• Do you know that council inspectors will soon be able to turn up on your doorstep demanding to be let into your home to check out the size of your property?
• Do you know that you can get a criminal conviction for eating while driving?
• Do you know that even though you have purchased your property with your partner or spouse, you might not own half of the property's value?
• Do you know that if you died without a Will, not all of your money and assets will go to your other half?

Many people have misconceptions about how the law really works. To most of us, the law is a large, impenetrable and growing thicket, surrounded by near-folkloric misunderstandings about what lies within.

In this collection of vignettes, barrister, journalist and family mediator Maureen Mullally takes her secateurs and cuts out a personal selection of some of the more topical misconceptions for witty scrutiny. From proposed new rights for pets to the bugging of wheelie bins, this book portrays how intrusive and absurd some of our laws have become.

About the Author

The author, Maureen Mullally, studied law at King's College, University of London. Afterwards, she was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn in London and also to the Irish Bar at King's Inn in Dublin.

She has practised as a barrister specialising in family law for over 25 years and now works as a mediator in family disputes.

• A new relationship with your mother-in-law
• Defending the guilty
• As a parent, I must be consulted 
• That shop has to sell me that sweater at the marked price 
• I'm British - I have a right to be tried here 
• Sober as a judge...?
• In England and Wales we have 'no fault' divorce
• How informative are Home Information Packs?
• It's a dog's life
• Trespassers won't be prosecuted
• I want custody of my child 
• Forbidden fruit 
• I don't need to make a Will 
• An Englishman's home is his castle
• It's a wise child
• Common law marriage
• I can use reasonable force against criminals 
• Twelve good men and true
• Privilege - what privilege?
• I can't be tried twice for the same offence
• We're joint owners, so we each own half
• I wrote the book so I get the royalties
• Marriage isn't a meal ticket for life
• We were robbed!
• I want my name cleared
• How cross should examination be?
• Whatever happened to child support?
• Finders keepers
• We've got a marriage certificate so we're married
• I want my day in court
• Lawyers love to obfuscate
• The majesty of the law
• Snacking at the wheel
• My offer for the house has been accepted so
• They're our children so we can take them on holiday
• We'll all have identity cards soon 
• Rape victims have usually asked for it
• Inheritance tax is for the wealthy
• Human rights are for everyone
• Family courts are secretive - and they favour women
• Health and safety law protects us
• Leading questions 
• Children should be warned about strangers
• I can choose my hospital
• Big Brother isn't watching us
• ASBOs promote respect in society
• As the victim, I can expect justice
• My prenuptial agreement guarantees that I won't be taken to the cleaners
• Easements make property ownership easier 
• Fixtures and fittings
• I can tell my hairdresser anything
• Age discrimination is a thing of the past
• Possession is nine tenths of the law
• How unreasonable do you have to be?