Math Concept Used in Law: The Spreadsheet

Math Concept Used in Law: The Spreadsheet

Lawyers are business people who must keep their own businesses running. In addition, lawyers necessarily deal with many other professions. Finally, lawyers must be able to collect, examine and present evidence in a clear and commonly understood manner. Consequently, lawyers use a math concept that is readily adaptable across all those areas: the "Spreadsheet."

Spreadsheet Use for a Lawyer's Own Business

Two of the most important resources in business are time and money. Both time and money are valuable, limited and need to be budgeted. A lawyer uses spreadsheets to budget, review and adjust his/her gross income and overhead costs. The spreadsheet allows a lawyer to review income, expenses and totals at a glance. Lawyers also use spreadsheets to budget their time and the time of their employees. Since lawyers tend to juggle many cases at once and need to meet with clients, appear in court, attend depositions, keep other appointments, prepare and submit documents, and often bill for their time, usually with the assistance of their office staffs, a spreadsheet assists them in budgeting and accurately keeping track of precious time to ensure that all their duties are fulfilled on time. Recognizing those duties, there is an entire sub-industry that melds and caters to those needs (PriceGrabber, 2012).

3. Spreadsheet Use for Cases

Lawyers often use spreadsheets to assist them in individual cases. A divorce lawyer frequently has to deal with a client who once lived comfortably on a joint income but must now live on a roughly halved income and must often manage child support obligations, as well. In addition, divorce clients must make an accounting to the presiding court of all their assets, liabilities and living expenses so their assets can be fairly divided between the divorcing couple. Consequently, divorce lawyers use spreadsheets to help their divorcing clients set up new budgets based on their halved incomes and also to present to the court an accurate accounting of their divorcing clients' financial situation. Though divorce lawyers in every State can benefits from spreadsheets, Colorado provides adequate samples of these tools (Divorce Resolutions, 2012). Real estate attorneys also use spreadsheets, particularly when they assist in "closing" their clients' purchase or sale of real property, for accurate accountings to the other parties' attorneys and to any bank that is financing the purchase/sale. For example, a spreadsheet of real estate closing costs was prepared by Peter J. Weinman, Esq., and is available for review online (Weinman, 2010).

4. Spreadsheet Use for Court Cases

Trial lawyers must collect, examine and present evidence in a convincing manner, though evidence -- financial or otherwise -- often comes to them in a disorganized fashion. Consequently, trial lawyers use spreadsheets during trial preparation to insert evidence logically, examine the evidence in an orderly fashion and assist them in making convincing arguments to a judge or jury. During trial, trial lawyers use spreadsheets to present their evidence in an orderly, attractive and convincing manner, so the court or jury can understand the evidence at a glance and likelier be convinced of the lawyer's arguments. One example of the many uses of spreadsheet evidence by lawyers, in this case for electronic evidence, is found at Divorce Source.com (National Legal Research Group, Inc., 2001).