> There's an important difference between "This is my opinion. You may contract me to express it at your venue" vs. "You may contract me to express any opinion you wish at your venue".
> The former seems completely legit to me. The lawyers just need to look around for a witness that already has the opinion they prefer.
I agree with you, but think that it's important to distinguish "No scandal here" (your words) from "no problem" (an easy apparent synonym). Getting paid to espouse your honest opinions is (almost by definition!) not dishonest, but lending the lustre of academic support to fringe positions can lead to bad policy and decision-making. (The general public is, or even just non-academics and non-specialists are, not in a position to evaluate whether the paid opinion is representative of the academic consensus, or a fringe opinion held by a few; and, though the latter opinions have every right to be heard, it may be important to be aware of their status.)
> The former seems completely legit to me. The lawyers just need to look around for a witness that already has the opinion they prefer.
I agree with you, but think that it's important to distinguish "No scandal here" (your words) from "no problem" (an easy apparent synonym). Getting paid to espouse your honest opinions is (almost by definition!) not dishonest, but lending the lustre of academic support to fringe positions can lead to bad policy and decision-making. (The general public is, or even just non-academics and non-specialists are, not in a position to evaluate whether the paid opinion is representative of the academic consensus, or a fringe opinion held by a few; and, though the latter opinions have every right to be heard, it may be important to be aware of their status.)