"CarroII probably knows as much as anybody about lawyers." - The New York Times

"Dancing with Lawyers shows the client how to lead without the lawyer stepping on their toes." -- The Houston Post

"Dancing with Lawyers is a must for any reference shelf." -- The Atlanta Journal & Constitution

"It takes apart the legal profession with surgical -- and often hilarious -- precision. . . . More important, it provides hugely valuable insights into managing the relationship in a cost- and business-effective way." -- Ralph Warner, lawyer and author of Fed Up With the Legal System

"An absolute must for anyone hiring a lawyer. . . . Dancing with Lawyers is the best book written on dealing with lawyers." -- Today's Business Journal, New York City

Maryland small-businessman Nicholas CarroII came home one night after signing a check for $4,000 worth of legal work and realized that his lawyers had caught a fatal contract mistake only ten minutes before he signed the papers for a real estate purchase.

He sat down to write a list of reminders for keeping his lawyers on track, and when he was finished at 3 a.m., he had a solid set of rules for buying legal services like he would buy furniture or garden tools -- with minimum annoyance and tangible results.

That list became the landmark book Dancing With Lawyers. In it, CarroII describes simple ways businesses and individuals can supervise lawyers the way they would supervise any subcontractor.

In the age of litigation, more people than ever are dealing with lawyers -- for wills, incorporations and divorces, for adoptions, real estate deals, and tax cases -- and they're becoming more sophisticated about the law, CarroII said. "In some municipal courts you will find nearly as many customers arguing cases as you will find lawyers. The do-it-yourself customer may have been a fool in Clarence Darrow's day, but I don't suppose Clarence charged $150 an hour."

CarroII tells the story of a friend who runs a biotechnology company. His lawyer told him the company would have to pay $2,000 in taxes to the county where they had just opened a branch. He called the county, and they faxed him the ordinances. When he couldn't find any reason to pay $2,000, he called the county again, and they said they didn't know any reason either. As his friend said later, "With the time I lost, it really wasn't worth it, but some days you just get fed up."

When CarroII got fed up and wrote his list of reminders, he had been through a string of lawyers who he said were too steeped in legal thinking to see common sense solutions. Unlike most customers, CarroII had earlier met a lawyer who, he says, "carries her customers the extra miles" -- and knowing how to recognize a good lawyer, he has been holding other lawyers to her standard ever since.

CarroII, who has been a business owner, project manager, real estate investor, and overseas manager of an import firm, wrote Dancing With Lawyers with small business in mind, but the book includes information on corporate lawyers as well.

Dancing with Lawyers includes sections on how lawyers become what they are; how to find the right lawyer for the job; and how a customer -- not client -- can help jobs along while avoiding costly, time-consuming litigation.

CarroII spoke to dozens of lawyers while he was writing the book. "Reactions to the manuscript fell into a pattern," he said, "new lawyers were furious, experienced lawyers made no comment, and former lawyers thought it was a riot."