I have ideas which could be sold or developed into inventions, but I've heard from several people there are lawyers/attorneys who will charge excessive amounts of money for doing nothing and I've heard about a couple of cases where a patent attorney actually stole the idea that was presented them in order acquire a patent. How do I know before hiring an attorney if he/she is reputable? and/or... Is there something I can do to protect my idea before presenting it to a patent attorney?