It is customary for companies to pay the travel expenses of all of their board members. That's not out of the ordinary.
Legal fees for investor related actions don't benefit the company at all unless they happen before the checks are signed.
The legal fees are paid after receiving the investment. If you negotiate for a pre-money valuation, and the terms require you to pay the legal fees, you simply take it out of the valuation.
The VCs can offer slightly more money and have the company pay the legal fees, or offer slightly less and the VC can pay the legal fees. There is no difference between these two things.
May be the case, but unless you can negotiate a deal with your law firm that the fees are contingent on closing, if the deal falls apart you've still got the legal fees to pay, and no investment cash to pay them with.