A Brazilian law firm has made its latest hire: a brand new cattorney.
Leon was just like any other stray cat – roaming the streets, looking for scraps. One day, he walked into the Order of Attorneys of Brazil building, and his life changed.
After people started to complain about the cat hanging around the reception area, the OAB took action to curb the moaning: they hired Leon as a lawyer.
The world was enlightened to the OAB’s newest employee after Dr Jeanette Laredo shared a post on Facebook.
In the post, Dr Laredo wrote:
After a heavy rain, this little guy here seeking shelter from the storm went inside the OAB building ( Brazilian equivalent of ABA, American Bar Association) and decided to stay.
Unfortunately some people started to file some complaints about the fact that at the reception desk there was a stray cat hanging around and trying to make friends with the newcomers.
In order to avoid some new complaints the board gave the solution: Hire the cat as an employee.
While he was initially hired to help welcome people coming into the building, there’s been a development – he’s now a lawyer. So, that’ll be Dr Leon to you.
Dr Leon now has his own Instagram page with more than 48,000 followers, where his fans can keep up with his latest cute antics.
In an interview with Bored Panda, Dr Leon’s representatives explained that people filed complaints due to the fact the cat is very small, and people were afraid they’d step on him.
As reported by Bored Panda, the representatives said:
In February it rains a lot in the state of Amapá (Amazonia), so he arrived at OAB fleeing from the rain and thunder. For a week, he was fed and protected in a box. Until he got hired.
[They said] that there was no space for him because it is a serious institution. So the President [of the OAB] determined the hiring and gave him an employee badge.
Now, Dr Leon is a valued member of the workforce. People who weren’t keen on him now love him, and spend time playing with him regularly.
The cat has inspired the OAB to launch an animal rights institute – called Instituto Dr Leon.
As per Bored Panda, Dr Leon’s representatives said:
Two months ago Leon was neutered and is already fully recovered. But veterinarians say he had a problem with his vocal cords as a result of suffering as a baby. He hardly meows, but we keep taking care of him. This motivated us to create the institute to help abused and abandoned animals.
Unfortunately, we cannot house all [the animals], so we will fund the NGOs in town. We will be an example for Brazil [to follow].
Do I smell a Suits spinoff? I think so.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.