The dispute between Mr. Cohen and his lawyers involves the payment of his legal bills, part of which are being financed by the Trump family. ...
It is not uncommon for clients — even those, like Mr. Cohen, who have not yet been charged with a crime — to change their lawyers in the middle of a case. And while Mr. Cohen’s split from the McDermott team, which was first reported by ABC News, marked a significant moment in the proceedings, there was no certainty that he would strike a deal with the prosecutors and thus place Mr. Trump into further legal jeopardy.
Mr. Cohen was already facing pressure to cooperate from a different legal development: Late last month, one of his associates in the taxi business agreed to cooperate with the government as a potential witness, which could be used as leverage against him. ...
...Mr. Trump himself has told people he is angry at Mr. Cohen over the messiness of the situation...
Mr. Trump’s businesses have not been funding Mr. Cohen’s entire legal defense, but the Trump family has been paying for the time-consuming — and enormously expensive — process of reviewing the voluminous materials seized in the raids on Mr. Cohen, according to people familiar with the case. Recently, however, a dispute has erupted over the amount that Mr. Cohen’s lawyers want to charge the Trump family enterprises for the review, which the lawyers have said they are running with a large team of associates and data specialists. The disagreement could serve to further isolate Mr. Cohen from Mr. Trump — a risky move for the president.