Travel broadens the mind but when the world comes to you it really does get the grey matter moving into overdrive.
That’s what happened recently at a special course organised by the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh.
The advocacy skills training initiative saw trainers and delegates from several countries join Scottish colleagues to brainstorm ideas and share their legal expertise.
Countries represented at the four-day course included Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, England and Wales.
Show all Legal jobs across Scotland
With the focus on advocates and barristers with less than seven years of experience at their respective bars, the main case studied was a civil claim for damages arising from a road accident, with training delivered by Scottish and international facilitators.
Learning directly from the experiences and knowledge of others is an important and intrinsic part of training to be a high-flying legal eagle.
So, in that spirit of sharing, here are some nuggets of knowledge relating to laws from around the world, which you may not have heard of but could come in handy.
Did you know, for example, that in Massachusetts in the US of A, it’s illegal to drive with a gorilla in the backseat of your car?
It’s doubtful this has ever been tested in court but not taking any chances will prevent a highway patrolman going ape on you.
And, if you ever find yourself tootling along a road in Japan, bear in mind motorists are strictly prohibited from splashing mud or water on pedestrians. Quite right too!
While road manners are important, a spouse’s happiness is indispensable – that’s why forgetting your wife’s birthday is a crime in Samoa. We’re not sure if a late night gift of petrol station flowers would count in any defence.
In Switzerland, gifting a single guinea pig would certainly be frowned upon by the prosecution – it’s unlawful to own only one because they’re seen as social animals prone to loneliness.
Oh, and it’s completely illegal to own hamsters as pets in Hawaii.
There’s painfully bad news, too, for Grampa Jack and his tummy trouble, if ever he sojourned in Switzerland. In the land of muesli and milk chocolate, you’re not allowed to flush the loo after 10pm as it’s considered noise pollution.
Staying on that theme, Portugal has outlawed weeing in the sea. We’re not entirely sure we want to know how the local police check for such crimes, but we suppose every little bit helps when it comes to preventing ocean pollution.
Finally, in a move that will be music to the ears of young job seekers, unpaid internships at for-profit businesses are illegal in America when they’re deemed to be for the benefit of the employer and displace regular employees.
Hear, hear!
Now that we’re fully forewarned against committing misdemeanours around the globe, let’s find the latest, full-paying Legal vacancies closer to home on s1jobs.