Find one's way around

Is this for a book club or for scholastic endeavor?

She was back to throwing the cases to another lawyer. Probably (who might be) some campaign contributor from Century City (demeaning, implying provincialism) who couldn't find his way around (navigate, follow or understand) a criminal proceeding (court trial) if his Riviera membership (demeaning, implying snootiness) depended on it.

Being from Century City does not in any way imply 'provincialism.' Quite the contrary. Century City is a non-residential high-rise dominated neighborhood of Los Angeles. Any lawyer whose office was in Century City would most likely not be a criminal lawyer but, rather, some sort of corporate or estate attorney, wealthy enough to have contributed to political campaigns and therefore now being considered for this (presumably) plush assignment. That the lawyer in question is further imagined as probably anything but provincial is indicated by his membership in the exclusive Riviera Club.

Andy I was thinking more in terms of an "old fogey"
http://onelook.com/?w=provincial&ls=a

Though thanks for making me look it up

You could say it is kind of a "scholastic endeavor". Just trying to figure out what confuses me.

Thank you, dalehileman. What confuses me most is the relationship between "couldn't find his way around a criminal proceeding" and "if his Riviera membership depended on it". Is it implying that the Century City campaign contributor is in fact so incapable of defending a client with criminal charges that he couldn't possibly pay for the Riviera membership without some big wigs' favors? Or to ask the question from another angle, what does the last "it" refer to?

No, it's as Lustig Andrei said. Someone with a practice in Century City would be a very successful lawyer, but with not much knowledge of criminal law.

The "it" refers to his having to lose his expensive membership (Riviera) if keeping it depended on his finding his way around a criminal proceding. The potential lawyer might be very competent in some areas of the law, but be lost in a criminal proceding.

Connelly is a good author to start with in learning a language, by the way. Entertaining stories, without using a lot of technical language. Anyway, it's not important to look up every unknown word. Just be sure you can follow the story, and the rest will mostly come to you.

That is so much clearer, Roger. Thank you so much.

Honestly I am fascinated by this book, those some his other books could give me the feeling of hanging in mid air when he abruptly end a story after a full build-up effort...

Interesting Lyn you should so inquire. I often criticize the typical a2k posting--unfairly perhaps--for such lack of explicitly

http://able2know.org/topic/210019-1

…..but many thanks to Rog above for the clarification