Unfortunately, no. The deduction for legal expenses was part of the miscellaneous itemized deduction subject to the 2% rule that was eliminated in tax reform.
At 15% or 22% tax, you look to owe as much or more in tax than you got after expenses. An 80% fee seems pretty outrageous to me, even without the change in the tax law. I might have a talk with the attorney firm and suggest you will make a complaint to the bar association unless they renegotiate their fee.
