Top-Tier Bottom Feeders: Attorneys Who Fuel Family Court Corruption

When unseen forces control justice, the scales tip in favor of corruption. Families deserve transparency, accountability, and a fair system.

We refer to corrupt attorneys as top-tier bottom feeders; they are hand-fed cases involving litigants identified with narcissistic traits, prescreened to ensure they have the financial means to keep everyone’s pockets filled. The bottom-tier attorneys haven’t yet paid their dues; they must bend the knee and kiss the ring to someday gain a top-tier spot. These lower-tier attorneys are left to represent litigants marked as prey. None of them will risk their lifetime investment, professionally earned licenses, or future careers by challenging this well-crafted system and its cabal to defend a victim of litigation abuse and institutional betrayal. We spoke to one attorney who attempted to do so and faced retaliation; the California State Bar revoked her license. Another attorney we know has since shifted to a different area of law, vowing to stay far away from family court corruption. One litigant we spoke to shared that she confronted her lawyer when she noticed his actions seemed more aligned with the adversary's interests than her own—far from the loyalty and zealous advocacy she had expected. When pressed, the lawyer admitted to a backdoor deal but refused to elaborate further.

Victims as Prey: A System of Exploitation

On the contrary, some bottom-tier attorneys—those who still have a faint pulse of conscience and a trace of empathy—view vulnerable clients as hopeless prey. At best, they aim to keep the prey’s head above water, but only as long as payments continue. Taking on a case largely depends on the prey’s financial capacity to meet an inflated retainer (often well above the $5,000 standard) and how close they are to the “slaughterhouse.” These attorneys carefully prescreen potential clients and, according to numerous accounts, seem to communicate among themselves before agreeing to take a case, likely using a coded system to assess risks and benefits.

In San Mateo County, for example, we were told that the Odyssey attorney platform readily displays personal information such as Social Security numbers, IDs, and other sensitive data. This system may allow attorneys to assess clients’ financial resources and decide if the retainer is high enough to justify taking on the case, given they often anticipate the likely outcome: the slaughterhouse.

For an attorney to take on a case requiring standing up to corrupt judges and attorneys requires careful calculation. They position themselves to appear to “go to bat” for the client without genuinely challenging the system, careful not to risk an actual loss, a blemish on their record, or the exposure of their true intentions. Instead, they drain resources, charging inflated fees to “compensate” for any perceived risk, only to ultimately abandon the client when funds run out or the client catches on.

One litigant shared that, upon realizing what was happening, she confronted her attorney via email. Rather than address her concerns, the attorney immediately filed a motion to withdraw from her case without any discussion, violating the retainer agreement, which stipulated a conversation before either party could terminate the relationship.

There are times when corrupt attorneys end up representing the prey. We’ve observed that in these cases, the prey managed to secure the attorney before they were classified as the prey. Yet, even then, these attorneys still sell them out. In some cases, litigants discovered evidence, such as emails and invoices, revealing that their attorneys were communicating with, or even billing, the adversaries.

Amid the whirlwind of litigation abuse, litigants often notice red flags—advice that defies common sense or conversations where their attorney seems coercive, trying to convince them they have “no choice.” Many have shared that it felt as though their attorney was actively working to help the other side win. Make no mistake: while these victims may be traumatized and fearful, they are exceptionally intuitive, smart, and well aware that the law, as it is written, is on their side. Tragically, these litigants—often self-represented and indigent—are overwhelmed by the chaos and relentless demands of litigation abuse. This burden is further compounded by preexisting trauma from domestic abuse, which is only exacerbated by the betrayal they experience within the family court system—a phenomenon we refer to as institutional betrayal.

To date, every family court abuse victim we’ve spoken to suffers from conditions protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act—every single one of them. 

The Human Cost: Traumatized Children and Families

Abusive parents seldom display narcissistic traits, are driven by a relentless need to dominate, and show no regard for the children involved. They use their children as pawns, inflicting psychological and emotional harm simply to punish their ex-partners. When protective parents present evidence of abuse, what happens? Instead of protecting the children, courts often grant custody to the abuser. This “transfer of custody” is, in effect, handing the abuser a loaded weapon—giving them the tools to escalate control, inflict relentless litigation abuse, and cause profound emotional and financial harm.

This abuse doesn’t end with the victim; it extends to their children. By the time these children come of age and manage to escape the system, they often bear the deep, lasting scars of institutional betrayal. Traumatized and vulnerable, they grow into adults burdened by the legacy of this abuse, frequently caught in a vicious cycle that pulls them back into the same dysfunctional court system—a chaotic, unregulated arena masquerading as a beacon of justice. The harm doesn’t stop there; it ripples through generations, perpetuating the cycles the system claims to break.

This cycle often sets the stage for an ongoing war that persists until the children come of age. Tragically, some cases have ended in fatality—children have lost their lives at the hands of abusive parents due to failed and unlawful family court orders. Victims have been murdered, and some, overwhelmed by the system’s betrayal, have taken their own lives. 

Tragic Outcomes of Judicial Misconduct

In one particularly harrowing case in San Mateo County, a protective parent desperately begged a judge for safety measures to protect herself and her children from an abusive ex-partner. She presented indisputable evidence—hardcore proof of the abuse. Yet the judge, dismissing both the evidence and the law, accused her of "parental alienation." This claim, baseless and without any legal merit, became the justification for forcing the children to maintain contact with the abusive parent.

The tragedy escalated when the abusive parent was later apprehended with a cache of illegal machine guns in the trunk of his car. Arrested and taken into custody, he committed suicide while in jail. This devastating case underscores the catastrophic consequences of judicial misconduct. The judge flagrantly abused her discretionary power, disregarding the rules of evidence and the very laws designed to protect victims of abuse. Her decisions placed innocent lives at grave risk, prioritizing an inflated caseload marked "active" over the safety and well-being of vulnerable children.

If the abusive parent had not been caught with those illegal firearms, the outcome could have been catastrophic—a deadly tragedy narrowly averted but serving as a chilling reminder of the grave stakes in family court. This failure is not merely the result of one judge's poor decision but a reflection of a systemic issue that fosters carelessness, apathy, and misguided priorities, putting lives at risk. These failures occur daily in the San Mateo Family Court and countless others across the nation.

Why does this happen? We have concluded that the system is not broken—it is operating exactly as it was designed. It is a profit-driven enterprise where protecting children, which would necessitate minimizing litigation and reducing conflict, threatens the revenue streams that sustain it.

The role of attorneys in this corrupt system underscores a larger truth: the entire framework is engineered to exploit victims rather than protect them.

But what happens when this corruption leads to unimaginable tragedy? The answer lies in the names of laws forged from heartbreak and loss. In our next blog, we will explore these stories and the reforms they inspired. Stay tuned.

Disclaimer: The content on this blog is for informational and advocacy purposes only. It reflects the opinions and interpretations of the author and is based on publicly available information, personal observations, and independent research. While every effort ensures accuracy, the blog does not provide legal, medical, or professional advice. The views expressed here are not intended to defame or harm any individual, institution, or entity, and all information is shared in the spirit of transparency and public interest. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research.