Court is not the preferred option for you and the company.

Therefore, I would just talk to your manager and HR people and ask them to reconsider your situation. Sometimes, sympathy factor can help a lot. Don't make any threats because anyone can be let go. This is America.

As for the lawyer, I don't think black or white makes a difference. Does your manager think your perforance is poor because you are yellow?

Setting aside the color issue, if the company will not accomodate your situation (after you have talked to them), I would negotiate with the lawyer and propose no down payment. You can just tell him that because you feel that we have a stong case, the risk for you doing free work is really low. 35% sounds reasonable, no one will work for free. You don't work for free for your company.