Research by Leigh Anenson When AIG executives received their annual bonuses even after the struggling firm took $700 million in federal bailout funds, a storm of public criticism erupted. AIG justified its decision to pay the bonuses by claiming it was contractually obliged to do so.

Strict enforcement of the law sometimes rewards dirty-dealing and hypocrisy, which bothered T. Leigh Anenson as a litigator. Her new book, "Judging Equity: The Fusion of Unclean Hands in U.S. Law," explores a safety valve in the legal system designed to correct injustice.