Attorney for Discover sent summons

Hi all. Hoping for some advice. I know I have made a few mistakes with this debt (other than having the debt in the first place) Owe Discover $9000. Had multiple debts, so went with debt settlement company and stopped paying everyone in 2009. That was a scam and did not work out. Tried mulitple times to settle with Discover and the attorney all to no avail. I have read here that Discover can be difficult. Was served in April 2010 and missed my chance to submit DV..huge mistake. I also did not understand the summons and never answered it. No judgement was taken at that time. I wrote to the attorney and said I am willing to settle, did not hear back. Sent two or three more offers over the next few months and they never responded. On July 5, 2012 I received another summons with court date. I need to submit answering papers and, of course, go to the court date. I am not employed, but I do work and get 1099'd. I have no property and zero in bank accounts. I am still willing to settle as I have $2000 tucked away for them that I never touched. I called atty today, but had to leave a message. Should I continue to pursue him and request settlement? I may be able to get a few more dollars, but nothing close to 40 or 50 percent of the debt. Should I hire an atty? Also, I understand they need the original signed cardmember agreement. They only attached a generic agreement to the notice of motion. Do I have something to go on there? Or is it possible they will pull the original out at court? Also, on the notice of motion it says Discover is the plaintiff. Does that mean they still "own" the debt and it was not sold to this attorney debt collector??Thank you to anyone who can help me with this. I am pulling my hair out, and it is not a good look. On the plus side, settled one Chase account and paid another in full. If it helps, I live in NY state.