It is not clear from your question whether you might mean, "What are the benefits of studying law?" and, separately. "What are the benefits of studying ethics?" or whether you mean "What are the benefits of studying law and ethics together."

The simple and most apparent answer to this question is, "Because you are interested." Alternatively, one could imagine that someone needs such information for some specialized purpose, and the answer would then be "Because you need to." This might be because you have decided to become a lawyer, or because you are appearing on your own in small claims court, or because you have a sister-in-law who is a lawyer and you would like to have more knowledgeable discussions with her.

Perhaps you are looking for an answer that articulates potential benefits of such study that may not be obvious to you, so that you can choose between spending your time in such study or, for example, studying art history.

The study of law can include gaining knowledge of specific legal rules, such as, for example, becoming knowledgeable about the criminal laws of Louisiana, or Germany, or another jurisdiction, or the rules of civil procedure that apply in United States Federal Courts.

The study of law can also include study of the history of legal systems. For example, how did the legal system in effect in England become transported to the legal system implemented in the United States, and how was it modified? Or, how did the use of juries come into existence? Or, how have concepts and notions of due process evolved over time?

The study of law can also include examining the social policy rationale of different legal rules or principles. For example, how should the law be framed in order to provide encouragement for manufacturers of components of automobiles to each exercise care that the product or part they manufacture will function safely and not cause injury? Or, for example, how can the law be framed to encourage parties to settle their differences in fair, sensible and practical ways without wasting the resources of the court system on matters that deserve to have been settled prior to trial?

The study of law can also include a comparison of different legal system in different countries. For example, how are claims of wrongdoing by a governmental entity handled in France, as compared with the U.S., as compared with China, and so on. Or, how do the methods of determining a criminal sentence differ among different legal systems of different countries?

The study of law can include such questions as, what is the origin of law? From what source does the authority of law arise? Are all laws simply the result of decisions by a human society to make a rule about something (positive law), or, are some laws inherent in the natural order of things (natural law)?

Law has been a subject of practical and intellectual discipline for much of human history. In Genesis, God instructed Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The instruction itself, as well as the implications of what lay within the fruit, indicate the presence of rules of conduct within the Biblical framework long before one reaches the story of the Ten Commandments being issued in Exodus. The Code of Hammurabi is a notation of rules of law in one early civilization. The Justinian Code developed from Roman conceptions of law.

If any of these aspects of the study of law intrigue you, then you will find within yourself

the answer to the question, "Why study law?"

I will not go on to identify the various subtopics that fall within the field of ethics, but you may gain some understanding from general reading an extended entry for "Ethics" in any encyclopedic reference.

As for the value of studying law and ethics together, it is beyond the scope of a simple answer to articulate all the possible cross-connections. You may begin by giving careful attention to the Wikipedia entry for ethics, which begins like this --

Ethics is a branch of philosophy which seeks to address questions about morality, such as what the fundamental semantic, ontological, and epistemic nature of ethics or morality is (meta-ethics), how moral values should be determined (normative ethics), how a moral outcome can be achieved in specific situations (applied ethics), how moral capacity or moral agency develops and what its nature is (moral psychology), and what moral values people actually abide by (descriptive ethics).

Suffice it to say that if you spend some time studying both law and ethics, you will see that law can be thought of as a practical offshoot of normative ethics, applied ethics, moral psychology and descriptive ethics.

If you wish to play a role in making the world a better place, perhaps you would find that studying law and ethics will provide you with ideas for what kinds of efforts seem to you to hold the most promise. On the other hand, with that same goal, you might decide that your time will be better spent in such obvious efforts as feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, protecting the environment or some other practical and useful activity that you would otherwise be unable to pursue if you were busy studying law and ethics.

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