Think of some of the attorneys you know – do they like to talk? Do they like to read? Do they often win arguments? Attorneys are often known for reading, writing and verbal skills, as they have to be able to discern and interpret legal language and convince people with verbal communication. Most of us probably then don’t think of lawyers as people who use math regularly in their profession. However, the truth is, all attorneys do use math in their profession at some point in their career and many of them use some level of math in their careers daily.
Despite that LSTAT ( the test that must be passed to legally practice law) doesn’t include a math section like some other graduate level tests and that law school doesn’t include math courses in their curriculum, math competence is very useful for practicing most types of law. Having a certain level of math competence can help regarding several facets of being an attorney, more specifically with critical thinking, financial management and some client specific needs. Let’s look more deeply into how math is very helpful for those who practice, study and defend law.
Critical Thinking
The actual practice of math can be broken down into some basics; formulas, proofs and numbers. From there, math equations have a huge spectrum of difficulty ranging from very simple to very complex. However, some of what math teaches us is beyond just solving equations and look for answers. In all the math we do, we are teaching our brains to be better analytical thinkers – to bring logic to the way we examine and approach situations. This way of critically thinking is important for attorneys, especially for those who work on more emotionally charged cases. They need to be able to see and approach cases with logic in order to have a desired outcome for who they’re representing.
Having strong analytical skills also comes in hand for attorneys during litigation when they need to examine witnesses and make sure stories are consistent or not. Using logic and deduction in these cases can often help or hinder witness statements by finding holes in arguments. Critical thinking then is imperative when presenting to and trying to persuade juries and judges.
Lastly, good analytical skills are also useful when reviewing documents and contracts. Making sure an agreement is in the best interest of a client is essential for representing clients. Confusing, slippery language can sometimes create confusion for parties needing to sign contracts and an attorney with a strong ability to critically think can work through these problems before a contract is signed to ensure the best deal is made.
Specific Law Practices
Analytical skills garnered from math are very useful, but often relatively indirect use of math. However, there are some specific areas of law that require attorneys understand legitimate math principals and can practice them. Lawyers can sub out work to finance professionals in order to help them better understand details in certain cases, but for the most part, lawyers have to have enough knowledge of the math practices for whoever they’re representing to be of value to them. Here are some of the examples of common legal issues which require attorneys who are skilled in math:
Estate law – Valuating assets, property and calculating the net worth of a person, then dividing it in what is considered to be fair and equitable for beneficiaries requires a lot of math.
Tax law – imagine doing your taxes, with thousands of more deductions and acquisitions. This is what tax seasons are like for some people and businesses, and despite that Certified Professional Accountants are usually the ones filing the actual taxes in instances like this, attorneys who represent clients and cases need to understand the documents and reports they submit.
Malpractice and injury law – Calculating medical bills, time missed from work, and pain and suffering for clients can be arduous and not straight forward. Coming up with the right numbers is important for convincing judges, defendants and sometimes juries.
Criminal law – statistics is huge in review evidence. Criminal attorneys defer to expert witnesses as much as possible, but evidence is often equally important and it’s important to understand evidence that replies on probability and other math concepts.
Business Management
For attorneys who own their own law firm or are in practice with partners, strong financial and accounting practices are important for understanding how to run the business. Attorneys who have their own practice should have solid processes and a handle on recording bill time and expenses, billing and taking payment and taxes. Having a CPA or bookkeeper can be helpful but being good in financial math helps lawyers run a more efficient business.
As you can see, there are many ways attorneys use math on a regular basis. Solving problems sitting in class and doing homework may have seemed painstaking at some point, but doing math is not just about keeping busy in the moment. There are many life skills that math teaches – things that allow us to have total comprehension of the world and how to navigate it. Being an attorney does not get you out of math, it allows you to practice it in a very real way. Know anyone that’s an attorney? Ask them how they use math in their day to day work!
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