Perhaps math isn’t every lawyer’s strong suit; although some lawyers prefer to stay away from fractions and decimals, it doesn’t mean they aren’t able to do math when needed to help their clients.
When it comes to businesses, math is intertwined in so many issues from basic day-to-day operations to complex corporate mergers and acquisitions. For example, legal issues and litigation related to buying and selling a business, bookkeeping for an existing business and profit and loss statements, among other things, need to be handled by an attorney who is comfortable with arithmetic.
Business related classes like tax and finance are some of the only law school classes that require the students do math. So, in order to do well in these classes and become competent to handle a business or tax matter, a student must at least be able to do basic math. A widely reported study by Harvard law professors found that business classes were the most highly recommend by alumni for current students take to better prepare themselves for practice.
The gap between what most lawyers know about business law and what their clients need them to know is a wide one. This is why you need to look for an attorney who has demonstrated excellence this field. Part of that excellence must be a comfort with arithmetic. You want an attorney who is already excelling in the field and not one that has to educate him or herself about basic finance and bookkeeping in order to handle your particular matter.
