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Speak Up! - View Question #636 |
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Question: Do you use any math when you are a lawyer?
Answer: Yes, most lawyers use math in their practice, just as most people must use math in their everyday lives. For some lawyers, like tax attorneys, math skills are critical to a successful practice. If a tax attorney cannot add, subtract, multiply and divide correctly, he may cost his client a great deal of money and give bad advice that may get his client in trouble with the IRS.
Criminal attorneys must be able to use math to help defendants, victims and the judge understand how much time in prison a defendant is facing for a criminal charge. In Arizona, some criminal defendants only need an 8 person jury to decide their guilt or innocence, while others, facing more serious charges that carry penalties of 30 years or more in prison, must have a 12 person jury. The attorneys must then be able to use math to decide how many people will decide the defendant's fate.
For many other types of attorneys, math is not necessarily an everyday skill, but still one that pops up from time to time.
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