For this Expert Answers column, The Glass Hammer turned to Catherine Costley, Assistant Solicitor in the Family Department of Rooks Rider Solicitors, a top British law firm known for its expertise in Employment Law. Here, Catherine provides her expert opinion to Glass Hammer readers about how to protect your assets in the event of a divorce. Erin Abrams, a New York divorce attorney, also contributed to this article with respect to divorce law in the United States.
There’s a saying favored by women divorcing their husbands… “What’s mine is mine but what’s yours is mine too.” There’s a misconception that upon a divorce, most women are out to take their husbands for all the money they’ve got. Flowing from that is the misconception that the courts will actually endorse such thinking when it comes to financial settlements in a divorce. To the contrary, today more and more women are amassing wealth in their own right and instead of wanting to take her husband’s assets upon divorce, it is a case of preservation of the fruits of their labor.
Although this advice may come a little late for those of you reading this with a wedding band on your hand, the best place to start the preservation of your assets is with a prenuptial agreement.

This week, we at The Glass Hammer are kicking off a new occasional Friday segment where we review and recommend business-oriented books that might be of particular interest to women working in law and finance. Today we review 3 top business books, so keep reading after the jump. Have a top pick yourself? Write in to let us know what you would like to see us review. Did one of these books change your life? (or end up being used to line your kitty’s litter bin?) Leave a comment and let us know!
If you listen to news reports about the subprime mortgage mess, you’d think the job market in finance is all gloom and doom. While opportunities in mortgages will be limited for some time, leading executive recruiters and career experts say that jobs are still out there for women in finance who possess the right skills and background. Here’s what financial insiders advise on where the job growth will be in 2008.