Chris Brown's lawyer Mark Geragos is working hard to get the pop singer out of jail by putting together a civil settlement with the man Brown assaulted in Washington, DC., last October.

According to TMZ, [Geragos] hopes an L.A judge will just let the singer write a check in exchange for the criminal case to be dropped.

We're told Geragos is gunning for a civil settlement ... which could very well mean the broken nose guy would tell prosecutors he no longer has an interest in pursuing the criminal case. And our sources say prosecutors are aware of the civil settlement negotiations.

We're told Geragos may have already sealed the deal but if not ... it should be done in a day or 2.

Who says the wealthy don't live by a different set of rules? I'm just ready for Chris' probation to end so that every time he sneezes the prosecutors aren't looking to lock him up.

We're sure Brown is looking forward to that day as well.