- 51 -
of an advocate. See id. An expert has a duty to the Court that
exceeds his duty to his client; the expert is obligated to
present data, analysis, and opinion with detached neutrality and
without bias, regardless of the effect of such unbiased
presentation on his client's case. See, e.g., Estate of Halas v.
Commissioner, 94 T.C. 570, 577-578 (1990). When an expert
displays an unyielding allegiance to the party who is paying his
or her bill, we generally will disregard that testimony as
untrustworthy. See id.; Laureys v. Commissioner, supra; see also
Jacobson v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 1989-606 (when experts act
as advocates, "the experts can be viewed only as hired guns of
the side that retained them, and this not only disparages their
professional status but precludes their assistance to the Court
in reaching a proper and reasonably accurate conclusion"). The
experts' lack of impartiality has caused a disservice to the
Court and the system of tax administration.
E. Reasonableness of Compensation
We first determine the amount of compensation that was
reasonable for petitioner to pay to Dennis and Curtis for their
services. In Charles Schneider & Co. v. Commissioner, 500 F.2d
at 151-152, the Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit, to which
an appeal in this case would lie, listed the following factors
courts consider in assessing the reasonableness of an employee's
compensation:
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