Is It True That Economists Make Better Lawyers?
Increasingly, law schools are enrolling economics majors in large numbers. For aspiring lawyers seeking to specialize in business law or family law, an economics background will prove very helpful. Both business and family law regularly involve complex economic issues that, frequently, are intertwined with legal matters. Economics is one of the most popular undergraduate degrees, and it is clear that law schools recognize the value that these students bring to their program.
One primary reason for such profound interest in people with a strong economics background is the overlap between law and economics. Torts, contracts, intellectual property, securities and antitrust all implicate economic issues in one way or another. When policy is involved, both economists and legal experts are needed to jointly determine the extent of the dislocation, the best (i.e., least costly) methods to address those dislocations, and measuring the effects of new laws and regulations to enhance societal welfare.
Tort law balances the joint objectives of compensating injured parties for wrongful injury while recognizing that firms will shut down (or reduce their scope of activities) if they are too vulnerable to lawsuits. Hence the law makes use of economics to help ensure a reasonable balance is achieved in the result.
Economics is frequently used to model and predict what a large population will do when it is put in a particular situation. As the constraints advance or change, the behaviors of the people will change as well. This can be used to inform whether and how to modify laws and regulations.
Criminal law has also made use of economics in an attempt to devise rules and punishments that deter undesirable conduct actions.
Judges too will want to make such decisions that result in maximally improving social behavior. A solid background in economics will assist judges in asking the best questions, and processing the evidence in a manner that leads to improved decision-making.
This is also something the American professional economist, Jonathan Irving Arnold, believes in. Serving as a testifying expert witness in commercial litigation, domestic and international arbitration, and financial matters, Arnold strongly believes that economics plays a significant and important role in the legal process.
Jonathan is a highly regarded economist. He is the former Chief Economist at the New York Attorney General’s Office, has served as an expert witness for numerous Fortune 500 firms whom he helps in complex civil litigations, and regularly serves as an expert witness in antitrust, intellectual property and securities matters. Arnold recently testified at the request of certain Guarantee Associations in a jury trial in against PNC Bank; the jury awarded Arnold’s clients $391 million in damages.
Before becoming a renowned economist, Arnold was a U.S Air Force pilot who also served as a Lecturer to the University of Chicago.
