Thursday’s shooting rampage in metro Atlanta occurred just a week beforethe American Bar Association comes to town to hear, among other things,a debate on gun suits.

Though no details had emerged late Friday of any possible liability surroundingthe shootings in Buckhead that left as many as nine dead, those involvedin gun suits say it will be impossible to avoid reference to the massacreat the ABA’s panel discussion. The panel also is expected to discuss similarsuits filed by Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and St. Louis. The session istentatively set for Aug. 9.