He asked the Legal Services Commissioner to investigate whether the fees charged by the solicitors acting for a former couple fighting over parenting arrangements and property could constitute professional misconduct.
Justice Benjamin said the couple,given the pseudonyms Mr Simic and Ms Norton,had spent an"eye-watering"$860,000 in the proceedings and"these amounts are,on their face,outrageous levels of costs for ordinary people involved in family law proceedings".
The Hobart-based judge took aim at the"win at all costs,concede little or nothing,chase every rabbit down every hole and hang the consequences approach to family law litigation"he had observed in Sydney and the culture of"bitter,adversarial and highly aggressive family law litigation".
It was unclear whether this approach was"a reflection of a Sydney-based culture"or an approach by some lawyers or a combination of both,Justice Benjamin said.
"Whichever is the cause,the consequences of obscenely high legal costs are destructive of the emotional,social and financial wellbeing of the parties and their children. It must stop,"he said.
The scathing comments come amid an Australian Law Reform Commission review of the Family Law Act,commissioned in September by Attorney-General George Brandis.
The review will include a consideration of whether reforms are necessary to promote the"appropriate,early and cost-effective resolution"of family law disputes.