But even when you can't avoid it, there are some things that you can do to reduce the expense. It helps to distinguish between strategies for reducing costs and boondoggles.
Strategies involve weighing risks against savings.
Boondoggles are work that usually has insignificant value compared to the expense. Ask your lawyer about the overall strategy for the case. Discuss the costs and benefits of each significant action in the case. No lawyer can reliably estimate the cost of an entire lawsuit, but she should be able to do an estimate for a particular motion. Ask what benefit you can reasonably expect from the motion or other tactic.