If you are paying your attorney by the hour your attorney will frequently ask for money up front - this is called a retainer. The details of this retainer should be spelled out in your engagement letter.
Sometimes this is equivalent to the last months rent and none of this money is used to pay your monthly legal bills. In this case you need enough cash for this retainer along with enough to fund your monthly payments if you are going to make it without running out of cash.
In other cases the attorney will use your retainer to pay his monthly bills until the case reaches a certain level or he thinks there is enough money at the end of the case to satisfy his bill.
You need to understand what your attorney is expecting on this front and do not be afraid to negotiate this item if you are short on cash.
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Very interesting, I need to send you some of my engagement letters.
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