Those lawyers are working in a system largely designed and implemented by pollies and their bureaucrats. They have the powers to bring about change as do those who elect them, albeit indirectly.
That “system” puts individual recovery for Bush fire survivors out of reach because the defendant has such deep pockets. The ambulance chasers carry a risk and expect to be remunerated accordingly. It’s not good but that’s the system.
I’m a Community Legal Centre lawyer, the bottom level of lawyer incomes, and none of the clients we work with can afford paid representation. Many just receive a little advice and face the magistrate alone, some we can appear for, a few are eligible for grants of legal aid to pay a small fee to private practitioners...justice generally comes at a price if it comes at all. That’s the system.