Without going into details of my case and even what type of law it was related to, here is my eight years wasted forever and $240,000 dumped on expensive lawyers that got nowhere: never find lawyer in yellow pages or by referal from friends because every case is different. Always look for lawyers that used to have government job, were prosecutors or even judges (it happens). Like OP said its a game of legal system not a system of justice - you would be suprised how far “buddies that used to work in the same building” can go before anyone can call it a bribe. In my case four lawyers burnt time and money never getting anywhere. I got very inexpensive lawyer that turned out to work for government before. By the end of my free consulatation he got response via personal email from government employee that was holding up my case (indefinitely). By end of week it was positively resolved at the retainer of $2,400.