Technological innovation is opening up an ‘endless list of legal issues’ that demands better communication and cross-training between engineers and lawyers, argue Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law dean Daniel Rodriguez and America’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science dean Julio Ottino. In a recent article, the academic duo argue that better integration between the two professions needs to have roots in university education, potentially through joint degree offerings in law and engineering. Cross-germination between the two disciplines will be essential to ensuring the long-term viability of the ‘innovation ecosystem’, the argue. ‘We need engineers (creators) connecting with lawyers (risk managers) to provide a balance. But such teams will not function unless engineers learn something about risk management and lawyers learn something about innovation,’ they write.

Sources: Australasian Lawyer; Chronicle.com