Abstract:
Legal practices are perceived as an epitome of the battle between good
and evil. However, a different battle over the preparedness of the next-generation
lawyers is now trending amongst law practitioners. Analytical ability, attention to
detail and logical reasoning were perceived as sufficient skillsets for legal practitioners.
However, are these skillsets adequate when conducting a substantive legal
analysis that might require some form of numeracy? To answer this question, two
focus-group discussions were held with various legal practitioners, in order to
explore the need for numeracy skills in legal practice. The findings revealed that
numeracy skills are deemed highly important, since the majority of legal practices
require numeracy at some or other stage. In view of the findings, it is recommended
that curriculum practitioners start with the review process of these qualifications, in
order to prepare industry-ready graduates that are equipped to deal with numeracy
in a confident and knowledgeable manner.
