Bluebird Rising

A review by (...):If you open a book and catch the sudden saltwater tang of the sea, chances are that John DeCure is at it again. In his new book, "Bluebird Rising," DeCure's surfing lawyer J. Shephard is back, and the legal waters are more treacherous than ever.As an attorney in dependency court, where cases involving child abuse, custody battles, and other family miseries, J. thought he'd seen everything. But his new job as a prosecutor for the California State Bar Association has opened his eyes to new and equally dark human debasements, this time involving corrupt and/or incompetent fellow lawyers, lawyers who are sometimes willing even to kill."State Bar Association" has a friendly sound to it, as if it represented a friendly group of tavern owners. The only thing most people know about their state's bar is that it is responsible for making aspiring attorneys take really hard tests before they can be licensed to practice law. But the bar has more than exams and licenses on its mind. It is also charged with investigating and prosecuting corrupt lawyers. We travel with J. Shephard into a world rarely seen by the public, a world where justice is meted out to those who have deprived others of it.Through J., DeCure takes aim at a particularly vicious form of legal corruption: UPL, the unauthorized practice of the law. On the surface, a business involved in UPL can appear to the public--expecially to immigrants, the elderly, and the naive--as a perfectly legitimate enterprise. In this case, the Glendale Lo-Cost Law Center is "purportedly staffed by a cadre of crack paralegals who handled both the client contacts and the paperwork. Simple, low-cost stuff: Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings, wills, living trusts, burial instructions, name changes. Applications for green cards, amnesty, political asylum." The key is to get a "down-and-out lawyer" to lend his bar number to the scam, and once that number is obtained, the money starts to roll in. The con is that such fly-by-night law centers have no intention of providing the services for which their clients have paid. Once client complaints reach a critical mass, the pseudo law practice closes its doors, opens them elsewhere under another name, and starts all over again.A small minority of lawyers who wind up involved in UPL scams are not corrupt, and J. has run into one of those rare persons: Dale Bleeker, the man who inspired J. to take up the law, a man who was once a great prosecutor and is now a lawyer on probation for a "wienie-wagging incident," a man who has lost his wife, alienated his daughter, and now lives out of his car. A man with an alcohol problem and a desperation so great that he didn't recognize a UPL until he was deeply enmeshed in it. J., faced with his fallen hero, embarks on a crusade to free Bleeker from the criminal mess that he has inadvertently gotten himself into: "I briefly considered telling him about how hardcore certain UPL practitioners can be . . . How jus

California lawyer J. Shepard would prefer to surf than work the legal system, but he understands that he needs money to ride the waves. However, the ocean is on hold when Dale Bleeker pays a visit on J. Dale, at one time, was the superstar of the prosecution world until he committed an embarrassing faux pas that has made him persona non grata amidst the state Bar.J would rather ignore the apparent alcoholic, but Dale gave him the lift that established his career ten years ago. Though concerned that good Samaritans get burned, J helps his former mentor. However, the mess is worse than he imagines as J finds himself in the midst of an unauthorized practice of law (UPL) scenario. Even more dangerous is that those avaricious souls willing to use and dispose of Dale and now J are ready to commit a homicide or two.The keys to this legal thriller are the intelligent, amusing California mellow dude J and the two humorous California Girls that support the lead protagonist. Surprisingly, the surf sidebars seem more of an undertow than the enhancement that this provided to the first tale (see REEF DANCE). Still, the legal look at UPLs and the subsequent assault in court, on the beach, and in the street at J and Dale make for surf's up time for readers.Harriet Klausner

Really enjoyed Bluebird Rising. Noticed on the book's jacket that Michael Connelly liked this author, so I tried it and agree. While many mysteries are purely plot-driven, this one rises above because there's more attention devoted to interesting characters, a glimpse of the surfing scene in So Cal, some courtroom action, etc. Continues with the character, Jay, you meet in the first book, Reef Dance, which I also enjoyed.