The Times quotes Nathan Lightman and Joanna Stevens on whether Maths is a useful skill for lawyers

Historically, most lawyers have studied law or humanities subjects such as English or history at university, developing and exhibiting their skills of comprehension and communication, and ability to argue persuasively.

But, so long as a lawyer has a basic grasp of how to do sums and knows where the calculator function is on their phone, do they need to be good with figures?

Nathan Lightman, Senior Associate in our corporate team, and Joanna Stevens, Early Talent Manager, comment for the Student Law supplement of The Times.

Maths is a “massively underrated skill in lawyers,” Nathan says, adding that the subject has been “crucial in my career”. He says that many lawyers “do not feel at home with basic arithmetic, so you’ll really stand out if you nail the basics. Something as simple as the placement of brackets in an equation can make a difference of millions of pounds to your client."

Joanna says that although a background in one of the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics can make an attractive candidate, there are no right or wrong subjects for lawyers to study. Studying maths can give candidates a “selling point”, but she says that law firms are looking for students’ “unique transferable skills”.

Her advice is to “be authentic and passionate” and “focus first and foremost on what they enjoy”.

Read the full article in The Times here (subscription required).