2% pay cut, or $2 to $3 an hour on average.
With the legal-aid system already "uneconomic" for many firms and lawyers, the changes could prompt more to quit, she said.
The impact would be felt particularly by lower-income people needing legal advice or representation, who would be forced to turn to free community law centres or pay for more expensive lawyers privately, she said.
Others would simply not turn up for court, or arrive ready to defend themselves, she said.
In all cases, the funding cuts raised "access to justice issues", she believed.
The legal-aid system was designed to support those unable to afford a lawyer, with the Government's Legal Services Agency reimbursing lawyers acting on legal-aid cases.
Rates varied from $55 to $182 an hour, depending on the case, while a Crown prosecutor - paid by the Ministry of Justice - received $198 an hour at the same hearing, she said.
Last month's Budget cut nearly $1.3 million from legal-aid funding, one year after the law society won a 12-year fight for a 10% pay increase which added $11.2 million to funding to retain legal-aid services, she said.
Mrs Stevens said legal-aid lawyers she had spoken to were "stunned" by the change, which came weeks after Justice Minister Simon Power accused some of "gaming" the system by dragging out cases.
"There's talk of stopping work, there's talk of refusing to do duty solicitor work, nationally," she said.
Law society president John Marshall QC agreed the system disadvantaged the less wealthy, creating an experience "imbalance" between the prosecution and defence that "seriously undermines access to justice".
Mr Power, responding to ODT questions, said in a statement money cut from the legal-aid budget would support community-law centres while a review of legal aid continued.
He denied the change would lead to a reduction in the number of legal-aid lawyers.
"The Government is committed to providing access to justice for those who can least afford it, and I do not anticipate any further cuts in legal aid."
Legal Services Agency staff would not be interviewed, but spokeswoman Bronwyn Bannister said in a statement legal-aid demand was monitored "to ensure that legal-aid needs are met".
She acknowledged the number of active legal-aid providers fluctuated over time, but "we cannot comment on why".
The organisation's website listed 185 legal-aid lawyers across Otago - including 139 in Dunedin - but Mrs Stevens said a small core did the majority of the work - much of it "almost pro bono [without compensation, for the public good]".
"Two-thirds would just be taking a case or two a year - or less," she said.
She felt "an ethical obligation" to continue with the work, but was hurt - as were other lawyers - by Mr Power's comments.
"I would love to see Simon Power doing a list day with me," she said.
