Lawyers, bankers, accountants – they’re all facing tough times at the moment. Whilst the woes of professionals are well documented as the downturn continues to take its toll on salaries, bonuses and jobs; what about their other halves?

When the good times were rolling and the champagne was flowing, as you might expect, some of the big spenders attracted certain types of admirers. A blog started by two New Yorkers, Dating a Banker Anonymous , chronicles the woes of a …

On this particularly wintry morning here are some tales to lighten the Monday mood:

A thief’s plan to drill his way into a French bank backfired when he emerged in the toilet.

He missed the safe and instead found himself in a lavatory where he was promptly arrested, French newspaper La Provence reported.

Police chiefs in China have been slammed for hiring actors to rob a bank as a training exercise – without telling anyone else.

Only the director and the deputy director …

With the excitement across the World in the run up to Obama’s inauguration, it would have been tricky to have missed the ‘attempt to sell his Senate seat’ episode that unravelled. As we await the results of an investigation into possible corruption in the House of Lords over here, another high profile corruption investigation starts to draw conclusions in the US.

In somewhat comical style, Illinois Governonr Rod Blagojevich launched a media blitz prior to his impeachment trial. Likening himself …

As Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati becomes the latest US firm to announce layoffs, with up to 113 employees likley to go, there are big questions being raised about the law firm model.

US blog Ideoblog has published an article on the subject following the demise of a number of large US firms including Heller Ehrman, Thelen and Thacher Proffitt in the last few months. The article "Elvis (and Big Law) are dead" looks at some of the reasons why…

"Consider …

Wesley Snipes, king of kung-fu style beat-em-up movies and comic book hero in the role of vampire slaying Blade, has managed to have his passport confiscated. Despite a travel ban during the appeal of his conviction on three misdemeanor tax fraud counts which is pending in the Eleventh Circuit, Snipes was still allowed to travel to London (to help edit his new movie, Gallowwalker ) and to Bangkok (to film the movie Chasing the Dragon ) under a court order. (We …

In the turmoil of the last few months, it is good to have a few moments of glory to cheer about. Whilst here in the UK we seem to be a little short of positive news at the moment, you have to get inspiration where you can. A couple of events in the US recently have given Americans something to be hopeful about, maybe some of that will rub off; let’s hope so. The incredible landing of Flight 1549 …

Being reminded of advocacy practice or a nervous bride and groom during Obama’s inauguration came as something of a surprise yesterday. As non-Americans it was still obvious to us that someone was fluffing their lines as the main event of the day unfolded. Thankfully most of the commentary has focused on Obama’s speech, powerful as it was. However, there was some room for a lighthearted pop at the fluffing…

From NBC’s Pete Williams
The recitation of the presidential oath came …

How couldn’t we, he is a lawyer after all…

As if to emphasise the historic significance of the occasion, the eve of Obama’s inauguration carries an addidional significance coinciding as it has with the annual public holiday in memory of black civil rights leader Martin Luther King.

To keep track with this historic event, the BBC has a handy timetable for the day  click .

Looking for a job, then this might just fit the bill…

Associate Attorney (Midtown West)
Reply to: job-991754136@craigslist.org [?]
Date: 2009-01-13, 5:41PM EST

Fast-paced 20-attorney law firm looking for an eager associate to join our growing practice. We understand that you may be a newly-admitted attorney looking for their first job. We also know that the economy is harsh right now. However, we are willing to give you a chance. Here are the details of this spectacular opportunity:

* Your salary will be $30,000 …

Here, to help keep us all on the light side of the law, are some cheeky extracts for a bit of mid-week amusement.

Madoff’s skill in bamboozling many so called sophisticated investors has aroused some interesting and entertaining commentary. From I’m There For You Baby, "The Gullible and Bernie Madoff ":

" Stephen Greenspan, a psychologist, has analyzed some of the behaviors in his recent article in the Wall Street Journal . Herewith are some of his thoughts (intertwined with a …

Freeze seems to be the word of the moment, with Britain having been chilled to the bone for days on end and firms implementing salary and bonus freezes. According to Litination Jones Day have dreamt up a novel approach to the impending year of doom and gloom.

" Following a string of recent announcements from law firms regarding salary freezes and reductions in bonuses, Jones Day today announced a ground-breaking program to freeze its associate class of 2006 in response …

Contributions from a keen observer of the US legal scene shed some interesting light on recent happenings over there. It seems that several well known individuals from the Land of the Free were caught out by the tax man in 2008 for not paying up. According to TaxProf they included Wesley Snipes, Nicholas Cage and Paul Hogan amongst others. Hogan, of Crocodile Dundee fame now lives in Santa Barbara and had this to say to the Aussie authorities: "Come …