Spreadsheet applications in legal practice and case management

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).

5. Conclusion

Though lawyers are not professional mathematicians, they necessarily use math to perform many of their duties and keep their business running. The spreadsheet, which can be simple or complex, is a handy tool that lawyers use to manage time and money in their own businesses. In addition, spreadsheets allow attorneys to help their clients effectively in many types of cases, including but not limited to divorces and real estate transactions. Finally, trial lawyers use spreadsheets to logically collect, examine and present evidence in a way that supports their arguments. In sum, spreadsheets allow lawyers -- who are rarely also professional mathematicians -- deal with the facts and figures that are vital to their profession.