Absentee bidding at a Sheriff's sale- any words of advice to protect myself?

[Steve R.]

Hello,

I want to bid on a property at a sheriff sale but I will be put of town on that date. The sheriff requires a certified check (20%) from the winning bidder. The check must be made out to my name and if I'm the winning bid, I would normally sign the back and hand it over. Since I cannot use a friend to bid for me due to schedule conflicts, I was going to get a lawyer, give him the the endorsed certified check with instructions on my highest bid and he would go to the auction for me.
If I win, he hands over the check and if not, he holds onto the check for me until my return. I have to endorse the check as it is not valid until I do so and I figure an established lawyer would not try and run off with my money. I was going to get a letter from the atty stating the objective and check received. Any thoughts or suggestions?

PS the check must be certified, made out to me and must be endorsed to be legal.

thanks