Dor, why do you think that the world is black and white? Guilty and innocent can have many shades of gray. To my (non-professional so CTL can correct me if I am wrong) knowledge it is a breach of legal ethics to plead “not guilty” for a client one knows is completely guilty or to prosecute someone one knows is completely not guilty. However, often there are mitigating and/or aggravating circumstances.
JJ, what is a “real” bet din? Toanim rabbani’im have been around for almost 2,000 years. If you are interested in how this developed there is an article in Techumin on this. Ido not remember which volume so you will simply have to do so work yourself. Here in Israel they even have their own professional organization.
CTL,
1. Yasher koach on your attainments regarding gittin.
2. L’chatchils wills must be written in a certain manner to have halachic validity. There is an organization called “Bais HaVaad Institute of Talmudic Law” which has an e-booklet on the subject. They also give CLE courses (albeit in Brooklyn). suing a jew in secular court.
3. You are correct that non-observant Jews do not care about the prohibition but they do care about time and money. If the local bet din is professional and arrives at a decision in a much shorter time and at much less cost a non-observant Jew might be willing. Here in Israel the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit network has earned such a good reputation that even non-observant judges refer cases for arbitration (they are very anxious to do this as their caseloads are impossibly heavy).