Yes, there are legitimate domestic asset-protection schemes (see box, p. 60) to fend off ruinous legal awards against doctors hit by medical malpractice claims, executives by shareholder suits, spouses by divorce.

FORBES: Where Did the Money Go?

Their mother's squawks competed with the din of morning-rush bridge traffic as Chris Nadareski, a wildlife biologist with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, gently lifted the fluffy chicks out of their nesting box and used pliers to fasten metal bands around their legs.

WSJ: 4 falcon chicks living on NY-NJ bridge are banded

If you're the guy in the box out there at the scene of the crime, most in need of the protection, you're flat out of luck.

MSN: December 23: Wayne LaPierre, Chuck Schumer, Lindsey Graham, Jason Chaffetz, Harold Ford Jr., Andrea Mitchell, Chuck Todd - Meet the Press - Transcripts | NBC News