Synergies and opportunities between engineering and law

The Engineering and Legal professions are regularly portrayed as diametrically opposite. This portrayal is based upon the perception that attorneys deal mostly with words and engineers with numbers. However, the skills necessary for success in either profession are actually quite similar. Both professions require the ability to synthesize information and make decisions among multiple feasible outcomes with uncertain information. The Briggs-Myers Type Indicator, INTJ, is the same for Engineers and Lawyers. This paper is to look at the synergies and opportunities between the professions, their preparation, accreditation and outcomes. It will compare the American Bar Association Core Skills and Values to the ABET Program Outcomes. It will identify of legal topics that might be included in an engineering curriculum and suggest an implementation.