Steven Davidoff of the M & A Blog has an interesting analysis of John Coates' expert opinion asserting that Cerberus shouldn't be required to specifically perform the URI deal, complete with a link to the opinion.
I've done some expert testifying myself, like many law professors. The reports are often publicly available, but you don't often see them posted on the web and discussed in the blogosphere.
It's a daunting prospect for us experts. Among other things, the disclosure of the fee offers the same sort of titillation that many, including academics, get from executive comp disclosures. In Coates' case it was $950/hr (hey, less than $1000!). And experts don't necessarily always take the same position for money that they take when they're sitting in the ivory tower. (I'm not saying that's the case for Coates' opinion.)
But, then, why not? There's something to be said for filling out our publicly available oeuvre in this way. And would not this public display make us more careful and honest?
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