Sorry, I thought you had retained counsel already.
Do you belong to a credit union? Often times they are less stringent with loans than a traditional bank.
Do you have any retirement funds you can borrow. Normally I would not suggest that but if you need counsel then you need it.
Where in L.A. are you? I know somebody that retained a very good attny for about 1500.00 less than the quotes you are getting.
Try and think of the money you need in smaller chunks. Do you have anything you can put on eBay or Craiglist to sell? Can you have a yard sale to raise some funds?
Another suggestion would be to call the state bar association and see if they can lead you to resources you may not be aware of. Attnys would much prefer a lump sum check instead of working with a third party (agency for assistance for example) and might not be telling you about the available help out there.
Also, contact any human service agencies in your county and see if they might have resources.
