I am involved in a business litigation (arbitration) with the estate of a former partner that has now gone on for 2 years. I feel that my attorneys could have made the negotiations with the estate much easier with a few simple moves early on which would have put me in a much better position. Instead, this case has cost me over $400K and it continues. I had addressed this all along and the firm had given me some minor discounts. My latest quandry is that we went to hearing and didn't finish as only 3 days were allotted. Considering the amount of money I am spending and his vast experience with arbitrations and our case, I feel that my attorney should have known very well that we couldn't finish in 3 days. A consecutive 4-5 day hearing would have been much less expensive that a two 3 day hearings months apart.

I am looking for advise on how to discount my bills. I currently owe over $100K and I am running out of money. My perfect scenario would be to leave all bills unpaid until after the 2nd hearing, but I don't know if I can pull that off. I have started paying the back invoices (7 months are due) piecemeal, but I would like to write some off. I was considering just sending partial checks for each invoice, crossing off the amount and writing in the amount I am willing to pay, but I am afraid to have a confrontation prior to the next hearing. How should I procede?