How do lawyers perceive the relevance of economic and business methods knowledge in their professional practice? Evidence from Greece

Hassid, Joseph and Maniatis, George and Polemis, Michael (2025): How do lawyers perceive the relevance of economic and business methods knowledge in their professional practice? Evidence from Greece.

Abstract

We explore the value that lawyers in Greece attribute to knowledge of economics and business methods, both in terms of the legal fields where this knowledge is most useful and the specific areas of economics and business expertise that support their professional practice. Our findings, based on a survey of Greek law professionals conducted within the LAPET research project, indicate the broader relevance of economics and business methods across various legal fields. We find that lawyers should mainly possess knowledge in Economics for Business, The Functioning of Markets, and Economics of Competition / Antitrust, as these areas of economic expertise along with knowledge of Law Office Organization, are deemed the most useful for lawyers in their professional activities. Additionally, prior advanced education and professional roles significantly influence perceptions of the usefulness of economics and business methods knowledge. Lawyers with advanced economic education tend to recognize the value of economic knowledge more broadly across all areas. Similarly, business legal advisors perceive economic knowledge as beneficial, whereas self-employed legal practitioners tend to assign slightly lower importance to economic knowledge. Finally, legal specialization was found to be a key factor in shaping the perceived usefulness across different areas of economic and business knowledge. These findings provide valuable insights primarily for law students and early-career lawyers regarding the economics and business methods subjects they should focus on in their education and additional training. They also offer guidance on curriculum development by law schools, which they should consider integrating courses in applied economics and business methods to better equip future lawyers with the necessary skills for the modern legal landscape.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Law and economics; Legal education; Interdisciplinarity
• Subjects: A - General Economics and Teaching > A2 - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics > A20 - General; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C2 - Single Equation Models ; Single Variables > C20 - General; K - Law and Economics > K0 - General

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