The number of lawyers who have taken on new court cases for Alberta's poorest citizens has dropped by more than 60 per cent in the past four years, Legal Aid Alberta says.

More than 700 private bar lawyers stopped taking new cases between 2004 and 2007, a 61 per cent drop that is making it difficult for the organization to find lawyers to help needy people with their legal problems. Statistics show 466 active lawyers accepted a legal aid case in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, compared to 1,198 in 2004.

In addition, the number of lawyers on the organization's roster has dropped to 689 from 934.

Legal Aid CEO Jacquie Schaffter says all areas of the law are affected, but staff have the most trouble finding lawyers to take on family law files, such as custody disputes and divorces. And the problem is particularly bad in rural areas, where clients sometimes wait for weeks before Legal Aid appoints a lawyer.

"In the life of a client, that is an eternity," she said, adding the organization has resorted to flying lawyers into rural communities. "It is very hard on them."

Other provinces are seeing a similar drop, due in part to senior lawyers retiring and junior lawyers no longer coming to Legal Aid to earn their courtroom chops, she said.

Schaffter and Law Society of Alberta president Perry Mack agree the economic climate in Alberta is drawing young lawyers away from legal aid and into the corporate sector.

"We have a very vibrant economy in Alberta, there are lots of opportunities for lawyers to work," Mack said.

He said Legal Aid's $84-an-hour rate can't compete with the money lawyers can earn in the open market. Junior lawyers earn an average of $120 an hour, says a September 2005 study published by the Canadian Lawyer magazine.

The political climate in Canada has also pulled lawyers away from Legal Aid, said one public law professor who studies issues surrounding access to justice.

"In the post-charter era the number of pro-bono causes that concerned lawyers can take up has mushroomed," McGill professor Roderick Macdonald, who adds that the government has failed to adequately fund the Legal Aid systems.

"The legal profession is being asked to do more than its share, and to take primary responsibility for financing access to justice," he said. "Governments have not done their part to keep the access to justice systems viable."

Schaffter has mounted an aggressive campaign to bring lawyers back to Legal Aid, even offering free professional development. Last month, the organization sent surveys to 2,500 lawyers, asking what more it can do.