Courthouses are messy places. Mostly they're emotionally messy. You go to a courthouse because either (a) you feel wronged and haven't found another way to solve your problems, (b) someone else feels wronged, hasn't found another way and drags you there or (c) you just enjoy conflict. If you just enjoy conflict, you're a bad client: very little good will come of this relationship. If someone feels wronged and nobody's been able to work things out, we're looking for next-best outcomes, and not best outcomes.
At the end of a civil case, the most that a judge can do is to tell one party to either pay or not pay money to another party, or to do or not do a particular act. (The judge can't even guarantee that the money actually gets paid or that the action is actually taken.) The judge can't tell one party to make the other feel better. The judge can't compensate anyone for the emotional energy that they've expended in a multi-year fight. In most instances, the judge can't order the losing party to pay the winning party's attorney's fees expended during those years. Win or lose, nobody walks out of a courtroom feeling like they've spent a week at a relaxation spa.
I always tell this to potential clients, but plenty of lawyers don't. Most lawyers are "yes men"; they'll take the client's money and keep telling the client how right he is without ever disclosing the harsh realities of the process. Is the process broken? A little. But more broken is the mindset that does not disclose the reality of the process so that intelligent decisions can be made.
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