RURAL communities will be hard hit by federal government cuts to legal services and community legal centres, according to Law Society of SA president Rocco Perrotta.
The government has already slashed $15 million from services and further cuts are anticipated in the next budget.
Mr Perrotta said it was a blow to a sector already running on scarce resources.
"Many rural communities do not have a state government-funded duty solicitor and rely on community legal centres to provide legal advice or representation," he said.
"SA's Legal Services Commission has only a modest budget with funding for offices in two country areas - Port Augusta and Whyalla.
"As a result, the centres are often the only source of legal assistance in rural communities.
"Funding cuts to these centres will further isolate rural community members who already face significant challenges in obtaining legal services."
Mr Perrotta said not all courts visited all regional areas, disadvantaging country people in those parts.
"Further cuts to legal aid funding would only exacerbate this problem," he said.
"Anecdotally, demand for legal assistance services in rural areas is far greater than supply.
"But instead of enabling these services to extend their reach in rural areas, proposed funding measures will restrict them.
"Legal aid does what it can with scare resources. Further cuts to those should alarm all South Australians, especially those in country areas."
If the federal government proceeds with slashing legal aid funding, the Women's Legal Service SA may be forced to drop its 300 cases next financial year and cease outreach services to rural and remote areas of the state, according to Women's Legal Service SA director Zita Adut Deng Ngor.
The service, which helped more than 2500 women last year, one in two of whom were victims of domestic violence, is facing cuts of up to 50 per cent.
"We are based in Adelaide and conduct outreach services to areas including Ceduna, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy and the APY lands - this will stop," Ms Ngor said.
"We are completely reliant on federal government funding and are in the dark about what services will cease, but what we know is the most vulnerable members of our society are going to be affected."
She said the service received funding of $800,000 a year and had eight full-time equivalent staff who were supported by a volunteer base.
If funding cuts went ahead, their outreach model would have to be scaled back or cease completely, leaving women in some of the state's most remote communities without support.
"We work with about 200 Aboriginal women a year and two in three are victims of family violence," Ms Ngor said.
"One out of five women across the board have a disability and one out of five are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
"We won't be able to provide any real assistance and victims will be left on their own."
Ms Ngor said she understood even if some funding remained, the government could restrict its use to federally legislated issues, meaning child protection and domestic violence were not covered, despite them making up most of the legal service's cases.