Consulting a lawyer/accountant would have set someone back even before they started. I asked for the price to consult a lawyer before and it cost around $2500 just to have a chat regardless of the outcome.
There is an unwritten guideline "do first, ask for forgiveness later" among people trying to blaze new trails. (NOTE: felons need not apply =) ).
"do first, ask for forgiveness later" applies to software design, but it doesn't apply to the IRS. Firstly you could have spoken to a personal accountant for next to nothing, and there is such a glut of lawyers out there that it's easy to get one for much less. As with any other pros pick these helpers via recommendation from other that have had good results.
PS I say this as someone who did a DIY incorporation and had to un-do it at a later date when it didn't make sense...
I think "do first, ask for forgiveness later" may apply generally to any institution/community where the authority are people who wants the institution to function in the spirit it was setup rather than based solely on the rules that were implemented to govern it.
If the IRS was run in that spirit, then such abnormal cases can be dealt with by 'taxing' the person for IRS wasting resources to deal with it but not the rather astronomical figure of tens of thousands of dollars.
There are some law firms that defer all legal fees until a startup raises money; that way, you can get the legal advice until you have some money in the bank to afford paying their hourly rate.
