,

 

Volume 64 - March 2012
legal cartoon, Paul Brennan, St  Patrick's day

St Patrick's Day Edition

This month

  • The importance of the right qualification.
  • Legal Advice Abuse.
  • The PPSA.
  • Winnner of the 2012 Annual Legal Cartoon Competition.
  • We open the St Patrick's Day Legal Store.

 

 

Facebook logo

Linkedin

Paul Brennan

Editor

Author of

The Law is an Ass...Make Sure it Doesn't Bite Yours!

info@lawanddisorder.com.au


How to get stuffed

Legal cartoon, student, (c) Paul BrennanI learnt something interesting the other day. Apparently, the LL.B (Hons) law degree is hopelessly out of date when compared with the highly complex and totally cool Juris Doctor law degree that my son has just started. I am so pleased that he felt able to share this with me and his mother who was also hoodwinked into taking the LL.B (Hons) degree.

I must concede, who would want the indecipherable “LL.B (Hons)” after their name when they can have a title which incorporates the word “doctor” an acknowledged babe magnet.

Of course, having been sold a pup several decades ago, it is too late to try and get my money back as the University of London is probably long gone by now.

Looking at the syllabus of the Juris Doctor I note with some relief that they still teach contract law, because if they had got rid of that half my practice would have gone.

Note:

(i) The University of London does continue and has on public display Jeremy Bentham (author, jurist, philosopher and legal and social reformer), who died and was stuffed (possibly by his parents) in 1832 after making some injudicious comment about the LL.B (Hons) degree. Here is a photograph http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham.

(ii)  LL.B is short for Legum Baccalaureus meaning load of old cobblers in latin.

 

(c) Paul Brennan 2012. All rights reserved. 

Having finished the 101th reason in my blog The 101 Reasons to Kill all the Lawyers. Next month, we shall be starting a new blog for law students and anyone who has to put up with them such as their families, lecturers and assorted others. If you have any ideas for a suitable name please send it to info@lawanddisorder.com.au.


The Attack

Legal Pad Stein Last month, I was the subject of an attack on the driveway of my home. I would have liked to say the attack was “frenzied” and “vicious” if I had not been the victim of a joyous charge by our Labrador, Barney, the clumsiest dog on the planet. He literally came out of left field.

As I lay on the driveway, blood pouring from my head, I realised that I had managed to participate in one of the few accidents nowadays where no one gets sued. The clamour for animal rights does not seem to extend to the right to be sued.

At the hospital, I was given 10 stiches and lots of lawyer driven advice on the risks of even the most basic activity after a head injury. If anything, this made my headache worse. Personal Injury lawyers who advise hospitals would be less verbose if there was a case in which excessive legal advice aggravated the injury and increased the damages awarded, Legal Advice Abuse (“Legal AA”).

Barney is not alone, click here for a short Youtube video about an architect and his Labrador.

Click here for Long suffering lawyers' mothers' clocks, mugs, shirts, locks, intimate apparel and lots more. 

Click here for the St Patrick's Day Irish lawyer shop

                                                                 


How to protect your stuff using the new “PPSA” register

Legal Cartoon, court, barrister, Paul Brennan (c) 2012Good news for those of you who could never work out what a debenture really was – debentures are no more.

In law there is “real property” being land, and “personal property” being things not nailed down - cars, washing machines, pianos etc. It is the latter that tends to go missing especially when you are pursuing someone for a debt. We have had to throw out over 70 perfectly good personal property registers, with the consequent loss of Australian legal jobs, in order to follow a one register system worked out by Canada, New Zealand and the US.  We Australian lawyers were unable to follow their legislation exactly, as over the years Australia has had some very unique challenges as far as personal property is concerned. Ned Kelly for instance. Some of the differences are subtle, such as when we call it the “Personal Property Securities Act” and the Canadians call it the “Personal Property Security Act”.

What did the Americans call it? I don’t know, but I am guessing something irritatingly more clever than the Canadian lawyers.

What you need to know:

Lenders -

  • Register a “security interest” by filing a “financing statement”. Otherwise risk someone else jumping the queue, registering and gaining priority over your interest.

Business owners -

All sorts of security interests can be registered against anything you have bought but not paid for e.g. your stock. So, do a search well in advance of selling your business or be prepared to run round like a scalded cat on the day of sale.

 

This is all very straightforward, I hear you say. Why don’t we just get rid of our lawyers and do what the American lawyers tell us. If you have ever spoken to an American lawyer, you will know why that is not such a good idea. Anyway, it is not that straightforward.

Next month, 'The seven things to know about the PSSA'.

(c) Paul Brennan a lawyer practicing on Queensland's Sunshine Coast

Click here for books, eBooks and CDs by Paul Brennan.

Do you know a criminal prosecutor with a sense of humour? Click here for clocks, mugs, shirts, locks, intimate apparel and lots more. 


Room to let in offices of Brennans solicitors. Call Eleanor Ross on 5475 0285 or email : eleanor.ross@raywhite.com  Ray White Commercial at Maroochydore. Click here for further details.


Event: 26 April 2012 World IP Day. For details go to http://www.worldipday2012.com.au/


2012 Annual Legal Cartoon Competition
Sponsored by -

 

 

Legal cartoon caption competition winner 2012 Craig AllinghamThe Winner of the Law & Disorder Cartoon Caption Competition for 2012 is:

Craig Allingham

Professional Development Consultant

Redsok International

www.redsok.com

He wins an autographed copy of

The Law is an Ass...Make Sure it Doesn't Bite Yours!

My thanks to this years Judges:

Vickie Magic, Managing Editor, Business Matters Magazine. www.businessmattersmagazine.com.au

Geoff Moller, MBA FAIM, Business and Marketing Strategist, Management Consulting, VESTRA Business Advantage www.vestra.net.au

Paul Brennan, Brennans solicitors http://www.brennanlaw.com.au

If you want to run your own cartoon competition using Law & Disorder Cartoons send your request by email to info@lawanddisorder.com.au                                                                         

 


Disclaimer: The content of the Law & Disorder eZine is to give you legal basics and in some instances, included unashamedly to try and make you laugh.  In law, it is sometimes difficult to work out what is serious and what is just for fun. Therefore, if you plan to do anything legal, rely on your own lawyer’s advice or instruct me to look at the particular facts of your case.  Not only will I deny responsibility for the legal content but also for some of the jokes.

 

In this Issue
How to get stuffed

Legal Advice Abuse

The PPSA

Winner of the 2012 Annual Legal Cartoon Competition

Links
Subscribe
Unsubscribe

Forward to a colleague

Contact

The Law & Disorder eZine attempts to provide legal information in an entertaining and amusing manner to help clients avoid predictable legal issues.

Sub-editors :

Alice Brennan

Kathleen Brennan

Brief Books

PO Box 27
Mooloolaba
Queensland 4557
Australia

brief books, Paul Brennan

QLD BN22069914

Phone: 07 5438 8199

Fax: 07 5438 8836

info@brennanlaw.com.au

www.brennanlaw.com.au
l

Liability limited by a scheme approved under professional standards legislation