Because it was made by the rich for the rich.

There are some good answers here, but I would also note that because the legal system is adversarial, continued investment can go a long way towards a desired outcome. If you can afford a parade of experts, huge amounts of gathered evidence, and contingency plans researched and prepared by dozens of lawyers and paralegals, you'll do better in court.

It's an arms race, so the "best" lawyers have spent the most on arms. That also means that even the worst lawyers have to invest a lot to keep up.

In Germany, it works like this:

Everybody has to observe the laws, therefore it must be possible for everybody to go to court etc. It cannot be that you need to be rich first, before you can sue anybody.

So our first 'level' of courts do not require that you have a lawyer in civil cases. You do not need to write things in 'legalese' language (of course it makes things easier if you do), instead you can simply walk to court and say I need to sue that person for this and that. They would write it down and start proceedings.

Only court of appeals etc. require a lawyer. In criminal cases the court would provide a lawyer if required.

Lawyers cannot decide their rates freely, but need to adhere to a kind of tariff system. So, getting rich just because you are a lawyer is somewhat difficult :-)

Like any subject matter that is complex it requires someone to have specialized training to understand and navigate. We all have a working understanding of the legal system, but sometimes we need expert opinion. Few people are willing/able to master the subject matter so supply relative to demand is low.

The legal system is complex because our world is complex. We are constantly expanding human endeavors (Space law wasn't an issue until Sputnik) and changing current laws (Marijuana laws have changed in many states). It's not just a matter of learning the law once - it is constantly changing and requires an expert to be always up-to-date.

You're paying $.25 for the piece of paper and $199.75 for the lawyer's knowledge of how to file it.

In order to be cheaper we would need to flood the market with lawyers. But the number of lawyers is purposely controlled. Image if you regular people had access to lawyers. The chaos. Youd waste all the lawyers time complaining about illegal wage theft and union busting or excessive force. The system works much better when the law protects the people who earned it

Because when you need it, you really need it and can't be too picky about the price. You only have a limited window to shop around.

So the nash equilibrium is the prices are set dear, but not too high to be impossible to pay.

Kinda like hostage healthcare in the USA.

The legal system is expensive for the same reason the medical system is expensive:

• When you need to be in it, you need to be in it (e.g., you can't just walk away from possible jail time or having a steering wheel embedded in your body).

• Even if it's for things you are choosing willingly, both systems have over time set themselves up as the only possible options - either by making it a crime to take care of your issue outside their system, or by making you believe that only going their route is the safe / effective / trustworthy way.

• Both are incredibly, unapologetically, corrupt to their core, with no one really accountable for anything beyond a few "examples" made here and there.

This way the law is the same everyone but only the rich can use it to their advantage.

To reasons. One we have made an extremely complex legal system and two, for the same reason actors charge millions. Because they can.

It is made to be inaccessible to the common people. Partially due to avoid excessive overuse, partially (or moreso) so it remains a playground for lawyers and other such people, who are all expensive.

lawyers maintain a high artificial barrier to entry.

Cuz fuck you MURICA, it's for the rich on purpose

There are not a lot of incentives to make things easier/cheaper. Changing government processes is slow and hard. Take immigration. It is currently a long and hard process to legally immigrate to US unless you fall into certain categories. I’ve heard politicians on both sides say my entire life that we need to improve the process for legal immigration yet little has been done.

Overall the legal system isn't nearly as expensive as people think it is. Most cases can be dealt with for a few hundred dollars or less. Especially small court claims sometimes even prohibits the use of lawyers, so the only cost ist your time + getting a few documents.

But as the complexity of the case increases so does the price. And that's because you pay for a lot of time of people with specialized knowledge. But that's true for every profession.

These cases are what people usually talk about. These are the cases that get media attention. No one talks about the small court claims between Bob and John that took 30 minutes.

Multitude of reasons, though a lot is because they like money. But other than that, there is the fact that a facility needs to be used for days or even months on end, multiple people need to be brought in, several of which have legal experience which is vital for cases, it held in a government building which adds to the cost, and there is a lot of paper work involved.