Sunshine Coast Daily

Legal training for staff essential, says author

20.02.2006

By Peter Gardiner
MOOLOOLABA lawyer Paul Brennan could just have broken new ground for his profession – writing a legal guide with an opening sentence that would make even a judge laugh.
“I never realised why people tended to dislike lawyers until I married one – argumentative, prone to making smart comments and costly too.”
His newly-launched book, The Law Is An Ass – Make Sure It Doesn’t Bite You, contains wry humour which manages to take all the considerable wind out of legal gobbledegook while pulling no punches.
In short, sharp jabs it demystifies the law and gives legal insights in layman’s terms.
The concept is so revolutionary that this former Pom, who has practised the law in four continents, joked that this could be the first legal book to sell outside solicitors’ circles.
Paul’s book is about helping people avoid the legal labyrinth from which too many people can emerge bloodied and broke after taking the advice of family and friends to “sue the pants off someone”.
He believes the days of legal pugilism are fading.
“That would work all right if cases were decided in one three-minute round,’’ he said.“These days it’s very much more about mediation where people are encouraged by the lawyers to sit down and try to work things out.”
Paul used Employee Legal Awareness Day to launch his book at the Nambour Chamber of Commerce monthly dinner with Small Business Minister and Member for Kawana Chris Cummins performing the official duties.
He told the gathering that too few employers realised that they would “carry the can” for any damaging actions of their workers.
Paul said the awareness day was designed to encourage basic legal training for staff.
“Bosses can either educate themselves and their employees or they can stick their heads in the sand and hope for the best, which is not an uncommon business tactic,” he said.
“This book covers the more basic mistakes that businesses can make again and again.”
And Paul’s golden rule for those bosses who are on shaky legal ground is: “If you are in a legal hole ... stop digging”.
The book is published by Apec Publishing.