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21 Am. B. News 1 (1976)

handle is hein.journals/ambrnw21 and id is 1 raw text is: Conference group eyes law-science interchange Do people have property rights in clouds? That's not a frivolous question to some farmers or to members of one of the ABA's newest groups-the National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists, in which the ABA and the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science (AAAS) partici- pate. On March 12-14 at Duke Universi- ty, the conference, he AAAS and Duke University are hosting a sympo- sium on the Roles of Law and Science in Weather Modification Activ- ities, in which some 60 invited guests will wrestle with the legal-scientific dilemmas crcated by modern rain- makers and their kin, Providing such forums for mutual problem solving is just one of the purposes of the conference, explains W. Brown Morton, Jr,, of King George, Va., who is the ABA co-chairman; his AAAS counterpart is Emilio Q, Dad- dario of Washington, D.C. Another objective is to try to bring scientific knowledge to bear on the legislative and judicial process, Morton says, By sponsoring programs and symposia like this one, we hope to encourage cooperation in the wide rangeof problems that need the exper- tise of both scientists and lawyers. We picked weather modification as the subject of our first endeavor because it is relatively non-controversial. After the rainmakers have gone, legal problems may remain. An ABA con- ference group will try to resolve some of the issues. But, he adds, the subject is impor- tant. Processes such as cloud seeding have been outlawed in some states, while in others new laws specifically exempt cloud seeders from responsibil- ity for the consequences of rainmak- ing. In yet other areas, court battles are being fought over the results of all-too successful attempts to produce precipitation. The ultimate question, perhaps, is whether or not a farmer has a right to moisture in clouds headed his way and has a case for his lawyer when scientif- ic progress permits that moisture to be wrung out before the clouds reach him. While the symposium will not at- tempt to answer that question, Morton notes, it will try to create some ground rules under which awyers and scien- tists share their expertise on important matters. He is hopeful that the pro- ceedings will be published and that the program will be the first of many that will explore the law-science interface. ABA, AICPA resolve lawyer-auditor clash More than two years of negotia- tions between the ABA and the Ameri- can Institute of Certified Public Ac- countants over the thorny question of how much lawyers must tell auditors about the litigation, claims and assess- ments of clients has come to a success- ful conclusion. On January 7, the AICPA Auditing Standards Executive Committee en- dorsed a statement outlining the re- sponsibilities of auditors that coordi- nates with a standard for lawyers' responses to audit inquiries that was approved by the ABA Board of Gov ernors on December 8. The conflict- mainly over disclo- sure of unasserted possible claims - was settled through intensive efforts by the Committee on Auditors' Inquiry Responses of the Section of Corporation, Banking and Business Law and an AICPA task force Under the agreement, it is recog- nized that all lawyers (including legal specialists and special trial counsel) have certain responsibilities to clients to bring to their attention and consult with them concerning the disclosure of unasserted possible claims. Accoun- tants agree, in turn, that an attorney need not comment on any unasserted possible claim unless the client already has disclosed it to the auditor. The disagreement between the two professions came to a head early in Continued on page 12 / &ME~tCAN BAR iNEWS \___...

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