The ALC's co-chair Alistair MacDonald said the revised legal aid contract introduced in October was leaving law firms out of pocket.
Under the contract lawyers receive a fixed fee for each case rather than being paid per hour worked. The ALC says this means lawyers are being paid less for more complex cases.
"It creates a perverse incentive for simpler cases that are cheaper to do, and to use less qualified lawyers who cost less," he said.
He added that an exodus of lawyers from the sector would undermine the implementation of the new Public Law Outline, which seeks to speed up care proceedings. "That reform can only be effective in reducing delay and improving outcomes for children if a sufficient and sustainable supplier base of specialist legal practitioners is maintained," he said.
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