Issue: My lawyer told me he would not represent me in my car accident case unless I paid for all of the expenses, which he said he would pay up front and deduct from the settlement. Can he do this?

Insight: The short answer is yes.  As a party to a lawsuit, you are responsible for paying the costs of litigation.  These expenses include court filing fees, medical record copying costs, deposition transcript fees, and expert witness fees.

As your attorney suggested, these costs are typically advanced by lawyer.  Upon successful resolution of the case, he will then deduct this amount along with his fee, and pay the balance to you.