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.