Avennati is a sleazy plaintiff lawyer, basically the bottom of the barrel where it comes to lawyers, and takes his cases on a contingency basis. He has gotten lucky and done well on a couple of those cases, but has lived well above his means, has stolen from his partners and hasn't paid his taxes. He is consequently is a world of hurt financially. Desperate people do desperate things and we have seen a lot of that out of him the last year or so.
Any ethical attorney who gives you a free consultation will tell you three things: is your case winnable, if you go ahead and lose can you afford the fees and can you afford his fees if he takes it and wins.
If you don’t get that advice, that attorney should be disbarred. Michael Avenatti is a joke of a bad lawyer.