Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,
Legal malpractice in Family Courts costs California consumers $1.3 billion that can be used to help our economy (Capitol Weekly, Feb. 12)
There are estimated 160,000 divorces filed in California each year. 60% are now done without lawyers according to Ed Sherman in How to do Your Own Divorce in California, published by Nolo Press.
That means 64,000 divorces are handled by divorce attorneys.
Fighting for custody in a Court can cost a lot (says the same source) – at least $15,000-$50,000 for each side.  Let’s take a median number of $30,000 per person, which is $60,000 per couple.
That leaves us with stunning $3,840,000,000 dollars spent in Family Courts across California, producing no real value for our economy.
Now, let’s assume that 1/3 of these costs are not really necessary which leaves us with $1,280,000,000 (ONE POINT THREE BILLION) dollars taken out of the consumers pockets.  Can retrieving that much spending money help our economy? You bet!!!
In comparison the recent news reported that Governor Schwarzenegger has reduced state employees working hours by 2-day-a-month without pay.  His administration estimates that cutting worker hours would save the state $1.3 billion over the next year-and-a-half. Isn’t that the same number?
Mirko Vojnovic