Can anyone advise me on how to find a good civil lawyer?

...to have one on standby if I need one in the future? The pending Rove prosecution/non-prosecution has helped me to realize the importance of having good representation at the ready.

Do you know any lawyers? You might ask them.

Second: Contact your local bar association or go to their website. They have a referral service.

Third: Ask some friends in the area. Someone might know.

Fourth: Contact the lawyers that interest you and vet them closely.

Very bright...that's definitely over.

I'd like to have someone who is brilliant and impatient with nonsense.

I don't know any other lawyers.

The Bar Association sounds like my best bet.

They usually have a toll-free lawyer referral number and can give you two or three names of attorneys in the area you need representation. There's usually an initial consultation fee (in Oregon, $35) which most of the attorneys I've worked for will waive, particularly if you hire them. Call the referred attorney, talk to him or her, decide if you like their style, demeanor, attitude, etc. If not, try the next name on your list. Good fit is important. You don't want a Rambo-style litigator if you're really more of a delicate negotiations person, and vice versa.

If I match up but don't need the lawyer at the moment, is it like keeping a good mechanic on standby? So I'm basically interviewing to see which personality will fit my needs for the future? That's possible without having to spend loads of money for the interviewing process?

I presume you're looking for a personal attorney for a one-time kind of possible event (like a bankruptcy, or a non-compete clause in an employment contract, or a land sale), not someone who would be advising you on an ongoing basis for several different things (like an attorney for your business). Consulting an attorney pre-emptively, before a problem arises, can save you money by keeping you alert to possible liability that you might not know about. But of course, you pay the professional for that knowledge and advice. The more knowledge and advice you might need, the more you're going to have to pay. But if you're looking for some general advice about a situation that may or may not develop, a lot of attorneys (especially from a bar referral) will talk to you for 20 or 30 minutes (and this can be an elastic concept as well) for that initial consulting fee.

Law firms don't run on air, of course, but if you just need a one-time consultation, many attorneys will have that session with you at a reduced rate. The process will be the initial telephone call, during which the attorney may say, "Make an appointment and come to my office," or the attorney might just take care of it all in the phone call, or the attorney might begin the process during the call, and then say, "Well, this is going to take a little research and probably a review of your documents. Let's meet at such-and-such a date and time, and bring the contract/earnest money agreement/list of creditors with you."

If you went into a mechanic with a troublesome rattling noise under the hood, and it turned out to be a missing screw on the rain shroud, the mechanic might do it for free, or charge you a minimal fee. If it turned out to be a bad piston, you would of course be on the hook for more. Pretty much the same with an attorney.

and advice.

I would want one for labor/employment, as a potential need.

Thanks for your help. That narrows the field.

Yes, the State Bar Association, otherwise known as the $250-per-Hour Club, is one way to find an attorney.

But the truth is that 98% of them are miserable wretches for human beings and as "professionals," so your chances of finding a good one are very slim.

Personal referrals from those experienced with the attorney plus knowing the law yourself are the best ways to insure a fair shot in our legal system, such as it is.




Cher

The 3-Card Monte games in NYC are a much surer thing, for the financially challenged, then that mess we laughingly call the "justice" system.

Fundimentally, it has morphed into Napoleonic justice: One is guilty until they prove themselves innocent.

Robert Luskin, left, with his high-profile client: "Karl didn't do anything wrong." (Ron Edmonds/AP)